BEST APPLICATIONS IN TEACHING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT The physical environment of school buildings and

school grounds is a key factor in the overall health and safety of students, staff, and visitors. School buildings and grounds must be designed and maintained to be free of health and safety hazards, and to promote learning. Studies have shown that student achievement can be affected either positively or negatively by the school environment. Policies and protocols must be in place to ensure food protection, sanitation, safe water supply, healthy air quality, good lighting, safe playgrounds, violence prevention, and emergency response, among other issues that relate to the physical environment of schools.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT Layout of room and furniture Adequate working space for students and

teachers Ease of movement in the room Seating- facing board- neighbouring pupil

compatibility- height for writing Appropriate resources/equipment organised

and readily available for all pupils Good decor and lots of displays Temperture Noise level

Seating arrangement

Orderly rows (appropriate for large classes)

Circle (for smaller classes) Solowork Horseshoe (for smaller classes) Separate tables (small groups at

individual tables)

Student groupings

Whole class (the focus is on T and on the task)

Group work (cooperative learning) Pair work (cooperative learning) Solowork (autonomy)

CURRICULUM The curriculum should focus on the communicative

aspect more than on language and grammar The topic of the lessons deals with real-life situations LESS GRAMMAR, MORE SPEAKING According to their specialty, the students should

acquire the vocabulary they need for their future jobs; for examples the students who are training to be waiters should have a deeper knowledge of types of food, cooking methods, cutlery, crockery, etc. The students who are training to become hotel receptionists should be able to give all the necessary information for the hotel guests. And so on.

Teaching strategies Getting students engagement

There is nothing as challenging as getting students engaged. Today's students are multitasked and can hardly maintain a long concentration. They can easily get bored and therefore disconnected. There are many ways you can fight off this problem : Use interesting educational 

Maintain good communication skills A successful  teacher is one that is able to build a

rapport with his /her students, one that can easily connect with his learners and feel their needs as individuals. Open and clear communication is the key to develop a healthy friendly learning atmosphere inside your class.

Use Humour Relevant doses of humour to spice up your teaching are highly recommended. Forget about the authoritative and coercive style of teaching , for experience proved that it only disheartens learners and kills their motivation.  Use humour at appropriate times; this can lead to students engagement and build up their confidence.

Games and activities, use technology and multimedia resources and finally make your teaching student-centred and try your maximum to relate what you teach to students immediate environment.

Act, don't reactStudents are very smart and it is part of their  juvenile nature to try to get you.  Sometimes ignoring a disruptive  behaviour is way better than reacting to it and in case it becomes repetitive or serious then make sure to talk it out with the student involved alone and not in front of the whole class.

Be clear and precise in your instructionsRemember you are teaching digitally focused students with short attention span. Several of the problems some teachers face are due to ambiguous and unclear instructions. Cut off on the clutter and be to the point. Show them the red lines and explain to them classroom ethics and what you can tolerate.

Give room to individualized learningNot all students are equal in their comprehensive power. Students learn in different ways, some students  are slow learners and others are quick, some kinaesthetic ( learn by experience or doing ) others are auditory or visual. Keep these considerations in your mind and do your best to tend to every kind of learner you might have in your class.

Positive feedback" good job, excellent,..ect" are simple words that might not mean anything to you but they mean the whole world to students. Think back to the days when you were a student and how a positive feedback from your teacher would make both your and your parents whole day. Publicly praise positive behaviour and show your students that you are celebrating their achievements as well.

Involve students in decision makingStudents tend to do great when they feel they are trusted and  that they are real parts in the learning / teaching operation. Use voting and polling to investigate about a certain topic or classroom assignment. Try from time to time to give them the wheel and let them lead.

Use peer  learningPeer learning is a form of 'cooperative learning that enhances the value of student-student interaction and results in various advantageous learning outcomes'.  Here are some of the strategies  to help you facilitate successful peer learning as following :

"Buzz groups : This is a large group of students subdivided into smaller groups of 4-5 students to consider issues surrounding a problem.

Affinity groups : Groups of 4-5 students are each assigned particular tasks to work on outside of formal contact time

Solution and critic groups ; One sub-group is assigned a discussion topic for a tutorial and the other groups constitute critics who observe, offer comments and evaluate the sub-group presentation

Teach-Write-Discuss : At the end of a unit of instruction, students have to answer short question and justify their answers. After working on them individually they can then compare their answers with each others."

- Love your subject/ jobThe best way to get students interested in your subject is to love it so much that your passion for the field shows in your attitude. Students positively respond to authenticity. And as Abraham Lincoln once said " Love

the job you do and you will never have to work a day ".

Teaching methods and practices Tasks set are appropriate for the pupil s level of

understanding and skills. Learning goals are clearly defined and shared with the

pupils. Opportunities are provided for the pupils to engage in

activities in which they can be successful. Steps in learning goals are small enough to ensure

progress. Activity content / tasks are of interest to the pupils. Tasks set take account of pupils’ learning style: pace

of activity, variety of activities, length of activities and time allowed to complete a task are appropriate.

A variety of teaching approaches used. Opportunities are provided for a variety of

pupil responses- oral/ practical/ written. Opportunities are provided for pupils’

involvement in decision making and recording .

Opportunities are provided for pupils to generalise / transfer learning from one situation to another.

Regular monitoring and recording of progress occurs

Teaching methods and strategies

Debating (secondary and upper-secondary students)

Role play (hotel guest- receptionist, waiter- customer, etc)

Games (for pre-school, school and lower secondary children)

Singing (for pre-school children)

Teaching strategies

Jigsaw Free verse poetry Cube Constructing walls Starburst Drama technique Each one teach one Five questions Who am I Hot seating Cooperative learning Mind maps Songs and videos

Cooperative learning In cooperative learning small groups provide a place where:

learners actively participate; teachers become learners at times, and learners sometimes

teach; respect is given to every member; projects and questions interest and challenge students; diversity is celebrated, and all contributions are valued; students learn skills for resolving conflicts when they arise; members draw upon their past experience and knowledge; goals are clearly identified and used as a guide; research tools such as Internet access are made available; students are invested in their own learning.

Students’ roles Facilitator – makes certain that everyone contributes

and keeps the group on task Recorder – keeps notes on important thoughts

expressed in the group; writes final summary Reporter – shares summary of group with large group;

speaks for the group, not just a personal view Time keeper – keeps track of time and reminds the

group how much time is left Materials manager – picks up, distributes, collects,

turns in or puts away materials; manages materials in the group during group work

Checker – checks for accuracy and clarity of thinking during discussions; may also check written work and keeps track of group point score.

TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIALS Published materials Coursebooks Skills books Readers Resource books Video Authentic materials Newspapers Magazines Brochures Songs Menus

Equipment and teaching aids

The board The OHP Visuals Worksheets and workcards MP4s/ MP3s Computers Photocopier

EVALUATION Ss should be evaluated at the

beginning of the school year with a placing test.

Placing test – checks the general knowledge

Progress test – at the end of each module

Summative test – at the end of the learning stage

Traditional evaluation methods

Oral evaluation (to evaluate the speaking skills) + flexibility + on-the-spot error correction - low validity and accuracy - time consuming - stress Written evaluation (for an accurate evaluation of

Ss’ performances) + saves time + high objectivity and accuracy + elaborate answers - high costs - any eventual errors can’t be corrected on the spot

Additional evaluation methods Systematic observation + low stress + no direct interaction with T - time consuming - highly subjective Investigation + stimulates creativity and initiative + improves critical thinking and arguing abilities - time consuming - less objective Project + stimulates creativity and initiative + improves a wide range of skills + improves critical thinking and arguing abilities - time consuming - no final product hierarchy

Portfolio (written assignments, tests, essays, worksheets, projects)

+ offers varied information for T to make a full evaluation of S’s performance

+ high lightens a wide range of skills + offers a clear image of S’s evolution - time consuming - no product hierarchy Self evaluation

FEEDBACK Always be on the lookout for positive points to

comment upon Giving positive feedback- Successful communication – where students have

expressed themselves clearly ( and have been understood by others);

- Accurate use of grammar points recently learned;- Use of new vocabulary, appropriate expressions;- Good pronunciation – expressive intonation;- Language in the appropriate style – good use of

colloquial expressions in conversation;- Good use of fluency strategies in conversation;- Handwritting, spelling and punctuation in written work.