This reflection is based upon a fifty hour scheme of work (SOW) for a course entitled German for beginners at Brasshouse Language Centre. Reflective Account
Assignment for Module EMOMO1
This reflection is based upon a fifty hour scheme of work (SOW) for a course entitled German for beginners at Brasshouse Language Centre.
Reflective Account
From a range of contrasting planning models I choose this particular planning model - using the suggestions of Armitage (1999:181-209), Daines (1993:17), Petty (1998) and Reece and Walker (2003) - because it contains most, if not all, the information required for my lesson, hence it can be shared with learners. In the following I will evaluate the positive as well as weak areas of my SOW as suggested by Gibbs (1988). When writing the SOW I had to consider two sources. 1) My subject leader has given me the newly written course book 'Access German' which has to be used in the class. 2) The curriculum for German level 2 is usually introduced to the students on enrollment which helps the learners to choose the right course.
. Identify and discuss the core aspects of the planing and organisation process
a) Learners' needs
When writing the SOW I knew that the learners have chosen to attend this course based on the information they got on enrolment, which delineates what is going to be thought. This was the main guideline for writing the SOW. However, during the last few years I made the experience that the course is also attended by some learners with some prior knowledge of the language although the course is designed for absolute beginners. These learners usually have lack of confidence to attend upper levels. As the Language Centre aims to retain learners, it leaves the decision to choose whatever course they like to the learner. Therefore, differentiation is an absolute prerequisite. This needs to be considered in the SOW, as also suggested by Minton, who recommends to consider the age, background of the learner, the reasons of being in the class and their expectations from the teacher. During the course of the first few sessions I talked to the learners, found out their background. I also distributed an ILP to be filled by learners. It contained the following questions: 1) What made you decide to enrol on this course (e.g. work related, to get a qualification, personal development)? 2) Have your studies this subject before in class or in some other way? If so, what areas have you covered? 3) Do you consider yourself to be a beginner, intermediate, advanced? 4) What would you like to be able to do by the end of the course? 5) Is there anything else you would like to gain by attending this course (e.g. increased confidence)? 6) Do your have any other interest which could be relevant to this course?
I also enquired why they are interested to learn German and expected from me. Some examples are due here: one was interested in German scientific literature, another was a physician and wanted to work in a German hospital, another was retired and wished to make holidays in Germany, and a female learner had a German boyfriend.
The questionnaire (see Attachment) designed by the Language Centre had to be employed too and was an additional support. As a rule, I had to ask the learners to fill in the form for individual learning plans, in order to find out what understanding they had from the topics to be covered. This also gave valuable information on the learners' ability.
b) Aims and objectives
The first year of the language module introduces students to the basics of a new language, i.e. German. The module aims to equip the learners with the skills to cope in social situations using the new language. The unit will introduce them to a range of fairly simple structures and vocabulary, and will familiarize the students with socio-cultural aspects of the country. It aims to give the learners a basic level of confidence in listening and speaking skills and to enable them to read sings and simple information in German. The general aims ...
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b) Aims and objectives
The first year of the language module introduces students to the basics of a new language, i.e. German. The module aims to equip the learners with the skills to cope in social situations using the new language. The unit will introduce them to a range of fairly simple structures and vocabulary, and will familiarize the students with socio-cultural aspects of the country. It aims to give the learners a basic level of confidence in listening and speaking skills and to enable them to read sings and simple information in German. The general aims of the course are delineated in the following box. These informations are also given to the learners on enrollment. My aim is to cover these main areas of the curriculum. Hence, these are incorporated in the SOW.
Aims: Introduction to the basic skills of listening, understanding and speaking in order to be able to use simple information and survive in the language.
Objectives: How to:
- ask and answer questions and initiate simple conversations
- tune the ear to different accents and pitch of voice
- cope with different forms of the/a/my/your/his/her/our/their
- form simple verb patterns in the present including some irregular forms
- give simple, polite commands and use negative structures
- cope with German word order and build a good vocabulary base
Situations:
- greetings, pronouncing names, alphabet and numbers
- introducing yourself and others and getting information
- time/dates/holidays/and making arrangements
- restaurant/money/understanding menus and bills
- shopping and prices, choosing what you want
- simple telephone conversations
- talking about your family, where you live and work.
Topics: Family, home, work, food, drinks, festivals, and transport.
A Varity of homework tasks will help to build confidence and consolidate work done in the classroom. Video work might be used for "local color", comprehension and background information on daily life and customs.
As this curriculum is general, I also have to help the learners to achieve their specific aims and objectives. A blend of these two factors are considered while writing the SOW.
c) Content
In the content column of the SOW I have written in more detail what is targeted to be learned by giving sample sentences in German. In other words, it is an extension to the topics column. As it said that the ILPs are for the teacher but the SOW is for the learners, I thought that this a useful strategy to incorporate into the SOW in order to give the learners an idea in more detail what the topic is all about. Such a column is particularly useful, if the learners lack knowledge on grammatical terminology (such as personal pronouns, adjectives, informal/formal 'you' etc. just to mention a few, which are mentioned in the topics or the intended outcomes column.
d) Teaching Methods and Resources
At my workplace there are several resources available for the teacher. These include OHP, whiteboard and tape recorder. Video recorder and TV set can also be booked and used if required.
There is also an Open Learning Centre (OLC) which is a resource/study centre for students and teachers at the Brasshouse. The OLC provides a wide range of materials in 30 languages including satellite TV, interactive CDs, videos, language course books, tapes and newspapers. Teachers can borrow material on a short-term basis. Unfortunately the OLC does not open on Saturdays when I am teaching. Hence, neither the learners nor me can make use of this facility. Because of my other commitment it is difficult for me to go there during the week. This restricts the resources available to me and deprives my learners from, for instance, watching videos during the class or watching satellite TV. Hence, in the resource column of my SOW such sources are not mentioned although they would be very useful. This is what Petty (1998:397) means when saying that "...other considerations...may affect... [the scheme of work], and chief amongst these will be resource constraints."
In my classes I use a wide range of methods from the following areas: presentation, interaction and searching as suggested by Daines (1993:33). Each session will focus on the three different skills, namely speaking, listening and reading. I discovered that pairwork is most suitable method for learning because the learners have more opportunity to speak than it would be case when all the class was involved in speaking. This enables the learner to improve pronunciation and fluency in speech. It also helps shy learners to "speak out". I also give them tasks, which need to be accomplished individually. This helps those, who do not like to work with anyone else either because their knowledge of the language is better (or worse) than others and do not wish to be held back (pulled). It also helps the learners to have to cope with "difficult" learners who a) have hearing difficulties or are slow in understanding issues due to old age b) are simply do not master English properly.
e) Assessment
Assessment should be carefully planned and integrated into classroom. This is because it can improve the quality of the learning experience for learners. The learner can find out how well s/he is doing. Assessment can give the learners encouragement by showing them that they are indeed learning. It also identifies for them what they need to do in order to improve. Homework is one of the most important strategies of teaching in my workplace, as mentioned above in the "aims and objectives" part above. Every week learners hand in their homework for checking and correcting, a term much used by Petty. I keep a record of my evaluations, which I referred to as "Assessment Sheet" in my SOW. After each session I also take notes on how each learner performed with respect to pronunciation, vocabulary, word order, etc. Keeping records helps me to identify areas of weakness of learners and to design special worksheets for them as homework. These documents also serve as evidence to prove how well learners achieved in order to be able to make recommendations as to with which course to continue. I also assess the learners by focusing on a combination of skills: listening for gist and for detail; communicating face to face; reading for gist and for detail. I also assess the learners informally by asking questions and assess their responses. I also planned to employ the following forms of assessment: a) Learner Progress & Achievement Checklist (see attachment) b) Learning outcomes/Record of achievement form (see attachment). These two forms should be filled at the end of every half term by the learners which then will give the teacher additional information as to what the learner (thinks) s/he has achieved. Revision exercises are also planned to be given over holidays as homework. I also plan to employ a so-called end-of-course test and end-of-year questionnaire. The reasons for my assessment is to monitor learners' progress and identify areas for development, evaluate the effectiveness of my lessons; and provide guidance and feedback to learners.
f) Evaluation
Evaluation means to look at strengths and weaknesses of a lesson, in other words, things that can be changed next time in a module. In order to be able to evaluate the performance of the quality of my teaching I distribute the form called "Evaluation of Session" (see attachment) to the learners after each session. On this form the learners are instructed to give their names and to tick the face that reflects how they felt about the lesson. However, my experience has shown that the learners always express that they liked my lesson. It is possible that one or other might not found a lesson very interesting, but does not want to choose 'average' or 'bad' categories simply because s/he thinks that it would upset me. Leaving out names may help to overcome this deficiency.
2. Explain and explore challenges of uncertainty and unpredictability and the relationship between constraints and opportunities within planning and organisation
A SOW is a plan of teaching organised over an extended period of time, a number of weeks or months. However, due to unpredictable events and incidences SOW like any other scheme or timetable may not be followed as planned. It can be interrupted at any stage for revisions, if for instance the majority of learners have missed classes. This can be particularly the case, if the number of learners is small, as it is in my case where the number of learners are usually less than 8!1 The teaching term at Brasshouse started in September 2003 and will end in April 2004. The last five weeks of my SOW will not be thought as planned because the learners mutually decided to do more exercises to improve their fluency. The learners told me that they wish to revise past lessons and to do more oral work to improve their fluency rather than learning new grammar or vocabulary by continuing with the book. Put it differently, they preferred more paperless exercises. Hence, I have to revise my SOW to incorporate more activities on fluency.
Reflection upon this incidence I learned that I should not have put too much emphasis on following and accomplishing the book one unit after another. I also realised that the learners are almost invariably learning it for non-academic purposes, i.e. none of them was interested in taking exams. Hence writing a word correctly or knowing more grammar did not matter much. They simply felt that we have gone through sufficient material and should use it to improve communication skills even more! Two things restricted me when designing the SOW. One was the course book which had to be used during the classes. However, the course book with its tapes for listening exercises as well as the facility to do additional online exercise has helped me to save time to find a structure as well as material for my lessons. The other was the "Course Outline" written by the head of the German language department so that the teacher knows what to teach.
Reflecting upon my biography, I realised that my previous teaching experience was influencing and shaping my current teaching practice. In the past I was teaching classes where the majority of learners were mainly younger, degree holders and professionals. However, the learners of my present class were - besides being fewer - mainly older and were interested in German for 'fun'. I should have considered this difference while writing my SOW.
While teaching Germany I realised that the course book "Access German" was sometimes too difficult for the learners - in particular the listening exercises - and also contained several mistakes. The latter was due to the fact that it was just introduced into the Brasshouse Language Centre. Before this the teachers were using the book "Willkommen" for several years. I asked other German teachers what they thought about the new book. Most of the teachers agreed that it contains several mistakes and that there is a need for revision. Concerning the difficult parts of the listening exercises I was told that it is good for the learners to listen to complex text. I learned from my colleagues that the learners would get used to understand it by time. These exercises would teach the learner how the language is really spoken in Germany, so that they will not get shocked once in the country.
Literature
Armitage. (1999). Teaching and Training in Post-Compulsory Education.
Daines. (1993). Adult Learning, Adult Teaching.
Petty, Geoffrey. (1998). Teaching Today. 2nd Edition. Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd.
Rogers, Alan. (1994). Teaching Adults. Open University Press.
Reece, Ian and Walker, Stephen. (2000). Teaching, Training and Learning. 4th Edition. Business Education Publishers Ltd.
And it is rare that all learners are present. This makes it difficult to do pairwork, although learning/support needs are usually addressed by providing online-tutorials.
