24th August 2004Staff Development

Classroom Language: What it is and what it can

achieve.

Gary James HarfittHong Kong University

Can ‘excellence’ be achieved in Can ‘excellence’ be achieved in the classroom?the classroom?

What are the problems or obstacles in the way What are the problems or obstacles in the way of excellence in the classroom?of excellence in the classroom?

StudentsStudents ExpectationsExpectations

Exams Exams PressurePressure

Syllabus constraintsSyllabus constraints LPATLPAT

ReformsReforms TextbooksTextbooks

BUT…… to what extent are we obstacles???

‘We want our students to change and improve but as teachers we often don’t do this ourselves’ (local teacher)

‘If we always do what we’ve always done, we will always get what we’ve always got’ (local NET teacher)

Do we really know how to teach English?

Task Based LearningCommunicative Language TeachingChalk and Talk – transmission modeGroup and Pair Work

But what do we really know?

We know that students are not the same.

We know that teachers are not the same.

We know that our classes run more smoothly when the students are engaged in the lesson.

Our own perceptions…… (taken from TP observation sheets

‘My students are passive….’

‘My students can’t speak in English …’

‘They lack confidence’

‘My students like to be spoon-fed’

From local teachers (Tsui, 1995)

‘Students were eager to learn and yet they seemed unable to bring themselves to participate actively in class.’

‘Students are too passive in my class. They seldom answer my questions voluntarily. What I can do is just assign one or two of them to give me response or reaction. Worst of all, most of them simply sit there doing nothing but listening or sometimes day dreaming.’

Who should take responsibility?

Episode 1.155. T: Picture 5. Can you see Bobo?57. Ss: He takes the MTR.57. T: Yes, he takes the MTR every day to

go to school. Good. Do you know what MTR is? Mass Transit Railway. OK? MTR.

(source of data: G. Harfitt December 2002)

Episode 1.2

21. T: OK, I’d like to ask you.. Do you listen to music every day?

22. Ss: Yes.

23. T: Do you have dinner every day?

24. Ss: Yes.

25. T: Do you go to bed every day?

26. Ss: Yes

27. S1: (No) Other students laugh)

28: T: No? (teacher looks up) Who said ‘no’?

From Good and Brophy (1987)

‘Unfortunately, in too many classrooms, discussions are parrot-like sessions, with teachers asking a question, receiving a student response, asking a question of a new student and so forth. Such ‘discussions’ typically are boring and accomplish little other than the assessment of students’ factual knowledge. Such assessment is important but if that is all that is done in discussion, students may come to perceive that the teacher is interested only in finding out who knows the answers.’

Another case

An English teacher recently transcribed her lesson in full as part of a HKU assignment. She found that there were 5074 words used in the lesson.

Total from teacher?

……4781

Another example…

T: Now can you make another sentence with another verb ‘swim’, Eva?

S: I am swimming

T: I don’t want ‘swimming’. I want swim.

(taken from Classroom Interaction by A.B.M Tsui)

Another …

T: Does anyone know what an editorial is?T: Come on! Editorial. What is it? Pencil, do you know what

an editorial is?S: Um ……… I think … I don’t know.T: What is the root of the word? Editor? Where do you find

an editor?S1: I don’t know (L2)T: Does anyone know?

(data source : G.Harfitt, 03/03)

One more …

• T: OK: I want you in groups. Groupwork. Yes, in groups. Then you will get this piece of paper. It’s coming around now. Read it and look at the bottom part as that is the question you have to discuss in your groups. The secretary has to report the findings in the discussion so you need some paper as well. Don’t write yet as you haven’t got the paper. Your groups will speak for 10 mins and then give presentation to the class for 2 minutes. It’s only 2 minutes .. you can do it. I have a timer. Get into groups. Get into groups and start reading. Go! Go! Go! Understand?

• Ss: Yes(data source : G.Harfitt, 2003)

What do these examples show?

• Teachers play a very significant role in making students ‘active’ or ‘passive’ through their own input in the classroom.

• Students’ answers and contributions are often pre-determined. Consider the following exchange:

T : What is the capital of America?S: Washington.T : Good. Well done.

Questioning

• Display/Closed questionsT : What time is it now? [ I ]S: 2:15 [ R ]T: Good. That’s right [ F ]

• Referential / Open questionsT: Why do you think the man did that?T: How did this happen?

What can make students ‘passive’?

Learner anxiety – learning a language is ‘psychologically unsettling’ (Horwitz, 1991).

Consider other types of anxiety in our lives: Stage fright or fear of speaking in public Debilitating anxiety / Facilitating anxiety Fear of exams / fear of failure Social anxiety

The Chinese learner

Wong (1984) conducted research into the cultural factors governing students’ use of English in the ELT classroom (secondary level). He found that students have the following ‘rules’,

Do not demonstrate verbal success in English in front of peers

Hesitate and show difficulty when arriving at an answer Do not answer the teacher voluntarily or enthusiastically

in English Don’t speak in fluent English

Other reasons for students being reluctant to speak in class Lack of achievement Pressure and expectations upon them They are not ‘trained’ They are often bored by the textbook, the

heavy focus on grammar and writing, tests and the mechanical nature of English teaching

What factors involve the teacher?

Awareness of students’ proficiency levels Awareness of students’ learning strategies Awareness of students’ fear of making mistakes

and receiving negative comments Teachers’ intolerance of silence Teachers’ decision making Uneven allocation of turns in the class. Incomprehensible input

What is ‘observable’ and what is ‘unobservable’ in the classroom?

1) Teachers’ decisions and beliefs

2) Teachers’ questions

3) Turn allocation

4) Wait time

5) Student participation

6) Students’ fears and anxiety

What strategies can we employ to help overcome these difficulties?

1. Lengthen wait time in class

2. Improve questioning technique

3. Accept a wide variety of answers

4. Focus on content as well as form

5. Encourage peer and group work in class

6. Establish good rapport in class

Conclusions

• Classroom language provides opportunities for students to learn

• It provides negotiation of meaning

• It provides a model for language use

• It influences the interaction that takes place in the classroom

• It can be encouraged through staff development / panel collaboration

Professional development

• Observations – focusing on the language used in class, not the methodology.

• Transcription of lessons – sharing of different episodes at panel meetings / personal reflection

• If teachers are teaching the same subject content (e.g past tense, maths problems etc), the lessons could be recorded and compared to see how different language used by the teacher influenced the teaching and learning.

Contact detailsContact details

Gary James HarfittGary James Harfitt

Room 123, Hui Oi Chow BuildingRoom 123, Hui Oi Chow Building

Faculty of Education, HKU.Faculty of Education, HKU.

2241 5729 2241 5729 gharfitt@hkucc.hku.hkgharfitt@hkucc.hku.hk