Lense: What we’re going to do until the end of the year.

How are we going to round up the year?

We have 8-9 classes ahead. The authorities say we need to prioritize topics and that’s what
we’re going to do.

SKILLS is a topic that IT’S A MUST!!

Skills and many other aspects which are collateral to it.

Another important topic EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT.

It’s essential to follow the classes. Make a comment on google classroom.

Chapter 16. Teaching language skills.

The more input and output the better.

Skills have to do with action.

You may give your Sts a lot of activities/exercises everybody may think you’re a teacher who
make them work. However, if you don’t ask them to write or speak, you’re not teaching the
language properly. Students of every level can write and speak with the right scaffolding. Baby
steps. Little by little. It’s mostly the teacher’s pre conception that beginners cannot do so.

We can usually group skills in several ways:

1) Listening and speaking - reading and writing ---- Natural order

2) Listening speaking – reading and writing. ----- receptive and productive skills. (NOT
PASSIVE AND ACTIVE. All skills are active. Students use their cognitive processes inside
their minds to make sense of what they are reading.)

VARIETY we need to bring to the class all possibilities of circumstances of

reading/writing/speaking /listening.

Transformation / follow-up activities:

When sts read sth they have a lot of content that appear in sth that we have read / listened to.

Sts can transform what they read/heard into sth else.

If they listened to a song, they can now write a story based on the song or Perform a roleplay
about it (If they write it down it would be unnatural)

If they’ve read an article or add. They can prepare a speech, create a commercial, etc.

CONTENT.

As regards skills, it is crucial. It should be present every time we ask our sts to use their skills.
All activities should be contextualised, they all should have a purpose.
In general, we are tempted to do what the textbook says. However, they should first be
contextualised, in order to bring meaning to the activity and, therefore, motivation. Sts will
know that what they are going to do is related to real life.

The difference between authentic material vs unauthentic material

Authentic material: any kind of material that native speakers have. It’s not created for teaching
purposes. Raw material

+ it’s genuine, real, authentic

- It’s difficult.

Graded material: created for teaching purposes.

+ it’s easy, it’s graded.

- It may sound artificial/ not real

Whenever we use our skills, we need to bear in mind these different kinds of materials. Variety
is key. To reach a balance.

Since authentic material is difficult, try to use short chunks. When using material for teaching
purposes we can use longer excerpts.

We should never ask sts to listen/read sth just because it’s in the book.

POETRY:

We don’t usually ask them to read/write poetry. However, since they are usually shorter, it’s
an alternative worth exploring

3 STAGES

Before, during and after

BEFORE: making sts acquainted with what’s coming. We need to make a bridge that goes from
sts background knowledge /general knowledge to light, to make sense of what they’re
reading/listening to.

2 ways of creating the bridge

TOP DOWN APPROACH OR BOTTOM UP APRROACH. (opposite directions)

Both are OK. Ways of connecting what is new to what the sts already know.

TOP DOWN APPROACH from background knowledge to what’s new

BOTTOM UP APRROACH going from the text to what they already know.

THEY’RE A MUST
Pre reading tasks: may sound like a contradiction: if we want them to find the text easy, the
task may make it more complicated.

It’s important because it narrows down their attention to what’s going to happen.

It should be very short and simple: read the story and pay attention to this: is Mary happy?
What was her favourite present? Students can predict. We can activate cognition before the
task itself.

DURING:

We need to anticipate what’s going to happen. We click on play and there’ll be a thousand
different noises, we need to anticipate this and ask them for silence. Listening is a difficult skill,
even for native speakers.

Reading: we won’t ask them to read in a loud voice. We want them to focus on understanding
the content.

We ask sts to read, we won’t read what they’re reading aloud. We need them to decode the
symbols.

AFTER:

We’ve read/listened to sth, we have information, we need to do sth with it. Transform the
genre.

PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:

If we ask them to speak/write about sth out of the blue, they will lack confidence, vocabulary,
structure.

Select topics to bring to class carefully. Careful Scaffolding is necessary

Writing: in the past it was considered as an individual, instant activity. Nowadays, it is viewed
as collaborative - cooperative and process writing.

BEFORE: First, we do a brainstorm, without asking them to hand in the same day

Then, they will exchange papers in order to have a wider audience and help them edit the task.

It’s time consuming and hard but it’s rewarding.

DURING: the editing moment.

A real life task. Avoid artificial situations.

AFTER: how did they feel about it (the ones who were participating and the ones speaking)?
The material needs to incorporate other kinds of materials such as adds, encyclopaedias, the
web, etc. Replicating what native speakers do. VARIETY.

Integration: we cannot work with skills in isolation. They are communication skills.

Questions: variety, true or false, multiple choice, different titles, etc. they must be dynamic.

How is it that my students are good readers but they don’t read what I give them? They have
not chosen it. They are not involved

VERY IMPORTANT:

When talking about skills we must remember they are the USE OF LANGUAGE. We don’t use
the skills to teach a particular teaching point.

Avoid choosing a text because there are many linguistic exponents. Practice the structure with
different exercises.

Do not choose the material because they will have to produce sth in particular. That’s
systematization.

VOCABULARY:

Next Monday: experiment. At 6pm

We know that if there’re many words the sts do not understand, they will not understand the
meaning of it. Pre teach vocabulary for them to be able to tackle the text with confidence.

In the past, teachers were corseted, now we need to become more openminded and flexible,
focusing more on teaching.

Since the skills are so very important, we need to test them. We need to give them a mark. If
you test, they will see that it’s important.

This is the ABC to know before any exam

07-09
This refers to the way ours sts decode the system in the form of letters

We can understand because we have a background that let us make sense of this and because
we know the symbols
We can understand it because we have a background knowledge.

It is essential to make the connection between background knowledge and what we are
teaching.

The role vocabulary plays in reading

same text but with visual aid

Importance of images when reading

The more you can prepare before the reading that can pave the way before scaffolding the
better

using different fonts, bold, italics, (PARATEXTUAL) is helpful to understand a text

Asking questions that students can answer without understanding the text.

We have to ask questions that make students thinks. We have to avoid copy-paste questions.
They are not challenging.

1. The writer tried to talk to a patient but he/she was unable to do so.
2. The event takes place indoors
3. No.
4. The patient’s name
5. The writer might be a receptionist in a medical facility
6. It would depend on the writer’s job.

These types of questions open the door to many possibilities and encourages students to share
their ideas.

They are open ended questions which do not refer to a specific fact but to general ideas
Authentic material (you can tell because of the vocabulary used)

How does Tim feel?

Why is he reading?

Where does Tim live?

Why are they useful to work with?

Each panel has got a bit which is easy to write and to read.

They are really motivational. Students may think about superheroes, and other types which
they may be used to reading in their mother tongue.

They are fun because there’s a lot of variety, not just marvel superheroes. There are many
kinds.

They open the door to many interesting projects with the art teacher or the technology
teachers.

Whenever we work with other teachers the project automatically becomes more interesting.
Working with teachers from different fields opens up our minds
NEXT MONDAY: ZOOM PENNY UR’S BOOK (boxes)
Skills are the heart and soul of a language and, therefore, they have to be present

Reading, speaking, listening and writing: they all should be joined together/integrated among
them.

SKILLS ACROSS

We can associate the skills with CLIL because skills imply production, VALUES, ROCK POETRY,
LITERATURE, COMICS OR VIDEO

Student’s should receive input through receptive skills or produce output through productive
skills.
Sometimes we can show our st a video and give them sth to do while watching (like a written
activity) if that is the case, the activity should be short, clear, to the point, not complex at all.

Make students understand that it’s both FUN and WORK. Many st think that when they are
watching a video they can relax. It’s supposed to be fun but they will need to work.

We can work with already made videos (tv, internet, etc) or making videos: many interesting
outcomes. Most people have got a phone and they can exploit their creativity. They can write
a script, tape the action sequences and then they can keep on working on other aspects:
trailer, ads, etc.

There are several techniques to put into practice which can enrich the task: ONE DETAIL.

The key condition is that students are not supposed to know the video we’ll be working with.

If I choose a very popular move, they won’t be able to predict

or guess what happened before or what will happen later.

In one the st will watch the images without sound and predict/ explain what’s happening.

In the other one, they will just listen and do the same.

If it’s image on, sound off the movie should not be familiar with the movie, they will not be
able to predict.

If we work image off, sound on, we have to pay attention and choose carefully, choosing the
right scene with sound effects and or dialogue for the students to be able to work with

Class is divided in two: half of the class stays in the classroom where the video will be played.
One half only watches the movie without sound, then they change and the other half only
listen to it. Then we put all the group together and they will have to put together the whole
scene.

Scene with dialogue without sound

Students have to create a similar dialogue to the one they’ve seen. They have to create
something that matches the mood of the scene. Students should say the dialogue while the
actors are moving their mouths.

We show the images in fast forward for them to guess what the movie will be about.

Popular movies should not be chosen for this activity either.

Integrating skills with different topics in a cross curricular way.

Skills are there to be put into practice.

Videos are very fun to take into the class

They are motivating and easy to share. They are rich because many students will come up with
different ideas which will enrich the activity.

NEXT TOPIC:

SUPER IMPORTANT AND RELEVANT: ASSESMENT AND EVALUATION

Evaluation and new technologies and research.

1st PowerPoint General and deeper

2nd power point specific

Evaluation is necessary because it helps teacher make the necessary adjustments. One thing is
to evaluate and sth different is to grade. Both things are difficult. To top things off, the
difficulty increases when we realize we are part of a system which has certain requirements.

Usually tests try to show what students can’t do. This shouldn’t be this way. They should
reflect what students know and what they can do.

Those who cannot show they learnt that way, are made to repeat the year. We have a wall in
front of us.

How do we create a comprehensive way to evaluate our students?

Assessment helps to solve this.

A student which knows the subject but misbehaves vs a student who has difficulty but puts a
lot of effort to do things the right way.

In a final exam, a student who had a great performance vs a student who was never present.

measuring

Simpson’s episode.
Bart did not perform well in a test. Afterward he compares himself to Washington, and the
teacher realizes he knew.

Subject of knowledge vs subject of learning.

Freaky Friday: rubrics would have helped to show the teacher’s criteria

Many teachers believe that making difficult tests make their subjects as the subject. However,
evaluation should be a reflection of our teacher.

Tests should reflect the way you’ve been teaching. However, at the time of teaching, the
instruction for the exercises should be as clear, direct, plain, etc as possible

Students tend not to read properly in an exam (stress, etc)

Instructions should be to the point.

The quality and quantity of the test.

The teaching-learning cycle should allow students to appropriate the knowledge.

Before the exam we provide everything, during the exam they have to
Students can copy/cheat. If we focus on more creative
ways of testing students

If we create a test for this,

students cannot cheat.

A test should be a learning tool. They should feel that they’ve accomplished something
 we shouldn’t create sth farfetched.

Tests should not be considered as a punishment. They should be sth natural.

RUBRICS

In order to show the criteria a teacher has, to grade a test, we have two possibilities:

Rubrics or checklists

Rubrics are more complex. They can be exploited if we do sth else with them.

A rubric has the criteria on how the student got the mark.

It can be exploited when at the beginning of the unit the students and the teacher work
together, the students know where to focus their attention more precisely.

A checklist marks if sth was carried out or not

When we gave account of the grading of a test, we may have different points of view

It depends on the teacher. The grading criteria should be clear. Whether you do it after each
exercise or on an overall way is up to you.

Holistic: takes the test as a whole.

Formative focuses on the PROCESS, giving feedback so they can change what was wrong.

Summative focuses on the RESULT. Nothing can be done. Its final.

A test is a document. A test should look professional, neat, organised, FACE VALIDITY.
A crammed test doesn’t look professional, and students need space and clarity to think.

Tests can be controversial, so must have the proper heading: the name of the institution,
names, etc

A test should test what it’s supposed to test.

If you’re asking your sts to write what they did last weekend, and you correct aspects you
haven taught, it is not a valid instrument.

A test should be reliable, the results must be consistent

BEFORE

Revise and clarify doubts. Revise know and how they will be tested.

DURING:

Calm attitude. Organized. A stressed/anxious teacher projects his/her anxiety to the students.

Establish certain rules: if everybody speaks at the same time, it’s not a good testing
atmosphere.

AFTER:

The marking schemes. It is a complex task to achieve. To have a balance.

What topics are going to be included, how. Not individual isolated exercise but the test as a
whole.

There should be a balance between effort and mark. The topic should be taken into account as
well. Not every topic has the same difficulty

Avoid testing twice in the same test (two exercises evaluating the same). The results are not
going to be RELIABLE

Effects of the test: washback, backwash and feedback.

1st video Teacher on the verge of tears when he experiences technical issues.

2nd video 3 elder women try to take a selfie.

Everybody had to change everything all of a sudden. Whithout any previous notice.

Nowadays computers are no longer reserved for special professions and no longer take up a
whole room.
As we move forward in time, technological advances will be bigger and bigger. New
technologies bring different possibilities. We have to open our minds and restructure
ourselves. Nowadays, technology is part of our lives.
If students know a lot about each other because of social media, we’ll need to re-think some
activities that only make sense if they don’t.

Excess of technology can cause physical damage, such as nerve damage because of having our
heads forwards and down towards our phones.

new technologies allowed us to teach and have classes in 2020.

Nowadays everybody is tired, and students are tired of the new technologies in class as well.

Not allowing students to use their phones in class is obsolete.

Classes through technology have become transparent. Half in class and half in the students’
home.

These questions seem weird and they are, because nobody asked them before the pandemic.
At one time these were new technologies.

who uses what, how are they used and what for?
Most people would think those with books are studying and those with laptops are fooling
around. Those are pre-concepts because they could easily be studying.

It appears that human beings are going backwards instead of forward in evolution.
We could say that the person next to the lake is resting, but she could be working with a laptop
on her lap.

It has positive and negative aspects. It could be a Sunday morning and she could be working
when she shouldn’t.

The photo shows a computer lab. It appears to be a very modern school, technology seems to
be new. However the layout is that of a traditional school.

New technologies allow us to be connected to other people. We can have updated material.

We have young people on the left and older people on the right.

Digital natives vs digital immigrants: those born with technology vs those who had to make
adjustments to be able to use technology.

It creates a gap between teachers and students.

The way we think and perceive reality in a different way
Two different ideas with regards technology: those who hate technology, and those addicted
to it. Technophobia vs Technophile.

The relationship between digital natives and immigrants is present all the time.

The one who teaches and the one who learns has changed, they teach each other. A lot of
people do not like it. It may affect the relationship between students and teachers. It should
be embraced, it is natural. In many situations, students are way ahead of us.
It is not that the internet is like a library, in a library you have many books whose authors are
authentic, genuine. There is a certain order about it. Online we have everything crammed
together, like in a cabinet. However, the first hit is not more valid than the ones below.

Search engines are helpful to complete our ideas, or correct our spelling.

The same thing happens with copyright. Whenever they use material from the internet, they
must write the source.
Sometimes we find interesting material for our lessons. In this case instead of looking for what
we want to teach, we may find the site and the process would go the other way round.

Technology help us with skills, content and presentation. When our students read something
online, they may follow a hyperlink to a different site, and the reading is endless. We know
where it begins but not where it ends.

In listening, we have different activities, accents, etc.

New technologies allow us to write something for others to read it. There is a real use of the
language.

POSSITIVE ASPECTS:

NEGATIVE ASPECTS:
It is very expensive for schools, because of the cost of licences.

In Argentina most of our technology is old and very expensive.

It is time consuming to prepare the material

Many teachers do not feel confident with new technologies.

Studies show that when students do not write on a sheet of paper it affects the perception of
space

We all try to adjust ourselves to the different uses of technologies, and the different
psychological barriers that we may have.

We must look at the new technologies with critical eyes. Everything may be good or bad,
depending on how we use it.
 09-11-2020

Next class: REVISION AND POINTING OUT THE THINGS TO

KNOW FOR THE FINAL EXAM
This is the last topic we’re going to see this year.

After the class she Will upload some more material

What we do after our teaching training college.

What we can do in order to keep on improving our English and the teaching of the language.

Sometimes, when we finish 4th, we may think that’s the end of the road. It’s actually the
beginning. We need to keep on improving and enlarging everything we’ve already learnt.

When we look back, we’ll realize how much time and money we invested in the TTC. All the
effort we put into it. Everybody around us put some effort, as we accompanied us throughout
this process.

If we only look back on what we studied whitout improving anything, we will lose what we’ve
done.

Two aspects to consider

1. Our English
2. Everything related to teaching
A good strategy to keep our English updated, is teaching an advanced class. As we prepare the
class, you will refresh everything and speak English all the time.
Keep on learning. When you become a learner, you get rid of some vices you may have
acquired.

All teachers are researchers,

We put into practice different things and pay attention to results. We keep a record. We talk
to other teachers. We surf the internet without realising the time that has passed. (Aurea will
post an article)
Working in groups, helping each other, teamwork will help with all the different/difficult
situations we may encounter.

What if we want to do something different?

We can do a Licenciatura (there is no exact translation for this word), less than a master but
not it.
In the field of upper studies, the issue of long-distance studying is quite old.
In general, they can be divided into 4 fields:

Except for the one which deals with language and literature. Most of them have got most of
their subjects in Spanish. They are very nice subjects which help a lot, they enlarge what we’ve
learnt in the TTC.
OPTIONS (updated up to 2019)

It started many years ago, it has got both long distance and regular courses.
YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY’VE GOT A NUMERO DE RESOLUCIÓN

If you’re looking to become a headmaster o secretary job, you may look into gestión.

Most licenciaturas have around 10 subjects, and are divided into 2 years and a half. It is quite
demanding and there’s a lot of material to study.

In general, you also have some more time to prepare a trabajo integrador, tesina o tesis.

this is the one Aurea did

It has a common branch with general subjects and then 3 other branches which are specific for
each specialization
Aurea has doubts as regards how good it is as the organization and seriousness of the
organization.

Sometimes Licenciaturas change depending who is in charge.

Enfocada principalmente en literatura inglesa

Spanish for Foreigners.
These are just examples. They are the most common and popular

A piece of advice/ suggestion:

If you want to do a licenciatura, don’t start the licenciatura right away.
You need some time to explore teaching without the burden of studying at the TTC
It is something natural, you become more mature with language and teaching.
Once the knowledge and experience has sunk in, then it is time to start studying again, once
you’ve achieved the right amount of maturity.

NEXT MONDAY:
General conclusion of this year, teaching and learning in this context.
We’re going back to revise all the topics, and what we MUST know for the final exam.
 16/11/20

Revision and exam talk

2020 has been a breakthrough. We had to adjust ourselves, find different ways of teaching, all
of a sudden.

Everybody had to adapt to the new context we are experiencing.

Everything is new, and we must keep a balance between synchronic classes and material
posted for students to read and work on

Exploring new platforms and changing the way of working.

At the beginning it was only for 2 weeks but it got longer and longer. We had to adapt due to a
dynamic reality.

The first recommendation was to maintain the bond with our students. To support them.

In the second place, teaching. It was interesting, we can analyse it from both points of views
and students and teachers.

In the future, learning will never be the same. We’ll probably have a blend of teaching
methods.

It became more difficult:

Trying to really know if our students have learnt and internalised what we are
teaching.

The only way is the student’s commitment, to read, study and do cooperative activities with
other students.
This year, the syllabus has been divided into 5 important points (CURRICULUM PRIORITARIO)

The first 2 are extremely relevant for good teaching

Nº3 is essential because testing is difficult and hard to achieve

The last 2 relate to teachers.

New techniques, research, that we can use

CONTENT
 In the booklet, the first pages are about CLIL.

Tkt, international exams, clil vs designed for teaching purposes

Literature: Very important with adolescents. It brings characters and plots with which st
identify.

Fables, is in between literature and values. They are well known and popular. The
understanding is easy and they have a moral.

Rock poetry, article by Claudia ferradas

Hypertext and hypotext. Choosing songs not just for the melody and tunes but also for the
lyrics.

Through content we are moving away from old ways of teaching. IT gives depth to what we are
working with. It provides us with new opportunities. IT is relevant to what we do in class and
we upgrade our practice.

The activities which derive from working with content have real meaning.
Students are more intelligent and deserve good education.

We work with something real, which will motivate students.

Our job is helping students become critical thinking for them to become better citizens.

SKILLS

UNIT 16-19 FROM JEREMY HARMER

Skills are a must in our classes. Real people do not speak by filling in the gaps. They
communicate by producing the language, oral or written.

Everybody can work with skills, even beginners.

Skills are a must because they imply action, when students do, they learn.

Students need a lot of variety: of tasks and of materials. Because this is what native speakers
do. From shopping list to comics, from TV to music.

When you have present perfect or comparatives, the best way to test that is with some kind of
production, not just complete the sentences, or sth like that.

Material from booklet and from the licenciatura Universidad de Quilmes.

Remember that testing/assessing is a complex task if we want to do it right.

We may follow the theory which is very nice but then the system asks us to do things which do
not agree with that.