Welcome Purpose Teachers will be able to know different strategies to teach English.

TEACHING STRATEGIES

What is a strategy? In general, a strategy is a tool, plan, or method used to complete a task. Below are other terms associated with strategy instruction, some of which are discussed in this digest.

Strategies for Successful Teaching Strategy #1 - Prepare for each lesson. You need to know the material in order to inspire your students to learn it. If you haven't learned it, why should they? Strategy #2 - Find ways to make connections to more familiar information already mastered. Using connections to illustrate the new concepts serves as a glue to help new information stick. Strategy #3 - Study until you can present the lesson without it sounding like a lecture. It should seem like a conversation. When you speak on a subject without notes or the textbook you inspirel confidence in your audience. Strategy #4 - Discover the natural order of the lesson. In every subject there is a natural way from the simplest ideas to the extensive views; this is true of every lesson as well. Strategy #5 - Find the relationship between the lesson and the lives of the learners. The lesson's practical value lies in this relationship.

Strategies for Successful Teaching Strategy #6 - Use all available aids, and study tools but never rest until you truly understand your subject. Strategy #7 - Don't just cover the material, teach until they understand the material. Strategy #8 - Have a definite time for the study of each lesson, in advance of the teaching. All things help the duty done on time. One keeps on learning the lesson studied in advance, and gathers fresh interest and illustrations. Strategy #9 - Develop a personal plan and read as many good books on your subject as possible. Buy, borrow, or ask for books if necessary, but obtain the help of the best thinkers to stimulate your own thinking.

Teacher talk Keep talk to a minimum. Use clear, common and consistent instructions and repeat or rephrase if necessary. Speak at a normal pace and volume. Don’t use too much jargon. Support instructions with visual cues as much as possible.

Specific Strategies/Activities Teaching oral language To develop oral communication skills, focus on activities that encourage learners to talk in a supportive environment such as in pairs or groups. Such activities include: Information gap activities where learners have to exchange information in order to complete a task. Opinion gap activities where learners share and discuss their own personal feelings, attitudes or preferences about ideas or topics. Mime and role-play. General communicative activities eg games, group work, songs. Everyday classroom interactions. To develop the more formal oral language skills: Formal talks, including the oral genres, and reports. Debates. Similarly, stress, rhythm and intonation will also differ from the first language. Provide many opportunities to hear and practise language through rhymes, songs, chants, games, drama etc.

Teaching reading Reading for the learner involves transferring skills from the first language (if he or she can read in the first language) to the second as well as becoming familiar with: New set of sounds and sound groupings which differ from the first language New intonation patterns and their meanings New patterns of stress and pause. New sets of culturally-specific knowledge, values and behaviours. New grammar conventions eg different word order in sentences. New print conventions eg reading from left to right. Choose reading materials that: Have good visual cues to enable the student to access the story easily. Reflect the experiences, knowledge and interests of the learners. Exposure to meaningful print in the immediate environment eg signs, charts, labels modelled deconstruction of a range of whole texts to develop understandings of the organisation and language features of different genres and the conventions of English. Taped reading. Shared book experiences and big books. Wordless books/ picture sequences/ photographs to build a story/recount. Cloze activities to focus on comprehension or on different aspects of language Pre-reading activities which prepare the reader for the text through activating prior knowledge. about the topic, developing a shared overall knowledge of what the text might be about and teaching strategies for predicting the text content. Reading activities which develop language and reading skills in context. Post reading activities which focus on responding to the text in order to gain a greater. understanding of the text, extract information for other purposes, critically interpret and analyse the text and give personal responses to the text.

Teaching writing Other writing strategies Encourage students not to focus too much on their mistakes. Encourage writing for real purposes by publishing in innovative ways eg newsletters on the school’s intranet. Encourage the use of different strategies for accessing vocabulary needed and for recording new vocabulary for use in future writing. Teach all aspects of word knowledge and spelling through specific activities including games, quizzes etc.

Cognitive Strategy: a strategy or group of strategies or procedures that the learner uses to perform academic tasks or to improve social skills. Often, more than one cognitive strategy is used with others, depending on the learner and his/her schema for learning. In fact, research indicates that successful learners use numerous strategies. Some of these strategies include visualization, verbalization, making associations, chunking, questioning, scanning, underlining, accessing cues, using mnemonics, sounding out words, and self-checking and monitoring. Cues: visual or verbal prompts to either remind the student what has already been learned or provide an opportunity to learn something new. Cues can also be employed to prompt student use of a strategy. Independent, Strategic Learner: the student who uses cues and strategies within his/her learning schema, asks clarifying questions, listens, checks and monitors his/her work and behavior, and sets personal goals. A strategic learner knows the value of using particular strategies through experience, and is eager to learn others that might prove beneficial. Learning Strategy: a set of steps to accomplish a particular task, such as taking a test, comprehending text, and writing a story. A first-letter mnemonic is often used to help the learner fllow the steps of the strategy. Metacognition and Self-regulation: the understanding a person has about how he/she learns (personal learning schema) including the strategies used to accomplish tasks, and the process by which the learner oversees and monitors his/her use of strategies. Mnemonic: a device for remembering, such as a first-letter mnemonic for writing: PLAN (Pay attention to the prompt, List main ideas, Add supporting ideas, Number your ideas) (DeLaPaz, Owen, Harris and Graham, 2000). Rhyme, rhythm, music, and key-word mnemonics are also useful memory tools. Strategy Instruction: teaching students about strategies, teaching them how and when to use strategies, helping students identify personally effective strategies, and encouraging them to make strategic behaviors part of their learning schema. Learning Schema: the sets, or mixes, of strategies that the individual learner uses automatically to perform, produce, communicate, or learn. It can take years to develop a personal learning schema.

What are the basic steps in teaching strategy use?

What are the basic steps in teaching strategy use? The following order of steps should be followed: Describe the strategy. Students obtain an understanding of the strategy and its purpose-why it is important, when it can be used, and how to use it. Model its use. The teacher models the strategy, explaining to the students how to perform it. Provide ample assisted practice time. The teacher monitors, provides cues, and gives feedback. Practice results in automaticity so the student doesn't have to "think" about using the strategy. Promote student self-monitoring and evaluation of personal strategy use. Students will likely use the strategy if they see how it works for them; it will become part of their learning schema. Encourage continued use and generalization of the strategy. Students are encouraged to try the strategy in other learning situations

Fixing Comprehension Applying ”fix-up” Strategies Knowing How to Use Different "Fix-Up" Strategies *when I get stuck on a word *when I get confused *use context to define the word *reread to clarify meaning *use my questions and connections

Questioning as I read to help me draw conclusions, Inferring I Wonder? Could it be? Questioning as I read to help me draw conclusions, make predictions and reflect on my reading. When the author doesn't answer my questions I must infer... Maybe... I think... It could be ... It's because... Perhaps... It means that ... I'm guessing...

Portfolio evaluation Portfolio Final Evaluation Part I: Contents √ Required Contents Well Done Acceptable Needs Work Organization/ Format/ Editing Personal Goal: Clear, Specific Table of Contents and Overview Reflection on portfolio as a whole Assignment #1: including feedback integration & reflection Assignment #2: including feedback integration & reflection Assignment #3: including feedback integration & reflection Assignment #4: including feedback integration & reflection Assignment #5: including feedback integration & reflection List of techniques, organized Self- Assessment Peer Assessment Criteria for evaluation Progress Demonstrated Comment: Creativity Demonstrated