SPEER

Spotlight on Primary
English Education
Resources
A
ARReessoouurrccee TTeexxtt ffoorr
Egyptian Primary English Educators,
Supervisors and Teachers
Zeinab El Naggar, Reda Fadel, Raga Hanaa,
Mary Lou McCloskey and Barbara Thornton,
Editors
with
Kamal El Fouly and Linda New Levine,
Guest Editors

Published by
The Integrated English Language Program II (IELP-II)

IELP-II is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development

(USAID) and is implemented by the Academy for Educational
Development (AED) and its subcontractor AMIDEAST.
© Copyright 2002 Academy for Educational Development
This publication may be reproduced as published, with acknowledgement of the writers
and editors, for educational purposes.

Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders for permission to reprint
borrowed or quoted material. We regret any oversights that may have occurred and will
rectify them in future printings of this work.
 Introduction
Spotlight on Primary English Education Resources (SPEER), a resource for primary
teachers of English as a foreign language, is the culmination of three years of
collaboration among primary teacher educators and supervisors in Egypt.

History of SPEER

In early 1998, a group key educators in Egypt met with the staff of the newly-funded
Integrated English Language Project-II, a USAID-sponsored Education project in Egypt.
The group met to discuss priorities for educational projects in Egypt. Included were
representatives from both Faculties of Education and the Ministry, including personnel
from the Counselor’s Office and the General Department of In-Service Training. This
group identified training for those involved in educating primary teachers as a high-
priority area of focus and determined two key areas of training need: communicative
methodology for primary teacher educators and supervisors and supervision techniques
for supervisors of both pre-service and in-service primary English teachers in Egypt.

As a result, in 1998 and 1999, IELP-II held a series of Institutes in both Upper Egypt and
Cairo and over one hundred educators from Faculties and Ministry were trained in these
two key areas. Between Institutes, participants carried out action plans to implement
concepts and techniques they had learned at the institutes. They then reported on their
action plans at the next institute. Institute graduates and other key educational decision
makers felt that the materials they had been exposed to were extremely useful and should
be used in, and adapted to, the Egyptian context and made available to a wider audience.
As a result, it was decided that it should be Egyptian educators who actually wrote the
chapters contained in this book. Further institutes were held to prepare writers and
provide feedback on chapter drafts and to prepare teachers and supervisors to field test
strategies and techniques from the chapters and report on their use and usefulness in the
Egyptian context. A number of Institute participants applied to be writers, other
graduates have contributed in other ways by making recommendations for topics to
include in the book and by field testing the ideas and materials after the book was drafted
and providing feedback. A total of 13 writers from the Ministry, 16 writers from the
Faculty and 4 IELP-II consultants and staff members collaborated in the writing of the
book. Forty faculty and ministry supervisors and teachers participated in the field-testing
of the chapters.

Representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Faculties of Education and IELP-II

consultants comprise the SPEER Editorial Board who implemented the whole process
under the management of IELP-II. They have worked very closely with writers from
conception, through many revisions, field-testing and editing to develop the final text.

We are honored to have the approval of the Ministry of Education of the Arab Republic
of Egypt for this project and delighted that it will be used by both the Ministry and
Faculties of Education in future teacher education of primary English teachers.
SPEER’s Intended Audience

SPEER is designed to be used by teacher educators working with primary English

teachers in Egypt. This includes
• methodologists working in Faculties of Education training future generations of
primary teachers and
• supervisors from the Ministry of Education and Faculties of Education who
supervise teachers engaged in teaching practice in primary schools. It also can be
used by
• Ministry of Education supervisors working with in-service teachers teaching
primary English.

Although the book was designed for the Egyptian context, we hope that primary English
as a foreign language teachers in many other parts of the world can also benefit from our
work.

The greater part of the book is addressed directly to teachers and teacher educators so the
second person “you” is used with the exception of those chapters which are mainly
theoretical in nature. In chapters 23 – 28, you refers to the supervisor; in other chapters
you refers to teachers and teacher educators who also work inside the classroom.

Ways to use SPEER

We have made every effort to create a versatile resource that can be used in many ways.
For example:
• It can be read by supervisors who wish to be brought up to date with more recent
trends in methodology.
o They can then share these ideas informally with their teachers as they see
appropriate, or
o They can present the materials formally through workshops
• Methodolgists in Faculties of Education can use the chapters or parts of the
individual chapters in a number of ways:
o They can present the information contained within as a lecture.
o They can distribute handouts included in the chapter to their student
teachers.
o They can use the handouts as transparency masters for visual aids to use in
class.
o They can also use the check at the end of the chapters as a quiz for the
student teachers
o They can assign chapters or parts of chapters for student teachers to read
and then use class time for further discussion and exploration
o They can assign the “Voices from the Field” to be read by student teachers
to help move between practice to the theory
• Practicing teachers or teachers who are on teaching practice can be assigned
techniques from the chapters to try out with their classes.
The Plan of SPEER

Speer has three main parts:

• Part 1: Theories and Approaches teaching English to Young Learners gives
an overview of current theories of and approaches to child language learning and
how these can be reflected in the teaching process at primary level, with particular
reference to the Egyptian context.
• Part 2 Methodology for Teaching English to Young Learners includes
approaches, strategies and techniques which can be used in Egyptian primary
classrooms to enhance pupil learning. We have provided many examples from
Egyptian textbooks and Egyptian teachers’ actual experience.
• Part 3: Supervision for Educators of Primary English Teachers consists of
background information and suggested procedures and techniques for the
supervisor of primary English teachers. Although it is designed mainly for the
supervisor at pre-service level, much of the content is also relevant to the in-
service supervisor as well.

Each chapter contains the following sections:

• An outline and overview
• The chapter body
• Practical examples relating to the Egyptian context
• A summary at the end
• Questions for checking understanding
• A glossary key terminology from the chapter
• One or more photocopiable handouts for use in training
• A reference list containing suggestions for further reading

We have also included a cumulative glossary in the back of the book.

Voices from the Field.

In order to ensure that the techniques contained in this handbook would be useful and
usable in the Egyptian context, the ideas and strategies of the book were field tested by
• Pre-service English teachers
• Both novice and experienced in-service teachers
• Supervisors from the Ministry of Education
• Supervisors from the faculties of Education

The results of their piloting were analyzed and the findings incorporated into the final
version of this book. In a number of the SPEER chapters, there are short, boxed texts
called, “Voices from the Field.” These selections were written by some of the 40
individuals involved in the field testing who have shared their descriptions of what
happened when SPEER was actually put to use in the Egyptian context. You will also
find examples of teacher-made materials and student work from their field testing.
Dissemination of SPEER

Copies of SPEER were provided for all Egyptian Faculty of Education members who
train primary English teachers and all Ministry of Education Supervisors who work with
primary English teachers. Other interested persons should contact the Academy for
International Education, Washington DC, http://www.aed.org/
 Acknowledgements

Many, many individuals and organizations provided essential contributions to the SPEER
project. We wish to take this opportunity to thank them here:

His Excellency Professor Dr. Hussein Kamel Baha El-Din, the Minister of Education,
provided leadership, vision and encouragement as well as support for innovations in the
teaching of English at primary level.

Eng. Ragab Sharabi, First Undersecretary of General Education, was a source of

motivation and encouragement to us throughout this project.

Mr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Counsellor of English played a valuable role in guiding and
facilitating the project and in spreading his enthusiasm for the project among all
concerned.

Dr. Soraya El-Atroush, General Director of (GDIST) General Department of Inservice

Training, Ministry of Education participatin this project from its very inception,
providing thoughtful insights throughout.

This whole project would not have become reality without the dedication, enthusiasm and
the ceaseless efforts of writers from both the Faculties of Education and from the
Ministry of Education who worked willingly and cooperatively together as volunteers for
the success of this project.

We also cannot ignore the crucial role played by the Field testers and Piloters. They tried
out the techniques contained in this book and their valuable feedback helped us greatly in
ensuring that the techniques contained here are appropriate and applicable in the Egyptian
context.

Dr. Kamal el Fouly was instrumental in developing the original Web site, trained writers
in the necessary computer skills and who, together with Linda New Levine, acted as
contributing editor to the project. Linda New Levine came into our project later on with
a fresh eye and sharp editorial skills made invaluable contributions.

The professors, lecturers, supervisors and senior teachers who attended the Institutes on
Primary Education provided their ideas for the contents and approach this book has taken
and paved the way for the writing project. These institutes were graciously hosted by the
Universities of Assiut and Minya as well as by IELP-II.

Many individuals read and commented on this book providing important insights that
made it better: in particular Jim McCloud, Larraine Denakpo, Nayra Ijjeh, Robert Burch,
Randa Effat, Russane Hozayin, Antoinette Melnyk, Kathy Lance, and Amal Nasralla.

Donald Benson, our editor, carefully read and professionally polished the final drafts of
this book. Ashraf Bassel and Ilias Modern Publication House have done an excellent job
in helping us bring SPEER to the public with their beautiful design and production of the
materials.

This project would not have been possible without the generous financial support of
USAID and of Amid East and The Academy for Educational Development (AED) who
manage the IELP-II project.

Many IELP-II Staff Members have helped us at various stages of this project. Jim
McCloud, Chief of Party and Larraine Denakpo, Director of Program Development and
Implementation have guided and supported us throughout. Robert Burch was an early
manager and evaluator of this project. His enthusiasm and his positive and caring
approaches to everyone involved helped us to develop a collaborative atmosphere from
the beginning to the end of this project.

Shereen Salah provided efficient administrative support for the project, always with a
smile and kind words. Araxy Deronian’s sunny disposition and eagerness to learn
whatever was needed to accomplish the task helped us take the project through to its final
stages.

A word of very special thanks to Ghada Howaidy, our forward-thinking and dynamic
project manager. Her vision and tenacity helped us to uphold the goal of developing a
quality product that would have a lasting impact on primary education in Egypt.

The SPEER Editorial Board

Zeinab El Naggar
Reda Fadel
Raga Hanna
Mary Lou McCloskey
Barbara Thornton

Cairo, Egypt, September 2001

 SPEER Table of Contents
1. Language Theory and Children’s Language Development Zeinab El Naggar
2. Learner's Individual Differences Zeinab El Naggar
3. Methods for Teaching Young Learners Nadia Touba
4. Songs, Chants and Rhymes in English Language Teaching Antar Solhy Abdellah
5. Games for Language Learning Sirvart Sahakian
6. Teaching Listening Ali El Sagheer with Linda New Levine
7. Total Physical Response (TPR), Drama and Role Play
Riham Aziz El-Dien Muhammed
8. Vocabulary Development Monir Fuad Nazir
9. Teaching Spoken English Asmaa Mostafa
10. Literacy Development Raga Hanna
11. Shared Reading Atta Gebriel and Aziz Saad Saad Allah
12. Reading Aloud to Children Eman Nady Zaky
13. The Language Experience Approach Walid Wanis
14. Teaching Handwriting El Sayed Sherifa and Robert Burch
15. Teaching Early Writing Mary Samir Hanna
16. Planning a Lesson Kamal A. Fouly
17. Classroom Assessment of Young Learners Linda New Levine with Refaat Eltenawy
18. Creating and Using Low-Tech Teaching Aids Ibrahim Abdo Zohry
19. Using Computer Technology for Language Learners in the Primary Classroom
Mary Lou McCloskey and Kamal El Fouly
20. Classroom Management in Language Classrooms Abdel Hameed Abdel Hafez
21. Cooperative Learning in Language Classrooms Mary Lou McCloskey
22. Classroom Language Dr. Fatma Abdel Haque
23. Approaches to Supervision Insaf Salem, Kamel Hyndiah and Abdel Gayed Hafez
24. Focus on Teacher Observation Amal Abdel Fattah
25. Giving Constructive Feedback Kamel Hyndiah
26. Approaches to Teacher Assessment Mohamed Sayed Saleh Masoud
27. Tips for Novice Supervisors Seif El Din Khodary and Insaf Salem
28. Reflective Teaching Barbara Thornton and Dalia Maher