2013

Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence

Final Paper
Communicative Competence, and Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels.
How teachers solve some of the most common complains that students do in their communicative competences. Also how teachers affront teaching across age and proficiency levels.

Moises Ramirez

Moises Ramirez
1

Dec.

02nd,

2013

Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence 1. In a chart, using the language function "COMPLAINING" describe what and how you will develop each of the four elements of communicative competences (grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, strategic) in your students. Highlight all elements per competence; for example, when dealing with the grammatical competences, sub area: lexicon, write the most useful phrases that are used to complain. Communicative Competence Grammatical Sub-areas Morphology Language function Complaining Description/Solution

Teacher, I dont understand the ER ending and also I dont know how to use it.

Syntax

Teacher, how is present continuous used?

In this case, the student is having problem understanding the comparative form of the adjectives, and how to make the comparative form by adding ER also he does not know the rules of the ER. / The teacher will give some resources to the student explaining what the comparative form is with emphasis that this form is only applied to one and two syllable adjectives and also the rules of the comparative form. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/comparativeforms-of-adjectives/ The student is facing a problem understanding the usage of the present continuous structure; the student is not able to use this grammatical structure properly. / The solution is to explain the student the situation in which this structure is used and the elements of this structure by giving him a website where this structure is explained. http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentc ontinuous.html The student has not understood the essay format that the teacher explained he is confused about the essay and he is supposed to do. / The teacher will present to the student some information and the steps to create an effective essay. (Syal & Jindal, 2007) http://www2.actden.com/writ_Den/Tips/essay/ index.htm
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Phonology

I dont underhand the structure of the essay that you want me to present.

Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence Sociolinguistic Sub-areas Semantics

Teacher, why someone told me its a piece of cake!? When we were not talking about bakery.

Morphology

Teacher, why some people say wanna instead of want to?

Pragmatics

Teacher, why did she tell me break a leg when I was going to perform my presentation?

The student has problem understanding idiomatic expressions or idioms that are phrases that the student interprets literally, and that is why he always misunderstands what other says when they use these idiomatic expressions. / The teacher will give the student a list of idiomatic expressions with their respective meaning and context and also a brief description of what the idioms are and how to use them. http://www.idiomsite.com/ The student cannot understand informal abbreviations he heard an informal expression but he is not sure how this new word was made. / The teacher gives the student a list of informal abbreviations and explains with and explanation of what they are. http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/contrac tions-informal.htm In this situation this student thinks her friend wished bad luck but the student cannot understand the context of this typical phrase before a performance. / The teacher explains the student the context where this phrase is used and what it means. (Wardhaugh, 2011)

Strategic Sub-areas Semantics

Teacher when I am speaking I repeat always you know

Phonology

Teacher when I dont know how to say

Due to the lacking of vocabulary and also fluency the student uses very frequently filler you know that in some cases can annoy people and make difficult to him to interact with others. / Read books online and watch TV shows in English in order to get more vocabulary, also speak alone to improve fluency because one of the things this filler is so frequently is stress or anxiety while speaking with others. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/ http://www.allmovie.com/ The lack of technical words is very common in students who are learning English and they try to say something in others words but sometimes is
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Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence something I try to say it in other words but it is hard hard. / The student has to look for in a dictionary, definitions of words so he can have a better vocabulary to describe words and also know its synonyms. (S. McMahon, 2002) http://dictionary.reference.com/

Discourse Sub-areas Phonetics

Did you say cat or cut? I cant distinguish the difference

Coherence

Pragmatics

The students cannot identify the difference in pronunciation in minimal pairs, to the student is hard to know which word the teacher is saying. / The teacher gives the students a list of minimal pair with audio and asks the student to read and listen to the correct pronunciation. http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/min imal-pairs.htm Teacher my The student is not able to give their speech sense classmates say which means there is no coherence in what he says. that I speak / with no sense The student must record himself in order to identify their problem and this will make him conscious of the lacking of coherence. Teacher I think The student cannot use body language when I am very tense speaking which makes him feel insecure while when I speak I speaking and makes others lose interest of his do not move speech. / any muscle The teacher shows the student a video showing the importance of body language in discourse.

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Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence 2. Explain how are you going to design a lesson plan when facing the Leaner Variable I: Teaching Across Age levels; who are the learners? Do a lesson plan for each type of learner taking in consideration the structure of a lesson plan. These three lesson plans were made taking into consideration these three variables of the learners, which is teaching across age levels and this levels are according to (Dobrila & Skela, 1998) are children, teenagers, and adults. The way these three levels are taught is different, even though the topic is the same as it is noted in the three lesson plans. The first lesson plan is made according to children need, for example children are more like learning through playing so that is why in the first lesson plan is adapted to be more like a funny class due to the teacher had chosen a cartoon video to make children feel more comfortable as if they were at home watching their cartoon in a normal day. Other thing is that this lesson plan is focused in doing listening and visual activities (role-play, video, questions and answers) rather than rather than make the children read things that even in their native language have difficulty to read correctly. Also the language is taught inductively not deductively, this can be notable when teacher is using the structures and makes student induce how the language work in order to refer an object that is near or far (this, that) moreover the teacher does not use technical expression like demonstrative pronouns or grammatical structures, he is just using the language so the students can use it as the teacher does. The next lesson plan is designed according to the needs of teenagers, children in one hand learn by playing and with colorful and showy stuff but teens, on the other hand, learn a little different, the teacher provides a funny video in order to catch students attention, different from children that just watch a colorful cartoon and easily the teacher can catch their attention but teens are more like to laugh but this is where the teacher must be careful trying to avoid embarrassing their students and this is why the teacher first asks student to repeat after him chorus rather than individually, if the students repeat all in one voice they are less like making fun of each other mispronunciation. Finally, the lesson plan designed for adults, it is less active but more passive due to adults are much more mature than teens, so it is less difficult to catch their attention because they cannot easily be distract from the class because their matureness tells them to behave in the class. These lesson plan have opening (how you introduce the topic Warm-up activity), sequencing (every activity in the class has to follow the previous one) pacing (organize and time everything you are going to do in the class) and closure (the way you end up the class and identify what the students have learnt wrap-up activity) (Lockhart, 1994)

Moises Ramirez

Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence Octava Avenida Norte, Colonia Cruz, Usulutn, El Salvador. Telfonos: (503) 2662 - 0306; Correo electrnico: ceanitaguerrero@hotmail.com Teachers name: Noe Moises Ramirez Castillo Date: Dec. 02nd, 2013 Time: 45 min. Subject: English Section: A Unit: 3 Age Level: 6-7 Level: A 2 Lesson Plan Topic Object s in the classro om Warm-up Objectives activity Cartoon video showing names of some objects in the classroo m and a song using the language structure s 3 min To know the objects in the classroom Language Structures What is this? What is that? These are ___ Those are ___ Activities Teacher Says the names of some objects in the classroom using the physical object using language structures this is that is
Pretends to be two men (switching between characters asking-answering) one of them using the language structure what is this? What is that? and the other one using this is ___ that is ___ Asks students about objects using what is this? What is that? Asks students to ask each other using language structure about objects in the classroom

Timing 10 min

Students Listen to the names of the objects and get the meaning through watching the physical object
Pay attention to the teachers conversation

Wrap-up activity Students do a match exercise where they are supposed to match the picture of the objects with their respectiv e names 5 min

10 min

Say the name of the objects Answer using language structure

7 min

10 min

Moises Ramirez

Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence

Octava Avenida Norte, Colonia Cruz, Usulutn, El Salvador. Telfonos: (503) 2662 - 0306; Correo electrnico: ceanitaguerrero@hotmail.com Teachers name: Noe Moises Ramirez Castillo Date: Dec. 02nd, 2013 Time: 45 min. Subject: English Section: A Unit: 3 Age Level: 14 Level: A 2 Lesson Plan
Topic Objects in the classro om Warmup activity Funny video about a classro om joke 2 min Objectiv es To describe the objects in the classroo m Language Structures What is this? What is that? These are ___ Those are ___ Activities Teacher Calls attention to the objects in the video saying their respective names and make students repeat after him Asks students to tell names in chorus and individually by pointing the objects in the video Makes the students do a brief conversation in couples using the language structures Helps giving them resources and monitors students Pays attention to students conversation makes observations and congratulates them Students Pay attention to the names in the video an repeat names after the teacher in chorus Says the names of the objects in the video when the teacher points them, in chorus and individually Do the conversation in couples Ask teacher for help and to check their conversations before passing in front and use resources Perform conversation 12 min Timin g 7 min Wrap-up activity Students make observations about their classmates participation s and share their experience of the conversation they performed 7 min

7 min

10 min

Moises Ramirez

Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence

Octava Avenida Norte, Colonia Cruz, Usulutn, El Salvador. Telfonos: (503) 2662 - 0306; Correo electrnico: ceanitaguerrero@hotmail.com Teachers name: Noe Moises Ramirez Castillo Date: Dec. 02nd, 2013 Time: 45 min. Subject: English Section: A Unit: 3 Age Level: Adults Level: A 2 Lesson Plan Topic Warm-up activity The teacher shows objects and students try to say the names, all this to identify previous knowledge of objects in a classroom 5 min Objectiv es To describe the objects in the classroo m Languag e Structure s What is this? What is that? These are ___ Those are ___ Activities Teacher Shows a video of objects in the classroom Students Watch the video Timin g 3 min Wrap-up activity The teacher makes a round table and ask students to discuss about the paper 13 min

Objects in the classroo m

Read aloud Gives students a paper about description and demonstrative pronouns with examples about examples about objects in the demonstratives classroom e.g. This is a pen pronouns Share new vocabulary and asks the teacher about new words Pay attention to teachers explanation
8

12 min

Asks students about new vocabulary in the paper Calls attention to structures and makes difference between this and that, these and those with some objects in the classroom
Moises Ramirez

5 min

Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence 3. Explain how are you going to deal if you have class with the Variable II Teaching Across Proficiency levels. According to (Brown, 2007) there are three proficient levels that you must be aware of: beginner, intermediate, and advance and in this case three factor are going to be taken into consideration to teach each of these levels: Students cognitive learning process, teacher talk, and techniques. Beginners cognitive learning is characterized for learning through repetition a limited number of words, phrases and sentences. As a teacher, this is frustrated because, in a way, English teachers want to speak English but with beginners it is hard to sustain a conversation. As teachers of beginners, the teacher must be patient and know that students learn the new language little by little, just think how children acquire the language, it takes over four year for the child to have a flowing conversation. So as foreign learners it is going to be hard to a beginner to learn a new language and as a teacher you must think about their cognitive process in the learning process of a language. The best way to teach beginners is focusing in repeating the words and structures and after give words meaning and give structures explanation, meaning through realia and structures must be taught inductively, fist use language structures in any context and then call attention to these structures usages. (Larsen-Freeman, 2000) In intermediate students cognitive learning the author says that is where some the automatic process has begun and teacher must keep this process evolving until this automaticity is fully achieve. As teacher, we must continuous using the target language always and correct students mistakes in private if possible. This stage of intermediate is crucial because is where students will know if they are capable to learn a new language and teacher just must motivate students and help them to improve their skills at this level if we as teachers were using the native language, the native language must be completely avoid to generate this English environment that every foreign learner needs. (SDS, 2013). At the end, advance students seem like they have achieve atomicity but not they have a long way to achieve it and the teachers task is to assist in the ongoing att empt to automate the second language and this can be achieve easier through this language environment. Be care full at these level because students will feel as they do not need the teacher anymore keep working in showing them that they always will need you, every class teach them something new even if it does not have nothing to with the class but they always will listen to, and be sure that is something interesting. And also show them new knowledge about the new language remember that as the teacher you must know more than students The second factor that must be taken into consideration is teacher talk, with beginners, be careful with pronunciation and what you say because you are shaping people and if make one mistake you have done many mistakes and you can count them
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Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence is the among of students you have. At this level you must take advantage of the factor that they know no English, they are like empty pages were you are going to begin a new story and be sure that story starts well. Intermediates, on the other hand, be more careful with your mistakes because at this level they already know how to identify who is a good teacher and who is not, who really know English and who does not, try to speak only English and motivate them to speak and communicate in the target language. Teacher talk, at advance level, must be perfect try to avoid mistakes because students for the minimal mistake you make they will think you are not a good teacher and there begins mistrustfulness, at this level as teacher focus on making the foreign langue as if it were your students and your native language by making many activities that can catch their attention and you must innovate. The third factor, techniques, in beginners obviously the tasks must be short and simple because there will be a lot of misunderstanding and also question from the students so as teacher we must know the level to take into a count techniques complexity. Always make activities as simple as possible that always are focused in communicating in this case communication will be hard because of the lack of language but at least some words or phrases that students says are worthy. With intermediates, what happens is that as teacher you must increase the complexity, because if you do not do it you will bore students and in a way insult there intelligence. Finally, advance students can develop almost any activity you want to do or you can develop almost any technique you want because there level is appropriate to those activities that demand a high level of analysis and complicity, make activities that challenges students to do their best and make them feel like you still have a lot of things to teach them and they have a lot of things to learn. But avoid making them frustrated with hard activities with no explanation. (Brown, 2007, pgs. 102, 109)

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Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence 4. Choose digital resources you will include and describe how it will help students learn English according to your lesson plans. Lesson Plan 1: Children Warm-up Activity, this video is used as an energizer to catch students attention with colorful images, this will help students with their pronunciation and also they will have meaning when the voice in the video says the names shows the object so they can see how the object the voice is saying looks like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7kK989HiRQ The students listen to and watch a song and video using the language structure, songs will help them to remember how to pronounce and also how they are going to answer the question what is this? What is that? More easier than if the teacher just pronounce them. http://enjoyenglish.free.fr/english/primaire/concentration/school/school_.html Wrap-up Activity, in this case the teacher gives students a match exercise where they are support to match the names of some objects with their respective image, this will help students to know how the names of the objects are written and also help the teacher to identify what the students have learnt. http://enjoyenglish.free.fry/english/primaire/concentration/school/school_.html Lesson Plan 2: Teenagers Warm-up Activity, here the teacher provides the students a funny video in a classroom so he can catch their attention and when the students attention is already catch the teacher points objects in the classroom and names them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rGrhDcBmYI Here the teacher gives students some resources to develop the task this resources will help students to use the vocabulary related with a classroom and they can use new words that in the class were not told. The teacher also gives this recourse to students to have more knowledge about almost all the possible object that could be in a normal classroom. http://www.slideshare.net/nedacastagnola/the-weather-presentation-849061 The teacher gives students description of the language structure so the students can use them in their conversation using the vocabulary given before. This will help students in the way of knowing how their conversation structure should look like. http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/pronouns-demonstrative.htm

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Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence Lesson Plan 3: Adults The students watch a video showing the objects in the classroom but this video is deferent as that for children because this is less showy and more focus in knowing the names rather than to catch their attention. The students will know pronunciation and meaning of the words that are spoken in the video so it will help them with pronunciation and meaning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr8lO3u94k0 This resource will also help students with their pronunciation and also with their reading, the pronunciation is focused while they read it aloud because reading aloud allows student to listen to their own pronunciation. This resource helps students to have an overview of the language structure and induce how they work. http://www.k12reader.com/demonstrative-pronouns/

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Teaching Across Age and Proficiency Levels Comunicative Competence References Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of Language Learning And Teaching. En H. D. Brown, Principles of Language Learning And Teaching (pp. 98, 103, 110). Longman Publishing Group. Dobrila, V., & Skela, J. (1998). Teaching English across age levels. V. Dobrila, & J. Skela, Teaching English across age levels (p. 27). Slovenia: V. Dobrila. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. D. LarsenFreeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (p. 27). NY: Oxford University Press. Lockhart, C. (1994). Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms. C. Lockhart, Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms (p. 114). NY: Cambridge University Press. S. McMahon, A. M. (2002). An Introduction to English Phonology. A. M. S. McMahon, An Introduction to English Phonology (p. 1). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. SDS. (2013). mainframes. Recovered December 1st, 2013, of mainfraimes: http://www.mainframes.com/le.htm Syal, P., & Jindal, D. V. (2007). AN INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS: Language, Grammar and Semantics. P. Syal, & D. V. Jindal, AN INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS: Language, Grammar and Semantics (p. 77). PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Wardhaugh, R. (2011). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. R. Wardhaugh, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (p. 13). UK: John Wiley & Sons.

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