Teaching Grammar and Writing - Week 1 - Why (not) Teach Grammar?

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 1 of the course Teaching Grammar and Writing for the Master's in English Teaching at ULACIT in term IC 2023. In this class we will discuss the structure, content, evaluation activties and major due dates of the course. In addition, we will consider traditional reasons for teaching grammar in English class and evaluate whether all of these reasons can still be justified.

Today's Goals:

• Review the course content, evaluation structure, and important dates from the syllabus.
• Analyze traditional reasons given for teaching grammar, list their consequences, and evaluate whether or not these reasons can be justified. 
• Generate a list of controversies, unresolved issues, questions and areas of curiosity related to the teaching of grammar that you would like to explore during the course.

Guiding Questions:

• What are some of the key issues in the area of grammar teaching for English language learners?
• What are good reasons and bad reasons to teach grammar?
• What are the features of grammar drills?
• What do I hope to learn in this course?

Task 1: Initial Thoughts on Grammar Teaching

Click play on the video timer. Then discuss the following questions with your partners. When the time is over, go to Task 2.

• What is your "common sense" definition of the word grammar?
• Do you agree or disagree with the following statements. Say why.

• Grammar is the most important aspect of language to teach in a class.
• Students should master one grammar structure at a time before being introduced to another.
• My students think grammar is boring.
• I think grammar is boring.
• I have wonderful memories of the English grammar lessons I received in high school.
• Most commercial ELT textbooks don't focus enough on grammar. 
• I am familiar with a wide variety of strategies and activity types to teach grammar.
• Explicit correction of students' grammar errors is necessary to avoid fossilization.
• The best way for students to learn a new grammar structure is for the teacher to "give them the formula".
• I feel confident in my abilities to answer students' questions about grammar, even the unexpected questions.
• Advanced grammar in English involves structures like 3rd conditional and passive voice.
• It is absolutely necessary that students learn the future perfect continuous. 
• Even though I'm a teacher, I sometimes get confused with grammar terminology.

• On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best, how do you rate your current ability to teach grammar? Why do you give yourself that rating?

Task 2: Why Teach Grammar?

Click your group link below to analyze different reasons that have been used to justify the role of grammar in ELT and follow the instructions in the document.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

Task 3: Drills: The Typical Grammar Practice Exercises

Structure based drills are the most common form of grammar practice exercise in ELT. Although there are many variations of drills, they all share some common characteristics, strengths, and challenges. Click your group link below to explore this activity type in more detail.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

References:

Swan, M. (2002). Seven Bad Reasons for Teaching Grammar - and Two Good Ones. In J. Richards & W. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice (pp. 148-152). Cambridge University Press.

Ur, P. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.

Culture of English Speaking Countries - Week 1 - Ethnocentrism

 Culture of English Speaking Countries - Week 1 -  Course Introduction

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 1 of the course Culture of English Speaking Countries for the bachelor's in English teaching at ULACIT term IC 2023. This week we will review the course syllabus, articulate our starting point ideas about culture, define what we mean by English speaking country, and discuss the idea of cultural relativism.

Today's Goals:

• Review the course syllabus, evaluation structure, and calendar of important dates.
• Articulate your starting point ideas and questions about the topics we will explore in the course.
• Discuss the phenomena of ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

Guiding Questions:

• How can I become sensitive to the invisible dynamics of culture?
• How does my own culture influence the way I view others?
• What do I hope to learn in this course?

Warm Up: What do you see?

Click on your assigned link below and describe your image to your partners with as many details as possible. Try to determine what are the similarities and diffrences between your images.

• Group A: CLICK HERE
• Group B: CLICK HERE
• Group C: CLICK HERE
• Group D: CLICK HERE

Now, let's consider another image (CLICK HERE). Discuss these questions with your partners. 

• What does this new image make you think about?
• What do you think the artist's message could be?
• How might this image serve as a metaphor for teaching?
• How might it serve as a metaphor for culture?

Task 1: Reconstruct the Poem

Click your group link below and work with your partners to reconstruct the poem then discuss it's significance.

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

Task 2: Cultural Investigation - The Nacirema People

To wrap of this first session, let's analyze a summary of a famous ethnographic case study that is often discussed in most introductory anthropology courses to see what insights it can give us about cultural perspectives. Click your group link, read your text, and discuss the questions. Be ready to summarize the main ideas in your own words when we get back to the main room.

• Part 1: CLICK HERE
• Part 2: CLICK HERE
• Part 3: CLICK HERE

Now let's read some quotes from the introduction to our main textbook, Teaching Culture: Perspectives in Practice. How do these quotes connect with the ideas we just discussed about the Nacirema?

• "Milton Bennett makes the point that ethnocentrism is the natural state for peoples of the world. Our instictive reaction is to assume that our culture, our way of life, is the right one, and that all others are not. Whether we simply tolerate these other ways of life or treat them as enemies, our attitude toward them is essentially the same - ethnocentric."

• "Overcoming these ingrained cultural perspectives, according to Bennett, has to be consciously learned. Developing sensitivity to cultural differences, in other words, does not come naturally (Moran, 2001, p. 7)."

• Cultural Relativism and Ethnocentrism: CLICK HERE

Task 3: Thinking about Culture

Let's take a closer look at some of the important questions to consider at the beginning of this course:

• What do we mean by culture?
• What do we mean by English speaking?

Click the link and follow the instructions:

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

References:

Miner, H. (1956). Body Ritual Among the Nacirema. American Anthropologist. 58(3), 503-507.

Moran, P. (2001). Teaching Culture: Perspectives in Practice. Heinle Cengage Learning. 

 TOEIC Preparation: Week 14 - Speaking Review

Warm Up: Holiday Puzzle

Work with your partners to complete the Christmas Sudoku puzzle. The idea of the puzzle is to put pictures in all the squares so that each row, column, and 2x3 rectangle contains ONE and ONLY ONE example of each picture. Can you solve it in time? Click the link below and find the page for your group.

Christmas Sudoku: CLICK HERE

• Hint 1: CLICK HERE
• Hint 2: CLICK HERE
• Hint 3: CLICK HERE




• Answer Key: CLICK HERE

Task 1: Read a Text Practice

Underline the content words. Pay attention to compound words and phrasal verbs and underline the stressed portion. Circle punctuation and mark intonnation patterns in lists of three or more. When you finish CLICK HERE to check your answer. Then read the text aloud to your partner. Remember to use a physical gesture to remind you to stress the conent words. 

Click to see full size.

Task 2: Describe a Photo

Click the three dots to put the presentation in full screen. Search the presentation to find a photo you like. Take 45 seconds to prepare. Then click the video timer and take 30 seconds  to describe the photo.

Not Visible?: CLICK HERE

Task 3: Answer Quick Questions

Click the three dots and put the presentation in full screen. Practice answering a set of 3 questions. Use the video timers to help you keep track of your time. Go to the next page and let your partner try.

Not Visible?: CLICK HERE

Task 4: Graphic Question Warm Up

Take a minute to study the graphic with your partner. It is also located in your anthology on page 45. Then ask your partner questions from the list. The idea is to see how many questions your partner can answer in 1 minute. When you finish, move on to the video practice exercises.

Click to view full image.

• Do you know what Mr. Biggs is planning to discuss following the break?
• Could you give me information about the activites in the morning?
• Can you tell me the length of the sessions?
• I am interested in learning from women leaders in the field of graphic design. Will there be any presenters by female speakers?
• Where and when will this event be held?
• Will there be a chance to ask questions or discuss topics with the speakers?
• I'm really interested in learning about 3D graphics. Will that topic be addressed in the conference?
• I am going to be a little late for this conference. What will I miss if I arrive at 10:20?
• I'm interested in attending the conference but I can't pay right now. What is the last day I can register for the event?

Task 5: Video Practice

Click the three dots and put the presentation in full screen. Practice answering a set of 3 questions. Use the video timers to help you keep track of your time. Go to the next page and let your partner try.

Not Visible?: CLICK HERE

Task 6: Video Practice

Time to put into practice the opinion sandwich one last time. 

• Begin your response by stating your opinion.
• Give 2-3 reasons with their corresponding details and explanations
• Finish by restating your opinion

Click the three dots and put the presentation in fullscreen. Make sure you are sharing your computer sound. 

Not Visible?: CLICK HERE

Task 7: End of Course Reflection

Take a few minutes to reflect on your expereinces in the course with your partners. 

• Highlights: Think back about our classes and asynchronous assignments this term. What are some aspects of the course that you found enjoyable or useful? Why?

• Goals: What were your goals when you signed up for this course? In what ways have your made progress toward acheiving your goals?

• Challenges: What aspects of the TOEIC exam do you still find challenging? What is particularly difficult about these aspects?

• Plans: What are two specific actions you can take in order to continue preparing for success in the TOEIC now that the course is over?

• Feedback: Imagine your could make changes to the structure of the course, its focus, or any of the tasks in order to make the best experience for future students. What would you change and why? What would you keep the same and why?

Teaching and Assessing Listening - Week 14 - Applying Insights from Research

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 14 of the course Teaching and Assessing Listening for the master's in English teaching at ULACIT term IIICO 2022. In today's class we will reflect on some of the topics we have covered in the course and articulate our takeaways. We will also work in small groups to present a walkthrough of our listening lesson plan. 

Today's Goals:

• Reflect on your highlights and takeaways from the course. 
• Show how you have applied insights from your research to the design of a listening lesson.

Guiding Questions: 

• What are my takeaways from this course?
• How can research inform my approach to listening instruction?

Warm Up: Guided Course Reflection

This is it! The final class of the term. Let's take a few minutes to participate in this guided writing task to reflect on our experiences.

• Demonstrate your ability to carry out independent research in the field of second language listening pedagogy and assessment by creating an annotated bibliography to summarize the content of 7 to 10 professional articles or book chapters and articulate the findings that are applicable to your research aims.

• Demonstrate your ability to apply knowledge gained from individual research to your teaching context by creating a listening lesson plan and brief justification document.

• Demonstrate your ability to develop a comprehensive, theoretically justified assessment instrument to evaluate students’ listening ability for a specific purpose and context by proposing an exam construct, writing a variety of items and tasks, and developing the required materials.

• Demonstrate your ability to read an academic article and accurately identify and synthesize key concepts presented in the text in order to lead a group discussion exploring the implications of the theory to your teaching practice.

• Read and respond to 7 articles or chapters about a variety of topics related to the nature of listening, listening instruction, and listening assessment.

• Peter: CLICK HERE
• Ignacio: CLICK HERE
• Francisco: CLICK HERE
• Stephanie: CLICK HERE
• Arianna: CLICK HERE
• Gabriela: CLICK HERE

Task 1: Listening Lesson Plan Walkthroughs

Now it's time to share your textbook analysis projects. Follow these steps to share your assignment with your parnters in breakout rooms. 

• What were your research questions or objectives for the annotated bibliography assignment? Why did you choose them?
• What are the most important insights you gained from your research?
• How did you go about the process of designing your listening lesson plan?
• Share your plan and materials with your partners. Explain your design choices by making explicit reference to the insights you incorporated into the plan.
• Feel free to demo one of the activities briefly if you want.

• After the presentation provide some feedback using the envelope framework below.

Peer Feedback Framework

References: 

Rost, M. (2017). Teaching and Researching Listening (3rd ed.). Routledge.

 Culture & SLA - Week 14 - Culture and Materials Evaluation

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 14 of the course Culture and Second Language Acquisition for the master's in English teaching at ULACIT term IIIC0 2022.  In this class we will reflect on what we have learned, articluate our final takeaways from the course, and share our textbook analysis assignments.

Today's Goals:

• Look back and topics, assignments, and activities covered in this course and express ways in which our beliefs and understandings of culture have changed, deepened, or remained the same.
• Present your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a commercial language teaching coursebook for the purposes of teaching culture.

Guiding Questions:

• What are my takeaways from this course?
• How can I be a critical user of coursebooks for the purposes of teaching language and culture?

Warm Up: Final Course Reflection

Over the last 14 weeks we have covered a lot of content related to the nature of culture, culture's relationship with the nature of culture, how culture is learned, how to teach culture, and other topics in SLA that have connections to culture. 

• Demonstrate your ability to describe and interpret cultural features using technical terminology and references to relevant theory from the course in a 10-12 minute podcast analyzing a film.

• Demonstrate your ability to read an academic article and accurately identify and synthesize key concepts presented in the text in order to lead a group discussion exploring the implications of the theory to your teaching practice.

• Demonstrate your ability to plan a learning sequence in order to teach an aspect of culture in accordance with theory studied in the course.

• Demonstrate your ability to critically evaluate commercial language teaching materials for the purposes of teaching culture.

• Read and respond to 11 articles or chapters about a variety of topics related to culture, culture learning and teaching, and connections between culture and SLA.

Click the group link below and complete the reflection.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

Task 1: Textbook Analysis Presentations

Now it's time to share your textbook analysis projects. After each presentation we will save some time for peer feedback.

Peer Feedback Framework

References:

Moran, P. (2001). Teaching Culture: Perspectives in Practice. Heinle Cengage Learning.

 TOEIC Preparation: Week 13 - Part 4 - Talks

Warm Up: How much is just right?

Tell your partners about the perfect amount of the following items.

• "For me the perfect amount of ... is ... because ..."

Task 1: Listening for Sign Posts

Signposts are phrases that serve the function of guiding the listener's attention during a talk. They help the speaker give a more effective message by indicating what he or she is going to say next. By learning to recognize common signposts, you will improve your listening comprehension abilities for extended texts. Click on your group link below and complete the tasks.

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

Task 2: Practice with Graphic Questions

Two or three of the questions in Part 4 will ask you to intepret information from a graphic. Take the mini-test with your group. Click the link below and share your screen and computer sound.

• Mini Test Link: CLICK HERE    

Task 3: Focused Practice - Common Talk Types

Click the link below to complete a group quiz focused on the following common talk types: Business Announcements, Special Announcements, Advertisements, and News Reports.

• Group Quiz: CLICK HERE
• Transcript: CLICK HERE to view the transcripts for the talks to check your answers.

Task 4: Auditory Memory Practice

In this task you will read a text to your partner and he or she will answer some comprehension questions. Listen carefully to see how many details you can identify and retain in your short-term memory. If you don't remember the answer to some of the questions, you can ask your partner to read it again.  

• Student A: CLICK HERE
• Student B: CLICK HERE

 Professional Practice I - Week 13 - Preparing the Final Report

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 13 of the Professional Practice I of the BA in English Teaching at ULACIT term IIIC 2022. In today's class we will consider some final details for the course including the importance of teacher research, tips to write an abstract, and format suggestions for your oral presentation. 

Today's Goals:

• Discuss the dimensions of teacher research.
• Write a draft of the abstract for your final report.
• Meet with your instructor for a final counselling session.

Guiding Questions:

• What are the roles of teachers at different stages of the research cycle?
• What are the necessary contents to include in an abstract?
• What do I still need to complete before our final class?

Warm Up: Holiday BS Game

Holidays are full of symbols and practices that represent a window into exploring the perspectives of a culture. However, the historical origin of many holiday traditions are not known even to people within the culture. In this game we will explore the origin of several symbols and practices associated with Christmas. 

• Can you guess which one is correct and which ones sound like BS?

• Topic 1: Origin of the Cristmas Tree
• Student A: CLICK HERE
• Student B: CLICK HERE
• Student C: CLICK HERE

• Topic 2: Origin of Santa Clause
• Student A: CLICK HERE
• Student B: CLICK HERE
• Student C: CLICK HERE

• Topic 3: Origin of Santa's Elves
• Student A: CLICK HERE
• Student B: CLICK HERE
• Student C: CLICK HERE

• Topic 4: Origin of Mistletoe
• Student A: CLICK HERE
• Student B: CLICK HERE
• Student C: CLICK HERE

• Topic 5: Origin of the Christmas Stocking
• Student A: CLICK HERE
• Student B: CLICK HERE
• Student C: CLICK HERE

Topic 1: Weekly Check-In

It's week thirteen! There is one week remaining in the course. Let's see what you have been working this week and what is still remaining.

• There is one week left before submission of the final project is due.
• What did you do this week regarding your project?
• Tell us about your data analysis and conclusions.
• What are you still missing?

• Have you gotten the necessary documentation from the institution?
• Signed and stamped bitácora
• Supervisor evaluation

• What are you concerned about? What questions do you have about what is remaining?

Topic 2: Considering Dimensions of Teacher Research

Let's take another look at Freeman's Teacher Research Cycle, which we have seen in previous classes. As we conclude this course, it is important to consider your role at the different stages of the research cycle. 

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

Topic 3: Sharing your Intervention Project Proposal

The final part of your research project must contain a proposal for the intervention project you intend to carry out next term to make a positive impact on the learning process in the context where you completed your case study. For homework two weeks ago you were asked to prepare a proposal using the templated provided. Let's share and discuss.

• Remind Us: 
• What was your original research topic and question?
• What did you discover with regard to your question?
• What aspects of the situation do you think can be addressed through teacher intervention?

• Tell Us:
• Read us your proposal.
• What was hard about this assignment?
• Are you concerned about any aspects of the proposal?

• Ask Us: 
• What specific sections would you like feedback on?

Topic 4: Reporting the Results

The final stage in the research process is reporting the results. Let's see what the experts say about writing your research report and sharing your findings. Click the group link below.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE
• Qualitative Research Report Checklist: CLICK HERE

• Template Data Analysis and Conclusions: CLICK HERE

• Ericka: CLICK HERE
• Natalia: CLICK HERE
• Selena: CLICK HERE

Topic 5: Writing your Abstract

An abstract is a summary of your research project in a paragraph no longer than 250 words. Let's take a look at some strategies to condense the important details of your project to write and effective abstract. 

• Group Link: CLICK HERE
• Template and Practice: CLICK HERE
• Guidelines for Oral Presentations: CLICK HERE

Topic 6: Individual Check-ins

Let's take the remaining portion of our session to work writing/editing as well as to meet with the instructor for some final advice, brainstorming, and feedback.