ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development ICELT Distance Unit 16 Continuing Professional Development ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Introduction In this unit we will be discussing ways that can help you to continue to develop as professional teachers after the ICELT course We will be exploring the necessity for development and the ways in which we can help ourselves to develop professionally This unit also contains help for you with Language Task 4, Focus on the teacher’s language In addition, the final peer observation task, which you should design yourself, is set in this unit Aims • • • • To discuss the necessity of continuing professional development To discuss ways of continuing professional development after the ICELT Course To provide guidance on reading material/sources to help with professional development To provide help with Language Task 4, Focus on the Teacher’s language ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Essential Reading Alan Pulverness (Editor) IATEFL 2003 Brighton Conference Selections ƒ 5.1 Bailey, K 2004 Language teaching journals and reflective teaching ƒ 5.2 Leshem, S 2004 Tell your story: reflective practice in teaching and research ƒ 5.6 Howard, A 2004 Model lessons: to teach or not to teach? ƒ 5.9 Lovtsevich, G & Ryan, S.M 2004 A cross-cultural TESOL dictionary as a tool for teacher development ƒ 5.10 Hermes, L 2004 PISA and the development of reading literacy in teacher training ƒ 5.11 Watts, E 2004 How you teach English when you can’t speak it? A proposed course for teachers and trainers ƒ 5.13 Cárdenas, M 2004 Classroom research by in-service teachers: Which characteristics? Which concerns? ƒ Richards, J & Renandya, W 2002 (Editors) Methodology in Language Teaching CUP ƒ Wajnryb, R 1992 ƒ Woodward, Tessa, 2004 Ways of Working with Teachers TWP ƒ Elt Forum Teacher Development at: http://www.eltforum.com Classroom Observation Tasks CUP ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Why teachers need professional growth According to Hargreaves and Fullan (in Richards and Renandya, 2002) ‘ the teacher is the ultimate key to educational change and school improvement.’ Every school has a curriculum but it’s the teachers who refine and define it, who interpret it and make it accessible to the learners (Richards and Renandya, 2002) Therefore, as teachers bear a key role in the education of learners it is imperative that they give top priority to professional growth They should constantly be trying to find ways to improve their knowledge, not only of their subject matter, but also of pedagogical methodology Professional growth not only benefits us personally as teachers but also the institution or school for which we work As Tessa Woodward says it not only helps ‘in terms of greater efficiency at work but also in a general atmosphere of interest and well-being’ (Woodward, 1992) Pettis in Richards and Renandya, (2002) highlights three main areas: • First, to be true professionals, teachers must constantly upgrade their knowledge and apply this new knowledge to their teaching • Second, a teacher’s professional interests should change over time, progressing from a new teacher’s concerns of what to teach? to being more concerned with the principles underlying various teaching techniques, i.e the how to ? or why ? • Thirdly, that professional development requires a constant, personal and ongoing commitment (Richards and Renandya, 2002) ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development 1.1 How to achieve professional growth Below are some quotes from teachers about what has helped them to develop as teachers: Q Which book has had the most profound effect on you as a teacher? The Craft of the Classroom by Michael Marland When I was doing my PGCE (= the UK one year postgraduate teaching course) this slim book was on our reading list, and I skimmed through it, but didn't realise how much I could benefit from it, as I believed then that a good teacher is born, not made Fortunately for me, I went back to it during my probationary year That's when I realised that “A good teacher is a good classroom manager,” “A mastery of group management techniques frees a teacher from concerns about group control, " and the accompanying skills and techniques I learned things about classroom management which not only helped me with my secondary school classes then, but also after that, in Nepal for example, where there were classes of 50+ pupils The book was first published in 1975, but it is so popular that it has never been out of print It has also been updated: the third edition was published in 2002 Alexandra Spencer (Former secondary school teacher in England and teacher trainer in Japan and Nepal) "The English Verb" by Michael Lewis I have always felt so privileged to enter other teachers' classrooms and observe them teaching and then discuss the work I have learnt so many useful techniques and approaches through observing other teachers One book that had a profound effect on me was "The English Verb" by Michael Lewis Although I certainly not agree with everything he says, it is an extremely thought-provoking book and also very accessible John Q What has been the most useful thing in helping you to develop? A Asking for help from colleagues and discussing ideas Q What advice would you give to other teachers on becoming a better teacher? A Ask your peers for help Discussing ideas and listening to other people in the same position as you, is the best advice you can get Experiment and really evaluate how well your experiment went Anthony Levi For years after my CELTA course my "teacher development" consisted of only two things: I used to teach myself the relevant grammar before trying to teach it to students, and I spent a lot of time familiarising myself with supplementary activities like games because it made my life easier in class and made me popular with students Later I made myself learn the phonemic chart because I had Chinese students who all knew it and I didn't want to look daft in front of them The problem with this kind of self-training is that you tend to avoid learning about things that don't interest you and become a "lop-sided" teacher - I became pretty good at teaching and practising grammar and never really thought much about my teaching of listening, pronunciation or vocabulary, for instance The most useful thing in helping me develop has been the DELTA course because it forces you to look at all aspects of your teaching Talking to other teachers has also been a big help My advice on how to improve as a teacher, then, would be to not avoid any area If you don't feel confident teaching pronunciation, read a book about it then start teaching some of the simpler stuff until you feel more confident Students will appreciate the change "Inside Teaching" by Bowen and Marks is an easy to read and thought-provoking book about teaching in general, while the "How to Teach (Grammar, Pronunciation etc )" series is good for practical teaching ideas Bobby ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development A really good book to help find more satisfaction from your teaching is Co-operative Teaching by Julian Edge (1992, Longman) The book is about co-operation between teachers as equals; it shows how two teachers can co-operate in order to work on one teacher’s development I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to develop as a teacher if you have understanding colleagues Sandra Reflection: Task - Consider the following questions and make notes about your thoughts (adapted from Richards and Renandya, 2002) As a teacher, what have you done to promote your professional competence, apart from ICELT? Some teachers seem to stop developing at some stage in their career What you think are the reasons for that? In what ways has your philosophy of teaching changed over the years? Has it changed since you’ve been doing this course? In what different ways can teachers achieve professional growth? With your colleagues at work and on the ICELT forum discuss your reflections and compare your ideas ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Commentary Below is a list of possible activities, arranged in categories, that teachers can engage in to achieve professional growth, (adapted from Woodward, 1992, Chapter 8) How many of these had you discussed with your colleagues or you already? List of possible continuing professional development activities Associations, meetings, committees • Memberships of professional associations • Attend meetings of professional associations • Have structured discussions with colleagues • Participate in staff development meetings • Participate in in-house or external focus groups Conferences, seminars, fairs, courses • Production and delivery of a professional presentation or lecture • Attend a seminar, workshop or conference • Structured self-study – not leading to an examination/assessment • Structured distance learning – leading/not leading to examination or assessment • Attend a programme and course leading/not leading to examination or assessment Publications, materials, articles, papers • Write in-house textbooks, teaching materials etc • Write text books, teaching materials etc for publication • Write a book • Evaluation of materials for an in-house project • Review and pilot materials for a publisher • Preparation of an article or a paper for an in-house or external professional journal • A discussion paper or report for own department Job enrichment • Work shadow • Visit other schools/institutions to find out about a successful innovation or just to see how they things • Share jobs • Job enrichment schemes (expanded responsibilities/tasks/roles etc.) ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Observation, mentoring • Be tutored by peers, be a mentee • Tutor peers, be a mentor • Team teach/ team work • Be observed by tutors, mentors or colleagues and participate in a feedback session • Observe tutors, mentors or colleagues and participate in a feedback session • Managerial observations of own performance • Self-observation Professional enquiry projects • Action research, classroom-based exploratory teaching projects • Job log or journal • Experimental and innovative planning documents and planning projects • Analysis of sections of students’ journals • In-depth case studies • Evaluation schemes It’s unlikely that we would all of the above For example not all of us are talented enough to write a book However, many of these things are possible and can be extremely beneficial Some of the above are discussed in more detail below Associations, meetings, committees Following are some information and links to two professional organisations that you might find useful ASOCOPI (Asociacion Colombiana de Profesores de Ingles) is the only officially established teacher association in Colombia ASOCOPI was founded in Bucaramanga in February 1969 and officially approved by Resolution issued by the Ministry of Education in April 1969 The Association moved its headquarters to Bogota in 1995 Currently, ASOCOPI is affiliated to TESOL International and IATEFL, it has 210 registered members and it is governed by a Board of Directors Every year ASOCOPI organises a large national conference (around 1,500 teachers attend) At present, ASOCOPI is based in the Centro Colombo Americano in Cali For more information on this organisation and for details of how to become a member go to the ASOCOPI website: http://www.geocities.com/asocopi/ ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development IATEFL - International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language Founded in the UK in 1967, it now has over 3,500 members in 100 different countries throughout the world Membership is open to anyone involved in the English Language Teaching industry and members include teachers, lecturers, teacher trainers, academic managers, researchers and institutions For more information and details of how to join go the website: http://www.iatefl.org/ Conferences, seminars, fairs, courses See above ASOCOPI holds an annual national conference, details of which can be found on the ASOCOPI website Observation, mentoring You will have seen from doing this course how useful peer observations can be for professional development Having a structured peer observation scheme in your school can be of enormous benefit to teachers, provided that it is carried out in a spirit of co-operation and mutual benefit • Peer observation for continuing professional development Peer observation is a tool for professional development for both the observing and the observed teacher Management remains uninvolved and uninformed about the outcome of the observation and the issues discussed The framework and objectives will vary according to the needs / wants of the teachers involved “One way in which teachers can learn from each other is by peer observation Peer observation is intended to be supportive rather than evaluative The teacher who is being observed decides what aspect(s) of her teaching will be the focus of the observation The purpose is developmental in that the observer helps the teacher to focus attention on aspects of her classroom behaviour.” Katie Head and Pauline Taylor (Head, 1997) ICELT distance unit 16 • Continuing Professional Development Why get involved? There are many good reasons for becoming involved in peer observation – some are listed below but you can probably think of others ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ Get new ideas on how to teach classes you have been teaching for years Get informal feedback on (an aspect of) your teaching Get feedback on a new technique / method / approach you are trying out Raise your awareness of what is happening in your classes / develop as a professional Gives you the opportunity to offer professional and/or emotional support to other (less experienced) teachers Gives you the opportunity to see a more experienced teacher in action See a new level / course taught before you attempt to teach it yourself Some less stressful preparation before a formal observation by your supervisor Develop / hone your skills as an observer with a view to becoming involved in teacher training / teacher supervision Fosters the development of a co-operative, supportive staffroom culture Task Look back over the list above and circle one or two that are relevant to or interest you Make action points indicating how you would begin this form of development • How does it work? You arrange to observe one of your colleagues This is by mutual agreement and you may decide together whether to have a specific focus for the observation (e.g instruction giving) or just a general overview of the lesson Most often roles would be reversed at a later date – though this is not necessary 10 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Observing Teachers Task Read the comments below that come from different teachers about observation As you read think about who you agree with most and why and whose opinion you disagree with I am never quite myself when I am being observed I always feel that I have to put on a special performance for the observer I try to make sure that not only my teaching but also my English is perfect so that makes it quite stressful Maria We are so busy at school that there is never really any time to talk to other teachers about new ideas Recently, another teacher asked me to observe her class and then she observed me teaching At first, I was so nervous about it but then I thought, "This is just what I have been waiting for - a chance to talk about teaching with somebody!" Claudia I think I am a bit strange because I love it when other teachers come into my class It is a great opportunity to get some feedback from another perspective Sometimes I ask another teacher to observe my class and comment on particular aspects such as the way I use the board or my instructions Danillo I don't like being observed - I feel like the other person is judging me Luz Dary I don't really mind being observed I think it is a good way of getting new ideas about teaching particular things or of how to handle difficult situations Paula 15 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Task On the ICELT course you have had experience of Observation for both development and evaluation Look at the notes in the column on observation for evaluation and then make your notes in the other column on observation for development to see how they compare The first two have been done as an example For Development For Evaluation Describes actions or behaviours Judges actions or behaviours May be done by a peer, a trainee, a parent … Is usually done by the teacher's superior or a teacher trainer on a particular course Is primarily used to judge the quality of the teacher's performance in the classroom Can be either very general or quite specific in focus - it tends to be general though Can take many different forms such as charts with grades and / or written comments Is usually done when the supervisor wants to (e.g at the end of a performance year) A discussion often takes place after the teacher has been observed, either immediately or an appointment is made for later 16 Continuing Professional Development ICELT distance unit 16 Peer Observation Task For your final peer observation task on the ICELT course you are required to design your own task (or select / adapt a task from a published source, for example Wajnryb, 1992) Use the task when observing a colleague After the observation you should complete a brief report on the observation and the task - see the following page ICELT Peer Observation Report Observer …………………………………… Candidate number …………………… Date of observation …………………… Level of class ………………………… Answer each of the following questions briefly What was the focus of the task you designed? Why did you choose this focus area? How useful was your task in helping you reflect on your chosen area? If you were going to use the task again, would you make any changes to it? What have you learnt about your own teaching by doing this task? 17 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Professional Enquiry projects ƒ Action Research What is action research? Put simply, it is research done in your own class, with your own students, to help you reflect on your own teaching To quote from Michael Wallace ‘It is done by systematically collecting data on your everyday practice and analysing it in order to come to some decisions about what your future practice should be.’ (Wallace, 1998) The research can be collaborative, i.e carried out with the collaboration of peers or a senior member of staff, or it can be carried out individually Action research is initiated because of a perceived problem in the classroom, which could be anything from a seeming lack of motivation, a problem with discipline, group dynamics, learning problems etc etc etc There are many books that can help you with practical ideas on how to carry out this kind of research including the following: ƒ ƒ ƒ ƒ Michael J Wallace, 1998, Action Research for Language Teachers, CUP David Nunan, 1992, Research Methods in Language Learning, CUP Melba Cárdenas, 2003, Classroom research by in-service teachers, Alan Pulverness (Editor) contributions to IATEFL 2003 Brighton Conference Jack C Richards and Willy Renandya, 2202 Methodology in Language Teaching, CUP ƒ Chapter 41, Research in your own classroom by Elizabeth Taylor, ƒ Chapter 12, Learner Strategy Training in the classroom: An action research study by David Nunan ƒ Teaching Journal Jim Scrivener contends that as teachers we should reflect on what happened after every class we teach He says ‘the first important steps towards becoming a better teacher involve an increased awareness about what I now and an openness to the possibility of change.’ He says that we should be clear about what it is we really in class and why He goes on to say ‘we can teach and teach Or we can teach and learn.’ (Scrivener, 1994) One way of helping us to reflect on our teaching is to keep a teaching journal or diary During the ICELT course you are encouraged to keep a journal to help you reflect on what you have learnt 18 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Task Discuss the following with your colleagues on the course: Did you keep a journal? Why/why not? If you did, how did it help you? Did you find it useful? Do you think you will continue to keep using it after the course is over? Reading and Reflection Now read Language teaching journals and reflective teaching by Kathleen M Bailey (IATEFL 2003 Brighton Conference Selections, Editor Alan Pulverness) Task Having read Kathleen Bailey’s article about teaching journals discuss the following with your colleagues on the ICELT Do you think a journal or diary could help you to develop as a teacher? In what way? Has reading the article inspired you to keep a journal/diary? Why/why not? How you think keeping a journal could help you to improve as a teacher? Do you think a collaborative journal would be beneficial? Why/why not? 19 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Language Task 4: Focus on the Teacher’s Language Task Read the task outline and guidelines below and underline any key words Task outline You are required to audio or video record yourselves teaching a lesson (or part of a lesson) and select from the recording a minimum of six samples of your classroom talk You should then comment on both positive and negative aspects of its accuracy and appropriacy for teaching The samples should show various aspects of language (e.g grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, function, discourse, and style) Length: 750 - 1,000 words Guidelines Briefly describe the learners (e.g age, level of English) and the lesson (e.g topic, objectives) Select a minimum of six different/varied samples of language that you used and describe the contexts in which the language was used (e.g the topic you were talking about, a student’s comment to which the teacher was responding) Comment briefly on each sample showing whether the language is accurate and/or appropriate for teaching the chosen lesson (or part of the lesson) and, in the case of inaccurate or inappropriate language, show insight into how you might have expressed yourself differently Commentary You may not have underlined or highlighted exactly the same words The point is that you are reading the rubric carefully and beginning to analyse the task that has been set You may also feel that you want to underline almost everything - again that doesn’t matter so long as you are interacting with the task and analysing it so that you are clear about what is being asked of you Task outline You are required to audio or video record yourselves teaching a lesson (or part of a lesson) and select from the recording a minimum of six samples of your classroom talk You should then comment on both positive and negative aspects of its accuracy and appropriacy for teaching The samples should show various aspects of language (e.g grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, function, discourse, style) 20 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Length: 750 - 1,000 words Guidelines Briefly describe the learners (e.g age, level of English) and the lesson (e.g topic, objectives) Select a minimum of six different/varied samples of language that you used and describe the contexts in which the language was used (e.g the topic you were talking about, a student’s comment to which the teacher was responding) Comment briefly on each sample showing whether the language is accurate and/or appropriate for teaching the chosen lesson (or part of the lesson) and, in the case of inaccurate or inappropriate language, show insight into how you might have expressed yourself differently You MUST complete a language task front cover and attach this to the front of your assignment 21 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Task Read the following assessment criteria for the language task very carefully Assessment PASS level tasks will fulfil all the following criteria General criteria Good control of lexis and grammar There may be some errors of language but these not greatly impair meaning or understanding Shows a satisfactory understanding of concepts and knowledge used to describe language Range and Use appropriate professional- Can convey information and ideas with to-professional discourse reasonable precision, though clarity Flexibility may be reduced when attempting to convey more complex ideas Adequate though limited repertoire of vocabulary and a restricted range of more complex structures Has a fairly good range of simple language but lacks flexibility and displays lexical limitations Organisation Select examples to exemplify The writing is adequately organised and coherent and content range of language Task requirements are adequately fulfilled although there may be some difficulty in expressing more complex points A reasonable range of reading sources that inform the writing has been adequately understood Inform a professional reader Some of the writing might require Audience greater concentration from the Awareness intended reader but overall it achieves its intended purpose for the specified audience Language accuracy and Language Awareness Task specific criteria Demonstrate appropriate understanding and use of terminology to describe teacher language 22 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Task Following are two samples of task Read them and assess them in terms of the criteria above Example Completed Task 4: example for assessment purposes The subject of this paper involves a brief analysis and subsequent reflection on my own teacher talk during a lesson in which seventeen students at upper-intermediate level were supposed to practise collocations with make and and talk about male and female stereotypes One of my aims is that of, after analysing these samples, defining some aspects that can be improved in my in-class language At the beginning of the class, I asked the students some questions about the last exercise they had done in the previous class so as establish a link with the exercise they were going to next: T: “Do you remember we completed these expressions using ‘do’ or ‘make’?” S: “Yes.” T: “Did I ask you to tick the activities that are more frequently done by men than by women?” S: “No.” T: “Can you that now? (pause) Please tick the activities in both columns that are more frequently done by men than by women.” By asking the students questions, I could focus their attention on the instructions more easily, as well as set them in the activity again However, I would certainly have been more straightforward if I had just asked the students to tick the activities that are more frequently done by men, limiting all the sequence of questions above to only one sentence Besides, it was unnecessary to repeat the instruction after the question “Can you that now?”, since all the students seemed to have understood what they were supposed to Another instance in which the repetition of ideas could have been avoided was in “I would like you to have a look at exercise on page 113 Look at page 113, exercise Think about your family, who does the activities, these activities (showing the exercise in the book), in your family? There is an example here ” The repetition of ideas in the instructions above might have made the activity sound more complex than it actually was The instructions would have been clearer and more objective if I had said, “I would like you to have a look at exercise on page 113 Who does these activities in your family? There is an example here ” It is undeniably true that teachers modify their language in order to conform to the level they are teaching, for example, by being selective as to the vocabulary items and structures they use during the class Changes in intonation patterns may also occur to facilitate comprehension Speech modification certainly took place in “You have decided if the activities are done by a man (pause) or by a woman.” Although the utterance was clearly pronounced, the exaggerated rising intonation with which the word “man” was pronounced caused it to sound unnatural An unnatural intonation pattern also occurred in “So (pause), now (pause), I would like you all to repeat the sentences.” and in “So (pause), have a look at the text.” 23 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development In the utterances above, the pauses after the words “so” and “now” did not have the purpose of facilitating comprehension as in the previous sample In all probability, I made those pauses so as to gain time to choose suitable vocabulary and structures to give the instructions Nevertheless, again, had the rising intonation with which the words “so” and “now” been less emphatic, the utterances would have sounded more natural and therefore more characteristic of authentic speech On some occasions, speech modification on the teacher’s part may occur even to generate students’ self-correction or reformulation of inappropriate utterances, as after a student said, S: “Some women like their husbands to bring money to them and accommodation with the situation.” T: “So, you mean that some women like being supported by their husbands?” S: “Yes, they prefer their husbands to support the family.” Had it been an ordinary conversation, I would certainly not have repeated S’s idea, let alone stressed the word “supported” Notwithstanding, it was effective because the student was able to successfully reformulate his previous, inappropriate utterance Most of the teacher talk in this lesson, however, did not present modifications for teaching purposes, like stressing some words or pausing to facilitate comprehension Instructions were given using natural pronunciation and intonation, which, in combination with context, helped to get meaning across, as in “I’m going to show you some gapped sentences and you are supposed to complete them using or make.” Despite the fact that the sentence above was uttered with natural pronunciation, intonation and speed, and that the students may not have heard the adjective “gapped” before, they could clearly understand the instruction The students most probably inferred the meaning of “gapped” when they saw the sentences In all likelihood, students not only learn from their textbooks and the activities they in the class, but also from authentic communicative interactions in the classroom, either with their peers or with the teacher As Scott Thurnbury put it in his “Teachers Research Teacher Talk” at the UCLES Diploma TEFLA Conference, London, 1996, “ it is not so much the presence or absence of the so-called ‘communicative activities’ as the quality of interaction in the classroom that determines the degree of authenticity of the language learning process ” All in all, it is safe to say that teacher-student interactions during the class in question were considerably more successful when instructions and questions were directed to students in a more natural way Avoiding repetition of ideas to confirm comprehension and using less forceful pronunciation and intonation would definitely help me to interact in a more authentic Example way with my students Word count: 931 24 Continuing Professional Development ICELT distance unit 16 Completed Task 4: example Group Profile for assessment purposes I have recorded myself teaching an intermediate two group (ALTE level 2) There are only five students in the group, one adult and four teenagers Since it is a morning group, the atmosphere in class requires dynamic attitudes from me This influences my speaking in this specific class, mainly in terms of intonation Brief description of the lesson This was the first lesson of unit in the students’ course book, which deals with festivals and parties I chose to start it with a brief discussion about festivals This was then followed by a video sequence about Las Fallas, a Spanish festival that happens to be the subject of the piece of reading they had afterwards in the book After reading the text, we worked on its vocabulary, focusing on Phrasal Verbs, the language aim of the lesson Samples of teacher’s language When listening to the recorded lesson I realised there are good samples of language used by myself However, some others might cause the learners to misunderstand me or even hinder their learning process The following paragraphs contain pieces of my production in that particular lesson, their context and a brief comment of analysis a No, dear, the other two pictures show Carnival in Brazil and the Chinese New Year which have nothing to with Spain That was the answer I gave to a student who asked me whether he should consider pictures on a different page to a certain exercise By using the relative pronoun in authentic communication to a student I believe I am exposing the learners to the language they have been learning b If you don’t know the meaning of a word, get a dictionary (rising intonation) Before asking the students to read a short text, I provided them with some dictionaries This was not the only time I had an intonation slip I should not have emphasised the ending of the sentence as it is not the proper intonation for that statement c Could you tell me whether you went to the airport to see your sister off when she went to England? Before asking the students about phrasal verbs, I asked some questions about their own lives using the phrasal verbs we would focus on In this particular example, I was improvising because a student had just mentioned that her sister had gone to England d Now you can open your course books to check your answers on page 59 I was giving instructions to the follow-up of an exercise they had just done Although we are supposed to make instructions clear, it does not mean I should stress all the underlined words All those words were emphasised; also, I made a short pause after each of them, which does not exist, in a natural flow of speaking 25 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development I’d like you to match the phrasal verbs to their meanings… Find a meaning to the phrasal verb, ok? Once more, I was giving them instructions to an exercise focusing on vocabulary There are two different problems here The first one is that it is not necessary to repeat the instructions after giving them I could, at least, have checked their understanding before saying it again I later found out it was not the first time I made this mistake The second problem was transforming the plural phrase phrasal verbs into its singular As there were nine distinct phrasal verbs, I should have kept the plural form f So, what are we doing next class? … Are you going to finish reading the book? … Ok, I’ll bring some extra exercises After assigning some homework I checked their understanding by using the structures we would be studying on the following day I like to that in order to make sure students are often exposed to something beyond what they have already studied I also consider the fact that extending language much beyond what they can understand may cause communication to fail Conclusion Having listened to the recording I realised there is a lot for me to improve in terms of intonation when talking to students I tend to stress far too many words in a sentence when I feel I need to call their attention Also, the intonation varies according to my intentions in class These features characterise the Brazilian Portuguese speech which I am used to However, as a teacher I should some further work on that Perhaps I could enrol in a pronunciation course in order to have proper feedback on my needs On the other hand, by using an appropriate language for the level and the language items the students have been learning I think I provide them with good samples of spoken language The experience of recording myself teaching has now brought me a new route to keep on studying and developing my own language skills 822 words 26 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development Commentary Example Language accuracy and language awareness The writer has very good control of lexis and grammar There are no significant language errors Range and flexibility The writer can express herself with clarity and precision The writer has a very good range of lexis and structures Organisation and content The writing is skilfully organised and coherent The task has been excellently fulfilled within the word limit Audience awareness The writing and organisation are fully appropriate and helpful to the intended audience Grade: Distinction Example Language accuracy and language awareness The writer has very good control of lexis and grammar There are very few significant errors Range and flexibility The writer can express a suitable range of ideas with clarity and precision Organisation and content The writing is well organised and coherent The content is appropriate Audience awareness The writing does not present difficulties for the intended audience The organisation and language choices are generally appropriate and helpful General Comments The writing fulfils the task effectively Grade: Merit We hope that this example will give you a better idea of how to approach language task four Good luck! 27 ICELT distance unit 16 Continuing Professional Development _ References Cosh, J 2003 Watching Me Watching You IATEFL Teacher Development SIG Newsletter - Issue 2/03 Edge, J 1992 Co-operative development Longman Faneslow, J F 1999 Let's see: contrasting conversations about teaching In Richards & Nunan Head, K and Pauline Taylor 1997 Readings in Teacher Development Heinemann Maingay, Peter 1988 Observation for Training, Development or Assessment in Duff, T (ed) 1988 Nunan, David 1992 Research Methods in Language Learning CUP Randall, Mark with Barbara Thornton 2001 Advising and Supporting Teachers CUP Richards, J & Nunan, D 1999 Second Language Teacher Education CUP Richards, Jack C & Renandya Willy A 2002 Methodology in Language Teaching CUP Scrivener,Jim 1994 Learning Teaching Macmillan Heinemann Singh, D 2003 Peer Observation (Unpublished paper given at Bogota Book Fair – Follow up workshop to National ELT Conference – 25 04 03) Velasco, Maria Consuela M A 2003 ICELT end-of-course feedback (Unpublished) Wajnryb, Ruth 1992) Classroom Observation Tasks CUP Wallace, Michael J 1998 Action Research for Language Teachers CUP Woodward, Tessa 2004 Ways of Working with Teachers TW 28 Continuing Professional Development ICELT distance unit 16 FEEDBACK on continuing professional development unit How long did it take you to work through this unit? Less than hours About hours More than hours In general, how did you find the unit? Good OK Poor Was the level of the material? Too challenging About right Too easy Please assess the overall presentation of the unit Good OK Poor Please assess the clarity of the writing in the unit Good OK Poor Please write any other comments you have here Thank you for taking time to complete this form We appreciate your comments 29