English V - Week 7 - Exploring Ethical Issues Related to the News

Introduction: In today's class we will have your first performance in which you participate in a 20 minute round table discussion related to the topics of fake news and repression of journalists. 

Warm Up: Halloween Trick-or-Treat Puzzle

Click the group link below and go to the section of the document that corresponds to your group number. Read the clues to solve the puzzle.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

Task 1: Discussion Preparation

One person in your group should share their screen. Click play on the video timer and discuss the questions below for 7 minutes. While you are discussing, make an effort to include as many of the phrases from the chart as you can to help you interact with your partners.

• In journalism there is a famous saying "If it bleeds, it leads" which means, if the news story involves violence, conflict, or death, it becomes the primary story.

•  What do you think about this saying? Do you have any similar saying in Spanish?
• Why do you think these kinds of stories receive more attention and publicity than other kinds of news?
• What do you think when you hear the term "Yellow Journalism"?
• Do you think news like this can be damaging to individuals? To society?
• Do you think there should be limits on the kinds of stories the news can publish?

Roundtable Discussion: Ethical Issues in Media and Journalism

Performance 1: Learning Objective: Use evidence from individual research in order to contribute to a 20 minute group round table discussion on a topic related to a problem with media and journalism.

• Evaluation Rubric: CLICK HERE to see the rubric for this performance. 

Topics: These are the topics we will explore in our round table discussions. 

• Group 1: Fake News - Andrey, Cristiel, Freddy, Isabel, Kevin T, Nuria
• Audience Notes: CLICK HERE

• Group 2: Repression of Journalists - Marcela, Carlos, Gabriella, Paola, Cristian
• Audience Notes: CLICK HERE

• Group 3: Fake News - Heyner, Ian, Alexander, Kevin M. Vivian
• Audience Notes: CLICK HERE

Remember: You should use your notes during the discussion as a guide. However, you are NOT allowed to simply read your notes. You must speak spontaneously! Your discussion must last 20 minutes and follow the stages below. The questions are to stimulate your thinking. You do not have to answer them all. 

The Panel Discussion

• Part 1: Opening
• The roundtable discussion begins by definding the problem and analyzing its extent. 
• What is the problem exactly?
• Who or what is effected?
• How big of a problem is it?

• Part 2: Analysis
• The group then analyzes the potential causes and effects of the problem.
• Why does the problem exist?
• Are there any other contributing factors?
• What are the effects of the problem on the individual?
• What are the effects of the problem on society?
• Whata are some possible long term future effects?

• Part 3: Looking Forward
• The group discusses and evaluates potential solutions to the problem.
• How can the problem be fixed?
• What can individuals do?
• What should families do?
• What can society do?
• If it is not possible to completely eliminate the problem, how can it be reduced? 

• Part 4: Concluding Statements
• The discussion finishes with a summary of the points made and some final comments from the group members.

  Materials Evaluation and Design - Week 7 - Introduction to the Text-Driven Approach

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 7 of the course Materials Evaluation and Design. In this class you will participate in a demo lesson following the Text-Driven Approach (TDA), discuss theory and motivation behind the stages in TDA, and review the instructions for your TDA demo next week. You will also share one of your materials and the supporting theory from your Materials and Macroskills research paper.

Today's Goals:

• Participate in a demo lesson following the Text-Driven Approach.
• Analyze the demo, the TDA framework, and its underlying theory.
• Review the instructions for your Text-Driven Approach assignment.
• Share your sample material and supporting theory from your Materials and Macroskills paper.

Guiding Questions:

• How can I use texts in innovative ways to increase student engagement and reduce teacher workload?
• What have I learned through my research about using materials to teach a macroskill?

Warm Up: Halloween Trick-or-Treat Puzzle

Click the group link below and go to the section of the document that corresponds to your group number. Read the clues to solve the puzzle.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

Task 1: Roleplay - Little Charlie and the Doctors

You will now role-play a scene between Charlie and his doctors at the institution. Decide who will be Students A, B, and C. Then read your roles below and press play on the video timer and start your role-play. When the time is up, move to Task 2.

• Student A: You are Charlie. You are bored and tired of being locked up in the institution. You want to go back home as soon as you can but you know that the authorities have locked you up here for a reason. It is time for your semester evaluation interview with your assigned doctors. Use your charm to convince them that you are reformed and you are no longer a danger to others.

• Students B and C: You are doctors in the psychiatric institution where Charlie is being confined. Over the last few months you are aware of his past behavior but in the six months that he has been here, he has been a model patient. He is very polite, orderly, and well behaved. It is time for your semester evaluation interview with Charlie to decide if it is safe to allow him to return to his home.

Task 2: Continue the Story

Now it is time for you to work with your partners to continue the story. Click your group link below and follow the instructions in the document.

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE

Task 3: Demo Analysis

Now let's think about the demo lesson that you just participated in by discussing the following questions.

• What are your initial reactions to the lesson?
• Summarize what happened in the lesson sequence?
• What role(s) did the text play in the lesson?
• What did you learn about the Text-Driven Approach and what questions do you have?

• Demo Lesson Plan: CLICK HERE
• Description of TDA Stages: CLICK HERE

TDA is certainly a departure from the typical way that students are asked to interact with a text in a traditional Pre/While/Post framework for receptive skills. Despite its benefits, the approach has not gained much popularity among coursebook writers. However, there is an exception. The Norwegian book series Searching is one of the only ELT series that is fully TDA and it is Tomlinson's favorite commercial ELT textbook.

• TDA Coursebook: CLICK HERE

Task 4: Group Sharing

Take a moment to share what you learned in your Materials and Macroskills research assignment. Briefly mention the theories, frameworks, or techniques related to materials. Then share your original sample material and explain the theory or model behind it. 

References:

McGrath, I. (2016). Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press. 

Tomlinson, B. (Ed.) (2013). Developing Materials for Language Teaching. Bloomsbury Academic.

    Diseño de Materiales - Week 7 - Coursebook Based Teaching Pt. 2

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 7 of the course Diseño de Materiales. In this class we will finish our two week focus on effective use of coursebooks in ELT. We will begin by discussing the typical flow and organization of textbook unit content and our likes and dislikes when working with them. Then we will review key concepts from Chapter 4 in McGrath and complete an application task in which we suggest ways to adapt material from a real coursebook..

Today's Goals:

• Discuss motivations for adapting coursebook materials, adaptation techniques, and justifications for their use. 
• Analyze a sample coursebook unit and suggest specific adaptations that can be made to extend and exploit what is there.
• Clarify the goals and instructions of upcoming course assignments: Holistic Student Profile, Evaluation Rubric, and Moxie paper. 

Guiding Questions:

• What principles or frameworks can help teachers make better decisions about how to use coursebook materials?
• How can the 3 E's of coursebook adaptation help me make a better use of my materials?

Warm Up: Halloween Trick-or-Treat Puzzle

Click the group link below and go to the section of the document that corresponds to your group number. Read the clues to solve the puzzle. With the time remaining, discuss the conversation questions.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

Task 1: Materials Adaptation - Why and How?

Click your group link below and follow the instructions in the document to complete the two tasks.

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE

Task 2: Application - Propose Textbook Adaptations

Click your group link below and follow the instructions in the document to analyze a sample coursebook unit and propose some specific adaptations.

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE

References:

McDonough, J., Shaw, C, & Masuhara, H. (2013). Materials and Methods in ELT: A Teacher’s Guide (3rd Ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

McGrath, I. (2016). Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press. 

   TOEIC Preparation - Week 7

Introduction: In today's class we continue our two week study of Part 3: Conversations in the listening test. Complete the collaborative tasks below with your partners. 

Warm Up: Halloween Trick-or-Treat Puzzle

Click the group link below and go to the section of the document that corresponds to your group number. Read the clues to solve the puzzle.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

Task 1: British vs North American

Can you find the words that are pronounced differently between a British and General North American accent? Click the picture to make it full sized and then use the annotate function to mark the words.

Click to view the full sized image.

Task 2: Classify the Question Types

It's important to become familiar with the types of questions typically asked in this section of the exam. Click the link and find the tab for your group. Then read the questions and classify them.

• Group Worksheet: CLICK HERE

Task 3: Focused Practice - Group Quizzes

Let's put in practice the strategies that we have seen by completing these two group quizzes. Follow these steps.

• One group member shares their screen and computer sound.
• Preview the questions for the first conversation together.
• Play the full audio of the conversation and the three questions.
• Write the answers individually in your notebooks.
• Then share your answers and complete the online quiz. 
• Relisten to a difficult part of the audio or move the the next conversation.
• New Question Types: Strategy Practice - CLICK HERE
• Answer Key and Transcripts - CLICK HERE

• Group Quiz 1: Strategy Practice - CLICK HERE
• Group Quiz 2: Strategy Practice - CLICK HERE

  English V - Week 6 - Who's Responsible for Fake News?

Introduction: In today's class we will continue in Unit 9 looking at the topic of media and its power to make a positive impact as well as create unintended negative consequences. We will read a story about the different perspectives the news took about just one story. We will also report the news that we heard and read about. Finally, we will review the instructions for your Performance 1: Roundtable Discussion that you will do next week. 

Warm Up: Unscramble the Words

In this activity you will identify some common vocabulary associated with the news. Click your group link below and unscramble the words.

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE
• Group 4: CLICK HERE
• Group 5: CLICK HERE

• Need Help? - CLICK HERE to read some clues.

Task 1: Group Discussion

One person in your group should share their screen. Click play on the video timer and discuss the questions below for 7 minutes. Then go on to Task 2.

• Do you trust everything you see in the news? Why or why not?
• What is the function of journalism for society?
• Do you think that the news can also cause harm to society? If so, how?
• What percentage of news stories that you encounter are positive? Neutral? Negative?
• Do you think that some news stories are basically "professional gossip"?
• Can you think of a major news story that later turned out to be false or different than it was first reported?
• A lot of people talk about fake news these days. What are your strategies to evaluate the validity of what you read?

Task 2: Can You Identify Signs of Fake News?

Fake news has been an important topic over the last few years. Do you know how to identify signs that an article might not be legitimate? Take the quiz with your partners. 

• Fake News Quiz: CLICK HERE

Task 3: What's the Real Story?

The way a journalist or news paper decides to present the information can have a large impact on the public's opinions about the events of the story. You will read about an incident that happened involving a British Airways (BA) pilot. Read the newspaper headlines in the picture below. They are the titles of different articles about the same incident that were published in different papers over several months. 

• What do you think happened?

Now read the article on page 111 in your book to discover what really happened. Then complete the following exercises on page 110.

• Exercise 3: True or False
• Exercise 4: Fill in the Blanks
• Exercise 5: Critical Thinking

Task 4: Listening and Vocabulary

Follow the teacher's instructions to complete some of the exercises on page 112 of your book. 

Task 5: Spreading the News

Now you will work with your group to listen to one radio news story and read on internet news story. You will take notes about the most important details and then you will use some of the reporting expressions you learned in the previous exercise to share the news with students from other groups.

Click your group link below and follow the instructions in your document. 

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE
• Group 3: CLICK HERE
• Group 4: CLICK HERE
• Group 5: CLICK HERE
• Group 6: CLICK HERE

Roundtable Discussion: Ethical Issues in Media and Journalism

Introduction: For your first performance evaluation next week you will do individual research about a topic realated to ethical issues related to media and journalism and use the information you found to participate in a group discussion about the topic.

• Learning Objective: Use evidence from individual research in order to contribute to a 20 minute group round table discussion on a topic related to a problem with media and journalism.

• Evaluation Rubric: CLICK HERE to see the rubric for this performance. 

Potential Topics: Your group can choose one of the topics below. 

• Sensationalism and "Yellow Journalism"
• Fakenews and Misinformation
• Media Bias (sesgo)
• Citizen Journalism in Social Networks and Personal Privacy
• Repression of Journalists
• Other problem related to news media and journalism

Instructions: In class you will decided on a topic for this panel discussion. Now you need to do some individual research to prepare for your participation. Go to your learning journal and take notes in the table. You can use these notes during the discussion as a guide. However, you are NOT allowed to simply read your notes. You must speak spontaneously! Your discussion must last 20 minutes and follow the stages below. The questions are to stimulate your thinking. You do not have to answer them all. 

The Panel Discussion

• Part 1: Opening
• The roundtable discussion begins by definding the problem and analyzing its extent. 
• What is the problem exactly?
• Who or what is effected?
• How big of a problem is it?

• Part 2: Analysis
• The group then analyzes the potential causes and effects of the problem.
• Why does the problem exist?
• Are there any other contributing factors?
• What are the effects of the problem on the individual?
• What are the effects of the problem on society?
• Whata are some possible long term future effects?

• Part 3: Looking Forward
• The group discusses and evaluates potential solutions to the problem.
• How can the problem be fixed?
• What can individuals do?
• What should families do?
• What can society do?
• If it is not possible to completely eliminate the problem, how can it be reduced? 

• Part 4: Concluding Statements
• The discussion finishes with a summary of the points made and some final comments from the group members.

Useful Phrases

You can use some of these phrases to help you participate in the roundtable discussion.

Introducing Ideas:

• First of all...
• I wanted to share something...
• I'd like to say...

Adding Detail:

• For example...
• Another thing is...
• We can also say...

Referencing Sources:

• According to X...
• In a report I read by X, they said...

Expressing Agreement:

• That's right!
• I totally agree.
• I hear what you're saying.

Expressing Disagreement:

• I disagree...
• I have a differnt opinion about that.

Expressing Uncertainty:

• I'm not really sure about that.
• I have no idea.
• It's difficult to say.

  Materials Evaluation and Design - Week 6 - Coursebook Based Teaching

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 6 of the course Materials Evaluation and Design. In this class we will debate the pro's and con's of ELT's current textbook based paradigm. Then we will review key concepts regarding working with textbooks to select, adapt, and supplement the materials to better support our students' learning needs.

Today's Goals:

• Debate the pros and cons of using a coursebook as the primary didactic material in an ELT program and compare your arguements with ones made in the professional literature.
• Review a planning framework for working with coursebooks in a professionally responsible way.
• Explore a sample textbook and choose what you would select, adapt, replace, and supplement.

Guiding Questions:

• What are the arguments in favor and against using a coursebook as the primary didactic material in an ELT program?
• What principles or frameworks can help teachers make better decisions about how to use coursebook materials?

Task 1: Mini-Debates

In this class we will participate in a mini-debate with one student in favor, one against, and a third acting as a judge to select the winner based on who gave the most convincing argument. Students will have only 45 seconds to make their arguments.

Task 2: Pros and Cons of Coursebook Based Teaching

In this activity, you will have a class debate about the pros and cons of coursebook based language teaching. Students in favor will have two minutes to speak. Students against will have two minutes to reply. Then there will be a final two minute period for open discussion. During this time, judges will take notes of the arguments. 

• Judge Notes: CLICK HERE

Task 3: What does the literature say?

Take a moment to review some of the arguments from the professional literature about the dominating influence of coursebook based methodologies in ELT. Use the highlight function to mark any of the ideas that came up in your debate.

• Professional Arguements: CLICK HERE

Task 4: Textbook Adaptation Task

Now you will work with your partners to review a unit from a sample textbook and decide who you could extend and exploit some of the activities. Click your group link below and follow the instructions. 

• Group 1: CLICK HERE
• Group 2: CLICK HERE

References:

McGrath, I. (2016). Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press. 

Ur, P. (1991). A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.

   Diseño de Materiales - Week 6 - Coursebook Based Teaching Pt. 1

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 6 of the course Diseño de Materiales. In this class we will begin our two week focus on effective use of coursebooks in ELT. We will begin by debating the pro's and con's of coursebook based teaching before reviewing a principled approach for planning and teaching with coursebooks in a responsible and effective way. We will also work together in a Moxie idea generation session to help you get started with your paper.

Today's Goals:

• Debate the pros and cons of using a coursebook as the primary didactic material in an ELT program and compare your arguements with ones made in the professional literature.
• Review a planning framework for working with coursebooks in a professionally responsible way.
• Collaborate with your peers to generate possible ideas to explore in your Moxie paper.

Guiding Questions:

• What are the arguments in favor and against using a coursebook as the primary didactic material in an ELT program?
• What principles or frameworks can help teachers make better decisions about how to use coursebook materials?

Task 1: Mini-Debates

In this task you will compete with your partners in three mini-debate tasks. For each round, two students will be the debators and one will be the time-keeper and judge. Here are the steps to follow. 

• The judge spins the wheel to choose a topic.
• The judge decides which debator is in favor or against the topic.
• The first debator speaks for 45 seconds.
• The second debator speaks for 45 seconds.
• The judge chooses the winner by saying who gave the most convincing argument.

• Then switch roles and play another round. 

Task 2: Pros and Cons of Coursebook Based Teaching

In this activity, you will have a class debate about the pros and cons of coursebook based language teaching. Students in favor will have two minutes to speak. Students against will have two minutes to reply. Then there will be a final two minute period for open discussion. During this time, judges will take notes of the arguments. 

• Judge Notes: CLICK HERE

Task 3: What does the literature say?

Take a moment to review some of the arguments from the professional literature about the dominating influence of coursebook based methodologies in ELT. Use the highlight function to mark any of the ideas that came up in your debate.

• Professional Arguements: CLICK HERE

Task 4: Moxie Peer Input Session

Your final Moxie paper is due on November 16th. Take advantage of this time to share your ideas with your peers and professor and get some feedback and suggestions of potential aspects to address and explore. For homework you completed the "Moxie Brainstorming and Planning Worksheet". Take a few minutes to share two of your "core ideas" from the Planning and Outlining section of the document. Take notes of ideas your peers give you.

• Umbrella Topic: Differentiated Instruction with Digital Learning Materials
• Guiding Question: How can you leverage digital technologies to create flexible learning materials that provide students with a differentiated learning experience?

• Core Idea 1: What is your key idea?
• Significance: Why is this idea interesting to you?
• Branching Ideas: What are some components, questions, and branching ideas?

• Core Idea 2: What is your key idea?
• Significance: Why is this idea interesting to you?
• Branching Ideas: What are some components, questions, and branching ideas?

• Next Steps: What research do you still need to do?

References:

McGrath, I. (2016). Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press. 

Ur, P. (1991). A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.