Further practice (from mid term exam)

Ovejero K.

CAECE University

Mid term exam

Activity 1

Blog version

“A small-scale study of primary school English language teacher’s classroom activities and problems” by Arikan (2011) - Academic summary

     In the article “A small-scale study of primary school English language teacher’s classroom activities and problems”, Arikan (2011) presents the results of a study conducted in Turkey where he found out that most teachers are mainly engaged in traditional syllabus and teacher-centered activities.

     Arikan (2011) introduces the article by highlighting the growing importance of English teaching in Turkey, the focus on primary school teachers’ use of language activities in the classrooms, the need for high quality course delivery in English language teaching, the differences among adult and young learners and the strong need for further research in this field.

     Results showed that the kind of activities carried out in Turkish primary schools’ English classes involved traditional syllabus rather than a constructivist one as long as with a low use of technology. Similarly, teachers reported that in order to improve their teaching they needed to have smaller classes to teach, new technologies such as computers or DVDs and better access to print materials.

     Taking into account teachers’ belief, they stated that in order to be successful learners, they required to develop first their vocabulary background, then speaking and pronunciation abilities and finally writing, grammar and listening skills.

In its conclusion, Arikan (2011) asserted that that teachers refrain from using TV, Computers, and DVDs in their classrooms by prioritizing teacher-centered activities such as grammar exercises. Consequently, there is a need of further research on the nature of the activities employed in Turkish EFL classrooms while courses require to be strengthened and regularly updated because teachers do not give importance on the culture of the language learned and taught. Moreover, teachers’ beliefs influence their classroom performance and choice of skill-based activities.

Reference

Arikan, A. (2011). A small-scale study of primary school English language teacher’s classroom activities and problems. International conference on new trends in education and their implications. Ankara, Turkey. Retrieved from  http://www.iconte.org/FileUpload/ks59689/File/053.pdf

Ovejero K.

CAECE University

Mid term exam

Activity 2

Blog version

Vignette: An English lesson

This vignette was observed in a third grade of an urban primary school in Catamarca.

In my first visit to the class, students (a group of 30 boys and girls) were silently looking at the teacher. They were all arranged in single rows, one after the other. During the initial phase of the lesson, the children were looking at Miss X, each holding a textbook. She was instructing her third grade learners to memorize a long list of food items. Children looked bored and worried because there were so many words to remember. They seemed to have difficulty for memorizing all these words.

Then the teacher sat down for a while. Later, she returned with a fill-in-the-gap activity. Student asked her for meaning clarification and she directly translated words. No pictures or flashcards were used. I could see an old (turned off) computer on the teacher’s desk and the blackboard looked rather old and blurry.

Later on, students were asked to repeat the words in order to practice pronunciation, first in big groups and then individually. Eventually, Liza, a shy girl, asked her teacher when they would use a CD or a video in their class. She didn't answer. 

This teacher X seems to be closely engaged with teacher-centered activities and traditional syllabus since there is no use of technology, constructivist or integrative tasks. She merely focuses on oral repetition patterns and memory training do not paying attention to learners' needs and interests.