PRESENTATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS

QUESTION Can you recall a particular teacher presentation or explanation that helped you to understand some aspect of the language you were learning? How did it help?

EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION One of the T‘s jobs → mediate something new (a text, a new word, how to perform a task) in a form that is most accessible for initial learning. This kind of mediation may be called ´presentation´

PRESENTATION Kind of limited and controlled modelling of a target item that we do when we introduce a new word or grammatical structure. Initial encounter with comprehensible input in the form of spoken or written texts. Various kinds of explanations, instructions and discussion of new language items or tasks.

It can help to activate and harness Ls‘ attention, effort, intelligence and conscious (´metacognitive´) learning strategies in order to enhance learning. E.g. Point out how a new item is linked to sth. your students already know, or contrast the new piece of grammar with a parallel structure in their own language. This does not mean that every single new piece of language – every sound, word, structure, text, etc. – needs to be consciously introduced; or that every new unit in the syllabus has to start with a clearly directed presentation.

Presentations may not occur at the first stage of learning. They may be given after Ls have already engaged with the langauge in question, e. g. through discussion.

EFFECTIVE PRESENTATION 1. Attention Ls are alert and focussed on T and the material they should learn; make sure Ls are in fact attending 2. Perception Ls see/hear the target material clearly; T repeats it in order to give added opportunities for perception; it is helpful to get some response from Ls so that T knows Ls have perceived the material accurately – repetition, writing

Ls understand the meaning of the material 3. Understanding Ls understand the meaning of the material introduced, and its connection with the other things they already know – T illustrates, makes links with previously learnt material, explains, etc.; a response – valuable feedback – a restatement of concepts in Ss´ own words

more colourful, dramatic, and unusual 4. Short-term memory Ls need to take the material into short- term memory (to remember it until later in the lesson to consolidate learning); the more colourful, dramatic, and unusual the presentation, the better!; after a long explanation, finish with a brief restatement of the main points

EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE PRESENTATIONS Consider and discuss these: What was the aim of the presentation? How successful do you think it was, or would be, in getting students to attend to, percieve, understand and remember the target material? How appropriate and effective would a similar procedure be for you, in your teaching situation (or in a teaching situation you are familiar with)?

EXPLANATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS When introducing new material  give explicit descriptions or definitions of concepts or processes. One particular kind of explanation is INSTRUCTION: the directions that are given to introduce a learning task which entails some measure of independent student activity.

Guidelines on giving effective explanations and instructions PREPARE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CLASS‘S FULL ATTENTION PRESENT THE INFORMATION MORE THAN ONCE BE BRIEF ILLUSTRATE WITH EXAMPLES GET FEEDBACK

PREPARE T‘s explanations are often not as clear to Ss as they are to the Ts MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CLASS‘S FULL ATTENTION When explaining something essential, your Ss must attend. E.G. give instructions BEFORE you divide the class into groups or give out materials, not after! and if they have written or pictorial material in their hands, they will be tempted to look at it, which they may also find distractive.

PRESENT THE INFORMATION MORE THAN ONCE A repetition or paraphrase of the necessary information may make all the difference Ls‘ attention wanders quite often, and it is important to give them more than one chance to understand what they have to do BE BRIEF We have only a limited attention span. Make your explanation as brief as you can, compatible with clarity. Think carefully about what you can, or should, omit, as much as about what you should include!

ILLUSTRATE WITH EXAMPLES Explain, e.g. the meaning of a word, illustrating your explanation with examples of its use in various contexts, relating these as far as possible to the Ls‘ own lives and experiences GET FEEDBACK It is not enough just to ask ´DO YOU UNDERSTAND?´ It is better to ask them to do something that will show their understanding: to paraphrase in their own words, or provide further illustrations of their own.

PEER-TEACHING Choose a topic or item of information. Prepare a presentation of not more than five minutes, and then give it. For each presentation, discuss what was effective about it, using the criteria suggested previously.

GIVING INSTRUCTIONS Stage 1: Experience Choose an activity and prepare instructions on how to do it. The activity may be: a game which you know how to play but others do not; a process (how to prepare a dish, how to mend or build something); or a classroom procedure. Stage 2: Discussion Look at the guidelines on giving effective explanations and think about or discuss them in relation to the actual intructions given in stage 1. In what ways did the instructions agree with or differ from the guidelines? Can you think of ways in which these instructions could have been made more effective?