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In English DigitalFebruary 2012

Special Feature

The British Council magazine for teachers of English in Lusophone countries

o z a m b i q u e

S E C T I O N SI S S U E I I I

Graphic design, layout and additional photography: Paul Driver

IED3 Editorial

Fitch O'Connell

5 Focus: Mozambique Overview Fitch O'Connell

6 Focus: A Teacher’s ViewJohannes Magombo

9 Focus: The Future of Education in Mozambique Marcus A. Nhapulo

11 Focus: A Student’s PerspectiveOrlando Mário Chissano

12 Focus: I Want To Be a Drum (poem)José Craveirinho

13 Focus: Literature in MozambiqueMarcus A. Nhapulo

14Focus: Glimpses & ThoughtsDírio Rodrigues Dambile & Tanguene

15 Think On: Critical Literacy in the 21st CenturyLucia Bodeman

17 Hands On: A poem is a little pathCeleste Simões

19 Hands On: What’s in a Word?Fitch O’Connell

21 Hands On: The Irony of GamificationPaul Driver

25 Think On: Learning with DiversityAlexandra Sobral e Costa

28 Think On: Navigating the EnvironmentAlan Maley

31 Think On: SWOTCarlos Eduardo Souza

34 Hands On: Nothing but the BoardRobert Grant

37 Think On: Content-based TeachingCristiane & João Carlos Lopes

In this, the third edition of In English Digital (IED), we invited

colleagues from Mozambique to share with us some of their

'snapshots of life as teachers or learners of English. What

shouldn't be remarkable is the exuberance and vitality that is

displayed through description, observation and poetry, and a sense of positivism against a difficult background of provision

and resources. This is something that is shared with teachers

from East Timor who were visiting Portugal on a training

programme and is a timely reminder of the core values that

should underpin our profession. These values are encapsulated by veteran ELTer, Alan Maley as he helps us in

Navigating the Environment.

As before, IED offers a variety of thoughts and practices from

teachers of English in the lusophone world and combines theory with practice and reflection with action. It also

aims to bring some cutting edge thinking in the

development of educational practice: for example, Paul

Driver delves into the world of gamification, Lu

Bodeman brings us up to date with key aspects of critical literacy and Cristiane and João Lopes bring us

a detailed look into content based classroom

materials. Combining all the articles in this magazine

is an ethos of creativity and a belief that teaching is

not a static craft but a combination of dynamic, chameleon-like art and probing science. Good teachers

are pioneers every working day of their lives. To help

sustain the effort is the knowledge that there are many

other good teachers 'out there' sharing ideas and

experiences wrought from a broad range of backgrounds. This magazine aims to help share this knowledge.

EDITORIAL

Fitch O'Connell

Editor

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Contributors

Marcus  A.  Nhapula  aka  Mon  AmiMozambique

Cris0ane  da  Silva  LopesRio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil

Orlando  Mário  ChissanoMaputo,  Mozambique

João  Carlos  LopesRio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil

Celeste  SimõesPortugal

Alexandra  Sobral  e  Costa,  Loulé,  Portugal

Alan  MaleyKent,  UK

Cadu  SouzaBrazil

Lucia  BodemanRecife,  Brazil

Robert  GrantCoimbra,  Portugal

Fitch  O’ConnellPorto,  Portugal

Paul  DriverPorto,  Portugal

TangueneMaputo,  Mozambique

IEDJohannes  MagomboMaputo  Province,  Mozambique

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Hand Illustration: Paul Driver

By Fitch O’ConnellThe Republic of Mozambique is situated in the south eastern part of Africa and covers an area of 799 380 square kilometres. The country was a Portuguese colony from the fifteenth century until it attained political independence in 1975 after 10 years of a bitter armed struggle. Peace was interrupted once again during the early 1980s when the country experienced a civil war which caused the loss of many lives and left in i t s w a k e a t r a i l o f destruction.  As a result, a lot of infrastructure had to be rebuilt.  Peace finally returned to Mozambique in 1992 and since then, the country has undergone rapid socio-economic development. The country is divided into 11 provinces namely Cabo Delgado, Niassa, Nampula, Te t e , Z a m b é z i a , M a n i c a , S o f a l a , Inhambane, Gaza, Maputo Province and Maputo City.The capital, Maputo City, comprises about 6.1 percent of the total population of Mozambique. According to the 1997 census 52.1 percent of the population were female. The population density was about 20.1 inhabitants per square kilometre. The gross illiteracy rate was 46.9 percent, and the overall illiteracy rate among the female population was 60.7 percent.Mozambique is a multicultural and multilingual country with 18 main Bantu languages and many dialects. It is predominantly a rural country, with about

71.4 percent of the Mozambican population living in many small settlements located in areas that are difficult to access due to a poor transport and communication ne twork . The o ffic ia l l anguage i s Portuguese and this is the only language of instruction. However, this language is spoken by only about 30 percent of the population, mainly those who are resident in urban areas. There is a Provincial Directorate of Education for each of the 11 provinces, and this directorate falls under the command of a Provincial Director. Below the Provincial Directorate there is the District Directorate headed by a District Director. There are 146 districts in Mozambique. Below the District Directorate there is the school which is headed by a School Director.  Curriculum development for general education (primary, secondary and pre-

university) and teacher t r a i n i n g ( b a s i c a n d intermediate)  is carried o u t b y t h e N a t i o n a l Institute for Educational Development (INDE).In 2000, the Ministry of Education initiated the process of decentralising curriculum development and mon i to r ing . Th is system allows 20 percent of the national curriculum for basic education to be the “local curriculum”,

implying that this portion of the curriculum was to be developed locally. This is one of the major innovations of the “Basic Education Curriculum Transformation in Mozambique” It is expected that the “local curriculum” will provide for the specific learning needs of the learners.

Duration of compulsory education: 7 years

Starting age of compulsory education: 6 years

Ending age of compulsory education: 12 years

© 2011 SACMEQ Further information: http://www.sacmeq.org

FOCUS ON

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Teacher

IED Interview

JohannesMagombo

MAPUTOPROVINCE

Profile

IED: How long have you been a teacher?

JM: I have been working as a teacher since 2006. That means I have been teaching for five years, yes, five years moulding students.

IED: What is your job title? What qualifications do you have?

JM: I have never thought of a job title before, but many of the students call me teacher or ‘stor’. I think that 'stor' might be my job title. I am a holder of a ‘licenciatura’ in English teaching obtained at the Pedagogic University in Maputo.

IED: What age are the students that you teach?

JM: Most of my students are teenagers.

IED: How big are your classes usually?

JM: My average class is very big, if not extremely big. I have an average of around 60 students in a

class. However, in a normal day I might only have little more than half of the students in a single lesson.

IED: Where is your school exactly?

JM: The school is situated in Boane, which is in the Maputo Province. It is over 500 kms north of Maputo city - about 7 hours drive.

IED: Tell us a little bit about your students

JM: The students have different backgrounds but most of them come from middle class families who work on farms. They are very eager to learn English. Most of them really want to speak the language they view as the money making language. I think this enthusiasm is due to the fact that English is used in most songs and films. This somehow motivates them and creates room for the desire to learn English.

IED: What are the challenges for lesson planning?

IED Spoke with Johannes Magombo, a teacher from Maputo Province in

Mozambique.

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Teachers at Boane

JM: Lesson planning is one those things that a good teacher should be able to do as flexibly as one can be. I try my best to be as flexible as I can but every year, and sometimes every lesson creates room for a challenge in planning. These challenges make the planning difficult but even so I always opt for flexibility when it comes to lesson planning.

IED: Do you regularly use course books? If so, what do you think of them?

JM: Yes, I often use a course book but the problem is how to rate them. I believe that every course is good as long as the teacher knows how to use it properly. Most of the course books are good. I am proud of the new grade ten English course book (Inglês 10 – Plural Editoras ), which I wrote and which is my first book.

IED: What supplements the course book - even your own?

JM: I am proud of the English Corner - a club which helps interested students to use English in their day to day life through poetry writing, singing and debates. The club meets every fortnight. This is not enough but it has helped most students to improve their English. Many of them now speak confidently and use English daily. An unforgettable moment was when one of my students helped a tourist find his way to the capital. Though he was not fluent, he managed to communicate with a native speaker. That also encouraged others to join the club.

IED: What difficulties would you point out?

JM: There are so many things, but the most frustrating is the way some other teachers view us. They think we are lazy and spend most of our time cheating instead of teaching. Some people have a very inflexible way of thinking how teaching should be.

IED: Are there any particularly amusing moments you remember?

JM: One of the funny moments was my first day at school as a teacher; most of the students were adults and I kept telling them that I was their teacher so they had to respect me despite my age. One them ended up making fun of me ‘you are scared of us teacher!!!!’ of course I was and I trembled until the bell rang; saved by the bell!!!

IED: Is there any especially satisfying moment you remember?

JM: Teaching the future perfect progressive to adults. That was a million dollar task. When the students finally exclaimed, ‘oh we got it’ I felt so relieved and happy.

IED: What would you like to see more of?

JM: I would like to see more young English teachers being creative and using their energy to teach and help our nation. I would like to see more Mozambicans use English in the same manner they use Portuguese.

IED: What would you like to see less of?

JM: I would like to see fewer students in class. I would also like to see healthier teachers. Our professions has many problems caused by AIDS, drugs and alcohol. It is a serious matter.

IED: What is your hope for teaching English?

JM: English teachers are like any other teachers and the fact that we speak English does not mean we are foreigners. Respect us and treat us like the others. Also, it is time that schools stop buying course books simply because they are cheap. They should ask the teachers which books they would like to use and then buy them.

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Overview of the Education System in Mozambique

PUBLICIt is widely known that Mozambique is a multicultural and a multilingual country. Here, we have more than 20 Bantu languages and Portuguese, the official language, is learned as a second language, and English is learnt as a Foreign Language. Bantu languages were introduced in the Education system and they are currently being taught from the primary to the university level. Portuguese is the official language and, from a linguist’s perspective, may be considered as a national language, given that there are many Mozambican words in it and there is even a Mozambican dictionary which shows that there has been language change since independence in 1975.

In the colonialist environment, education was mainly concerned with training people to

serve the government's goals. That is the reason why some educated people before independence would even believe that they were “white” people, while Bantu languages were only used in the family settings. In 1964, FRELIMO, the ruling party at the time, adopted Portuguese as the language of wider communication in Mozambique, as it was the only language used for uniting people speaking different Bantu languages. After independence in 1975, English was first taught at secondary schools, given that Mozambique started to take part in the

Southern African Development Community - SADC - and, later on, in the Commonwealth. Since then, English has been taught in many public and private institutions.

The problem is that Mozambique has always faced some problems in terms of the quality of its education system: lack of qualified teachers, limited teaching materials, limited library access and low salaries for teachers. These problems still affect the quality of our Education system itself, students and even researchers. The quality of the institutions themselves, classrooms and the number of students (more than 60 in one classroom), old desks and poor blackboard quality, corruption in enrolment processes and in exams, and many more problems are amongst the many negative factors that galvanize low quality in the education system.

Nowadays, there is a new and growing phenomenon that has to do with the privatization of the education system. This can be observed when we look at the number of private institutions, which is more than the number of the public institutions. In simple words, the phenomenon consists of selling knowledge. That is, the quality of education is sometimes better at private institutions than at some public ones. This is because teachers, who are teaching both at the public and private schools, give more attention to private schools than the public ones, because the private institutions pay more. What about the poor student? What about the loyal, qualified teachers?

PRIVATE

“In simple words, the phenomenon consists of selling

knowledge.”

Marcus A. Nhapula(English Lecturer at Eduardo Mondlane University)

The Future of Educationin Mozambique

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Another aspect of privatization has to do with the increase of post-graduate levels, which has to be paid for by those wanting to improve their academic status. This creates some internal problems that we do not need to explore in detail here, such as organizational and financial problems within the Departments in which Masters and PhD are taught.

While the facts abovementioned do not mean that there is no qualified teaching in Mozambique, it does mean that the quality itself is endangered by poverty and the eager search for money in what in Mozambique is called “turbo”, which means a teacher who works in more than one schools or university. The reason why teachers do this is the low salary they get in the public education system. In so doing, they end up having more than two salaries and this enables them to support the “expensive” life challenges in the so-called world economic crisis.

So, within this context, there are many recommendations to be taken into consideration:

๏ Bantu languages have to be taught in adult literacy so that adults, who did not have the chance of going to school and who do not speak Portuguese, may easily move and communicate throughout the country. This will also enable the revitalization and standardization of bantu languages;

๏ Portuguese has to be taught by experienced teachers, now that students are using both the so-called standard Portuguese and the Mozambican one, the one with new lexical items borrowed from Bantu languages. This needs attention on the teacher’s side, because s/he needs to grasp the students diverse cultural background and avoid the use of wrong words in the academic setting;

๏ Communicative Language Teaching - CLT is the method that has guided the current curriculum design by INDE in Mozambican ELT since 2010. So, the teaching methods should not stick only to this line, but teachers should also consider the use of different teaching methods that fit the learners’ learning strategies and styles;

๏ Teachers’ Training Programmes should involve an English Structure course so as to enable English teachers to use Error Analysis for improving their competence, for the benefit of the English teaching and learning process as a whole.

๏ The Mozambican Ministry of Education should review the level of teachers’ salary, control the Masters and PhD levels teaching process, improve the teaching material and setting quality, increase the number of scholarships for university lectures, invest in research, enable students to fortify student associations and update our libraries.

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“The reason why teachers do this is the low salary they get in the public education system.”

Bibliography Dias, Emília P. (1998). Language Transfer and the Lack of Success in the Professional courses conducted

in English Language. Maputo: UEM. INDE/MINED – Mozambique (2010). English, Grade 11 Program. Maputo: DINAME.

Lopes, Armando J. (2004). The Battle of Languages: Perspectives on Applied Linguistics in Mozambique. Maputo: University Press.

Nhapulo, Marcos (2010). The Role of Error Analysis in ELT in Mozambique. Folha Linguística. No 16. Department of Linguistics and Literature. Maputo: UEM.

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y name is Orlando Mário Chissano, I´m doing the

5th level of both English and French at the Institute of Languages. This Institute was established in January 1979, here in Maputo, and the current Director is Mr. José Dinis. The Institute of Languages offers Engl ish, French, P o r t u g u e s e , C h i n e s e languages courses from level 1 to 5 and English for young learners, which is relevant for the future of our children. Each level lasts for three months. First Certificate in English is also another course run by the IL. There are reading groups for meetings and discussion of poetry, short stories and novels. There is a need to reorganize these reading groups, so that language students may share their creative readings and in the meantime, improve their reading, speaking, listening and writing skills. These groups should be organized not only for the English language learners, but also for other language learners. We have reading strategy instruction in our courses, which enables us to read effectively. Un fo r tuna te l y, we do no t have many opportunities of practising our skills, but for the students who would like to help others learn English after they complete the course there is a need to open up opportunities that would enable them to become tutors by involving them in activities that teaching skills outlook. The students should be deployed to other private language centres or in the state schools to interact with other students and English

teachers, it would depend on the kind of cooperation that the Institute of Languages has got with other English teaching institutions.. Since its establishment, the Institute of Languages has been very important for the local community. Many of the first English teachers in Mozambique who have taught English in private and state schools all over the country were trained here. It is the most renowned, highly accredited language t e a c h i n g c e n t r e i n

Mozambique. The IL has got 18 classrooms with good desks and air-conditioners, computer and listening rooms, although we do not have these facilities in all classrooms. I like the quality of teachers. We would like to see more innovations coming in terms of the teaching material, but this is a challenge for the whole country, we would like to learn English using texts and stories that explore our culture and environment and meaningful to us, not read stories that tell us about foreign cultures and cities. It´s great to read a story about London, New York, Porto but to read a story that explores Maputo, Beira and other local places and cultures would be more useful and meaningful. On the issue of innovation, integrating technology should be a fruitful option, now that there is a lot of material to be found online, dictionaries, exercises, as well as creative reading groups like the Maputo Reader’s Corner at the BBC/British council Teaching English website.

Orlando Mário Chissano

A Student’s Perspective

M

I want to be

a drum  

The drum is                                                                                        Weary of screamingOh ancient God of menLet me be a drumBody and soulJust a drumJust a drum screaming In the hot tropical night

Neither a flower Born in the bush of despairNeither a river Flowing into the sea of despairNeither a zagaia amidst the bright fire of despair Nor even poetryCrafted in the bloody depths of despair Nor anything! Just a drum weary of screaming Under my homeland full moonJust a drum with the skin hardened under my homeland sun Just a drum carved from rough logsFrom trees of my homeland

Me!just a drum breaking the bitter silence of MafalalaJust a drum bleeding over the batuque festival of my peopleJust a drum Lost in the darkness of lost night.

Oh ancient God of menI want to be a drumneither riverneither flowerneither zagaiaNor even poetry. 

Just a drum echoing The song of strength and lifeJust a drum night and dayDay and night Just a drumUntil the Batuque festival is over!

Oh ancient God of menLet me be a drumJust a drum!

José Craveirinha (1922—2003)He was buried in the crypt of Maputo's

Monument for Mozambican Heroes. He´s the greatest poet of Mozambique and in 1991 he became the first African who won the most important literary award of literature in Portuguese language, the Camões award. Let´s enjoy together the poem Quero ser Tambor that we translated to share with you.

Translators: Dírio Dambile

Francisco LangaMaria do Céu Pires Costa

Marcos Nhapulo (The Maputo Reader´s Corner group) http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/discussion/maputo-readers-corner?page=24

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The first period 1925/1945-47In this period we find writers like the brothers João and José Albasini who edited O Brado Africano. These writers had shown a new viewpoint, by rejecting the assimilated culture. That is, an 'assimilated person' is the one who was not neither a white man (in terms of culture or colour) nor a black man (in terms of culture). An assimilated person is just in the middle of both white and black people and culture, trying to serve both communities.

The second period 1945-47/1964In this period we find writers like Augusto dos Santos Abranches who became involved in the local community's problems and write in the people's voice. Some writers like Rui Knopfli have adopted both the Mozambican and the European expression, but the referred two brothers, Noemia de Sousa and Jose Craveirinha, started to exhibit their African identity.

The fourth period 1975-1985These were the years in which people were in peace and writers had to partake of this feeling as well. Poetry was to be celebrated everywhere in lyrics, and the feeling is that of Poetry at the Pub. With the creation of the Mozambican Writers Association in 1982 the Mozambican literature has grown even broader.

The fifth period 1985 – 2010This is the period in which we have writers with a more liberal writing style, taking into consideration that there are many libraries, websites and literary exchange among writers and readers around the world. Now we have Mozambican writers imitating American, European, Asian and Australian writers in terms of topics and style. Mia Couto and Paulina Chiziane may be singled out from this writers' generation. Mia Couto is a well-known writer and he has been translated into more than five languages. He has his own style, making up new words using agglutination and juxtaposition. This is sometimes hilarious, but innovating in the Mozambican literature. In terms of topics, he is more concerned with giving us the picture of the civil war that finished in the 90s, the present and the future vision of what Mozambique is going to be. Paulina Chiziane, on the other hand, is more concerned with the third Millennium Development Goal. She also brings cultural aspects that highlight gender equality and equity in Mozambican society in general.We also have books written in national languages and some books translated into English. Apart from these, there is a group of new young writers who are appearing with new anthologies, new books and new styles and visions. Nowadays, there is a group of young writers who are aware of the international lingua franca and they are starting to write in English. These young writers are still looking for reinforcement and more motivation within the country and abroad. This group started from the former Book Club at the British Council Mozambique and grew bigger and stronger with the formal constitution of the Artists and Entrepreneurs Students’ Association- AE with its Maputo Reader's Corner reading project.

The third period 1964/1975With independence in 1975, we find writers dealing with community problems and political issues like Marcelino dos Santos, Jose Craveirinha, Rui Nogar, Sérgio Vieira among others. The ideology here is the country's liberation. There are other writers/poets who show distance from colonial power with books and newspapers like A Tribuna, A Voz de Moçambique, and Caliban, among others.

Literature in Mozambique: a brief Overview

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Marcus A. NhapuloMaputoMozambiqueImage:Paul Driver

My  Stolen  Pen  

“Teacher,  you’ve  stolen  my  pen”  said  the  young  student  with  tears  dropping  down  the  cheeks.  “I  have  stolen  your  pen!”  wondered  the  teacher,  “no,  teacher,  I  went  outside  for  the  break,  and  when  I  came  here  my  pen  wasn't  here,  it  was  not  you  teacher,  it  was  not  you  teacher,  but  you’ve  stolen  my  pen”  The  teacher  shouted  angrily  “did  I  steal  your  pen?  The  student  shyly  answered  “it  was  not  you  teacher,  but  you’ve  stolen  my  pen”.  “Did  I”  (whip),  did  I?  (whip),  did  I?  (whip),  the  crying  student  cried  louder,  “Shut  up!”  the  teacher  shouted  again.  “How  can  you  say  I’ve  stolen  your  pen,  did  I?”  

The  student  sobbed  lower,  then  stopped  crying  and  went  back  home  without  knowing  how  he  would  have  said  “my  pen  was  stolen,  teacher”.By:  Tanguene

Glimpses& ThoughtsMadala

SadlyWork  will  accomplishTwo  hectares  for“Macume  Mambire”The  years  passedThe  world  spunMadala  away  passedThe  history  lived.  (A  poem  by  “Grupo  de  Estudantes  Moçambicanos”)  from  "Livro  de  leitura,  grade  7,  edited  by  the  Ministry  of  EducaFon,  Mozambique.  hJp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/discussion/maputo-­‐readers-­‐cornerMadala  –  an  old  manMacume  Mambire  –  Twenty  Escudos  (Portuguese  currency  that  was  in  use  in  Mozambique  in  the  colonial  years)  -­‐  meaning  in  the  poem  -­‐  "for  a  liJle  money".

The  Reader's  Corner

Your  name  Sounded  many  a  Vme,It  was  thought  of  you  to  be  so  Vny.  You  proved,  you  convincedIn  you,  there  is  place  to  keep  everyoneFrom  colours  to  numbers!  Who  called  you  a  corner?You  are  beyond  a  corner!The  Reader’s  Corner

By:  Dírio  Rodrigues  Dambile

It   is   impossible   to   avoid   an  avalanche   coming   your   way,   and  even   more   so   when   there`s  nowhere   else   to   run!   And   in  today’s   world,   no   matter   where  you   search,   or   where   you’re  headed,   there   is   an   avalanche   of  information   at   racing   at   great  speed.   Some   of   this   is   'good'  i n f o r m a t i o n   w h i l e   o t h e r  information   might   cause   either  disbelief   or   disregard.   We   have  reached  the  21st  century,  and  along  with   it,   the     apparent   need   to  spread   messages   and   ideas   from  an   ocean   of   platforms   where  anyone  from  anywhere  can  publish  t h e i r   t h ou gh t s ,   o r   r e po r t  happenings   that   reach   out   to  millions   within   seconds.   This   is  both   fascinating   and   alarming   to  many,   and   to   me   it   is   a   call   for  caution.  

The   power   to   inform   is   not  something  to  be  overlooked.  When  one   feels   empowered   to   share   a  message,  he  is  taking  a  stand.  He  is  making   a  claim,   a  statement.   And  depending  on  how  that  statement  is   read,   it   can  bring   on  disastrous  results.  Due  to   the  possibility   that  educators  in   today’s  world   remain  reluctant  about  discussing   texts   in  

their   classrooms,   we   may   be  leading   our   students   to   believe  that   what   is   written   is   always  factual.   That   the   written   word  

might   be   'written   in   stone,'  therefore,  a  type  of  axiom.  

Readers  nowadays  need  to  look  at  things   from   more   than   one  perspective.   It   is   important   to  reconsider   the   written   word.   And  fortunately,  there  is  evidence   that  this  is  happening;  as  it  should.  The  human  mind  is  capable  of  retaining  an   inca l cu lab le   amount   o f  information   and  we   are   all  aware  that   this   is   not   the   problem   –   by  virtue,  increasing  opportunities  for  l e a r n i n g   a n d   i n f o rma t i o n  acquisition  is  something  we  should  always  aim  towards,  and  applaud.  However,   when   I   mention   the  word   ‘caution’   it   is   because   it   is  important   to   reflect   on   what  exactly   is  being   taken  in,  and  how  this   will   affect   us   as   individuals,  and   as   part   of   a   society.   This  cannot   be   done   blindly.   Thus,   as  educators,  it  is  vital  that  we  realize  

just  how  important  it  is  to  bring   in  opportunities  for  discussion  within  our   classrooms.   It   is   necessary   to  view  opposing  arguments  and  why  they   have   come   about,   when  interacting   with   a   text.   Questions  such  as  “why   is  the  author   stating  this?”  “what  sort  of   a  context  is  s/he   a   part   of?”   “is   that   context  similar   to   ours?”   “who   are   the  participants?”   “whose   identities  are   in   focus?”   and   “do   we   see  things   the   same   way?   …   should  we?”   are   key   to   advocating   and  practicing   critical   literacy   in   our  lessons.

Fortunately   for   us,   student  behavior  today  is  no  longer  what  it  used  to  be.  Nor  is  how  they  see  the  world.   Due   to   an   ever-­‐constant  exposure  to  information  online  and  off,  it  is  a  relief  to  witness  a  change  in   how   they   approach   their  education.   Though   some   may  argue,   I   find   it  not  only   important  that   they   question   what   is   being  addressed  to  them,  but  opportune.  It   is  now   time   for   the   teacher   to  exchange   his   posture   and   sole  ‘knower’  of   information   and  guide  students   towards   discovery   and  autonomy.

C R I T I C A L L I T E R A C Y in the 21st Century  By  Lucia  Bodeman,  Brazil

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“…the    apparent  need  to  spread  messages  and  ideas  

from  an  ocean  of  plaQorms…”

It   is   a   wonderful   thing   that  educaVon  has  evolved,  toward  the  acceptance  of  allowing  students  to  have   a   voice.   Our   role   is   now   to  facilitate,  to  guide,  and  to  mediate  while   they   develop   and   construct  their   learning,   through   tolerance,  respect   and   parVcipaVon   in   a  soc iety   that   i s   not   b l ind ly  manipulated   by   messages   that  they   feel   they   have   no   control  over.    

Note   I   use   the   word   ‘control’  cauVously.   It   may   hold   true   that  being   in  control   over   what   is  said  and   done   in   a   classroom   is   what  some   educators   may   consider   to  be   appropriate.   They   may   not   be  comfortable   with   the   idea   of  lefng   go   of   their  authority   in   the  classroom   for   fear   of   chaos,   or  rebellious   behavior   –   or   the  exposure  of  their  own  weaknesses.    In   the  past,   tradiVonal  classrooms  displayed  the  teacher  at   the  front  of   the   class,   while   students   –  seated   in   rows   –   passively   wrote  down   what   was   wrigen   on   the  blackboard   and   did   as   they   were  told.  And   this  worked,   for   quite  a  while.   Aher   all   they   didn’t   know  any   beger.   Nor   there   was   any  other  way  of   doing   things.  And   so  on  it  went.

When   we   visit   a   contemporary  classroom,   we   witness   change   (I  hope!)   The   actual   layout   of   the  room  is  no  longer  the  same;  where  we  used   to  see   rows   and   rows  of  chairs,  now  we  see  an  open  space  where   everyone   is   (or   should   be)  f ree   to   s tep   in   and   share  informaVon.   Students   are   no  longer   looking  at   their   classmate’s  back,  but   their   faces.  This   is  huge  progress.  Anyone  is  now  welcome  to   share  whatever   it   is   they  wish,  and  quesVon  it,  either  the  students  or  the  teacher  him/herself.  

When   the   sefng   becomes   real,  you  can  almost  visualize  ideas  and  opinions   come   to   life.   And   I   was  eager   to   experiment   with   CriVcal  L i t e r a c y   w i t h   a n   u p p e r -­‐intermediate  group  I  had  last  year.  All   because   back   in   2009   I   took  part  in  the  Braz-­‐TESOL  Conference,  held   in   Fortaleza,   Ceara,   and   had  the  privilege  of  meeVng  Chris  Lima,  Della  de  la  Fonte,   Jose  Antonio   da  Silva   and   Inez   Woortman,   all   of  whom   were   acVvely   involved   in  the   Special   Interest   Group   (SIG)  and  CriVcal  Literacy   in   ELT   Project  for  the  BriVsh  Council2.  During   the  conference,   Jose  Antonio  and   Inez  presented  us  a  magnificent   set  of  resources   designed   to   lend   a  criVcal   eye   to   what   we   call   ‘tall  stories’  –   stories  which  exaggerate  the  feats  of  famous  characters  in  a  given   context,   and   are   agributed  with   having   almost   inhumanly  strength  and  bravery   to  serve  and  protect   the   weak   or   under-­‐privileged.   The   focus   of   our  discussion   was   on   the   American  folk   hero,   Davy   Crockeg,   “king   of  the   wild   fronVer,”   who   single-­‐handedly   killed   a   wild   beast,  shagered   a   huge   boulder   to  pieces,   and   even   unfroze   the  Earth3!  

N e e d l e s s   t o   s a y ,   I   w a s  flabbergasted   by   how   wonderful  our  discussion   carried   on,  and   felt  anxious   to   bring   in   an   added  feature:   compare  Davy   to   a   well-­‐know   (anV?)   hero   in   Brazil:  Virgulino   Ferreira   da   Silva,   beger  known   as   Lampiao,   o   Rei   do  ‘Cangaco’    (a  type  of  wild  fronVer,  similar   to   that   of   Davy’s).   The  acVvity   involved   quesVoning  Lampiao’s   reign   over   the   ‘less-­‐fortunate’.   Was   he   a   hero   or   a  villain?  What  was  happening  in  the  northeastern   part   of   Brazil   at   the  

Vme,   and   why   did   he   decide   to  act?  What   crimes  did   he   commit,  and   why?   Are   there   unheard  voices?   What   if   he   were   alive  today??    As  part  of   our  discussion,  even  Robin  Hood  came  up.  

Since   then,   I   have   become   an  advocate   for   CriVcal   Literacy,   and  recommend   it   to   educators   who  want   to   fully   delve   into   a   text,  exploring   mulVple   perspecVves   –  instead   of   the   usual   unilateral  in terpretaVon   that   we   are  expected   (though   someVmes  reluctant)   to   make.   If   we   move  t o w a r d s   a d v o c a V n g   t h e  acceptance  of   conflicVng   opinions,  while   building   and   maintaining   a  non-­‐threatening   environment   in  our   classrooms,   students  will   feel  free   to   express   their   opinions   as  well   as   learn   to   respect   those   of  their   peers   which,   in   turn,   will  result   in   an   enriching   classroom  experience   that   everyone   will  share  and  grow  with.    

Lucia  Catharina  Bodeman    Twi$er:  @lu_bodeman  /  Email:  lu_bodeman@yahoo.com.br

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For  more  informa;on,  please  visit:www.bri;shcouncil.org.br/elt    www.osdemethodology.org.ukwww.cri;calliteracy.org.uk/elt  Mark  Davy  Crocke$  and  the  Frozen  Dawn  –  Schlosser,  S.  E.Available  at  h$p://americanfolklore.net/folktales/tn1.html    retrieved  on  November  18,  2007.  Davy  Crocke$  –  Available  at:  h$p://americantalltales.net/index.html  retrieved  on  November  18,  2007.

A  poem  is  a  liSle  pathThat  leads  you  through  the  trees.It  takes  you  to  the  cliffs  and  shores,

To  anywhere  you  please.

Follow  it  and  trust  your  wayWith  mind  and  heart  as  one,And  when  the  journey's  over,You'll  find  you've  just  begun.

Charles  Ghign

A Poem is a Little Path

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S ON I  believe  that,  by  now,  a  great  majority  of  teachers  

have   already   grasped   the   importance   of   using  poetry  in  their  classes,  whatever  the  subject  they’re  dealing  with.   Poetry   can  be  used   to  convey   ideas,  feelings,  and  opinions,  for   example,  but,   above  all,  it   is  a  great  means  of   entertainment.   That’s  why   I  decided   to   use   this   fantasVc   resource  also   in  my  English  Club  sessions,  and  put  my   students  to  work  creaVng   their   own  poems.   I  had  students  from   3  different   grades  agending  the  Club:  7th,  8th  and  9th  graders   (more   or   less   20   students),   some   more  proficient   than  others,   which  posed  a  challenge.   I  had  to  find  an  acVvity  that  involved  them  all,  could  be   easily   achievable   by   all   of   them   (without  creaVng   anguish   or   anxiety!),   and   put   their  

imaginaVon  to  work   (even   for   those  who  claimed  not  to  have  one).

So,  the  first  real  step  was  to  have  this  session  in  the  school   library,   an   important   ally,   with   all   its  collecVon  of   sources  and   resources.   I  had  already  researched  and  devised  a  plan     and  knew  exactly  the  process  I  wanted  to  use  to  enable  my  students  have  fun  and   reach  fine  results.   So,  one  step  at   a  Vme!

Having  told  them  they  were  going  to  write  a  poem  (What?  On  our  own?  Are  we  going  to  receive  a

By Celeste Simões, Portugal

Image: Ann_Mei/Shutterstock.com

model?),  I  assured  them  they  would  put  everything  they   had   to  write  it   and  so   I  handed  out   a  paper  with  the  Vtle  “Five  Senses  Poem”.  We  had  a  short  conversaVon   about   these   physiological   capaciVes  and  wrote  them  on  the  board:  “The  sound”  |  “The  Taste”  |  “The  feel”  |  “The  Smell”  |  “The  Sight”.  They   copied   the   words   (the   worksheet   was  carefully   designed  and  was  already   divided   into  5  tercets   –   blank   lines   of   course)   and   wrote   each  sense  at   the  beginning  of   a  tercet,   repeaVng   it   in  the  3  lines:

The  sound    …………………………………………………………The  sound    …………………………………………………………The  sound    …………………………………………………………

The  taste    …………………………………………………………The  taste    …………………………………………………………The  taste    …………………………………………………………

Then,   they   just   had   to   put   their   imaginaVon   to  work,  compleVng  the  lines:  the  sound  of…  the  taste  of…   the  feel  of…   They   could  wander   about   in  the  library,   look   through  the  window,   use  dicVonaries  or  other  resources  they  felt  appropriate  in  order  to  get  them  started  and  on  the  way.

This  is  just   one  of   the  poems  we  got,   and   it   was  wrigen   by   a   boy   in   the  8th   grade.   You   can   find  other  examples  on  my  blog.

The Five SensesThe  sound  of  the  silent  nightThe  sound  of  a  waterfallThe  sound  of  the  breeze

The  taste  of  honey  in  my  lipsThe  taste  of  the  strawberries  I  eat  every  dayThe  taste  of  an  orange  on  a  summer  day

The  feel  of  your  hands  in  my  hairThe  feel  of  your  lips  in  my  face  tonightThe  feel  of  your  legs  in  my  bed

The  smell  of  orange  in  springThe  smell  of  peach  in  winterThe  smell  of  a  strawberry  when  I’m  with  you

The  sight  of  a  black  carThe  sight  of  a  green  landscapeThe  sight  of  blond  hair

When   the   students   realized   how   easy   and   how  much  fun  this  acVvity  had  been  I  pushed  it  one  step  further.   If   they   were  capable  of   wriVng   about   all  their   senses,   now   they   could   leave   one   of   them  out!  (What  are  you  talking  about,  teacher??)

I   brought   the   book   “O   Livro   Negro   das   Cores”,  edited  by   Bruaá  Editora,  and  read  it  aloud  (I  didn’t  have  one  in  English  and  had  bought  this  one  for  my  son).   If   you   haven’t   read   this   book   I   fully  recommend  it  to  you,  it’s  meant  to  be  experienced  with   the  fingers  instead  of   the  eyes,   and   it   allows  sighted  readers  to  experience  colours  the  way  blind  people  do,  using  the  other  senses.  So,  the  students  touched   the  book,   felt   the   images,   and   imagined  the   colours     -­‐the  pages  are  enVrely   black   with   a  bold  white  text.

This  Vme  I  divided  them   in  pairs  and  they   had  to  choose  8  colours.  As  previously,  they  had  received  a  handout  with  8  lines  and  a  Vtle:  “The  Black  Poem  of  Colours”.  The  pairs  wrote  their  different  colours  at   the  beginning   of  each  line  and  then   they   were  asked  to  describe  it  using  all  the  senses  except  the  sight.  This  could  have  been  an  extremely  hard  task  for   them   to   take   on,   if   it   hadn’t     been   for   the  previous   experiment   with   the   book,   and   the  'senses'  poem  before  that.  Here  you  have  another  example  wrigen  by   a  pair   of  8th  grade  girls,  each  belonging  to  a  different  class,  which  agests  for  the  importance   of   having   Clubs   in   schools,   also   as   a  way   of   making   students   collaborate  and   develop  empathy  towards  others.  Some  other  poems  are  on  my  blog  (same  link).  

Yellow  tastes  like  a  ripe  pineapple.  Red  smells  like  blood.  Blue  feels  like  fresh  water.  Green  sounds  like  the  music  of  the  trees.  Orange  tastes  like  an  orange.  Black  feels  like  the  rainy  clouds.  Pink  sounds  like  a  baby  crying.  Brown  smells  like  a  chocolate  cake.

As   you   will   noVce,   wriVng   a   poem   is   all   about  observing   the  world   inside   you   and   around   you.  Other  acVviVes  using  poems  followed,  but  I’ll  leave  that  for  a  future  arVcle.

This  ar;cle  first  appeared  in  the  APPI  Journal  in  April  2011

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In   a   corridor   at   work,   leading   to  nothing   more   glamorous   than   a  classroom   and   a   staff   toilet,   there  are  framed  pictures  on  the  wall.     In  these   pictures   a   number   of   well-­‐known  BriVsh  personaliVes  are  embracing   English  words   that   they   parVcularly   like.     For   example,  actor   and   writer   Stephen   Fry   has   a   parVcular  passion   for   the   word   quince   which,   he   claims,  sounds  spicy  as  well  as  old  fashioned.    (As  an  aside,  I   note   that   a   number   of   writers  of   my   personal  acquaintance   like  quince,   though  usually   the  fruit  rather  than  the  word.)    Then  there  is  the  Northern  I r i sh   poet ,   S inéad   Morr i s sey ,   who   has  'incandescent'  next  to  her  photograph  though,  she  says,   she   doesn't   really   have  a  favourite  word   in  the  language  as  'all  words  can  find  their  place,  with  skill'.    She  chose  this  one,  though,  because  it  'lit  up'  a  parVcular   poem  when  she  used  it.  Then  there  is  that   edgy   arVst,   Tracey   Emin,   who   chooses   the  word   'docket'   ("before   you   get   a   Vcket"   she  explains)   and   points   out   that   her   cat   is   called  Docket,   and   that   she   loves  her   cat,   so  we're  not  sure  if  she  loves  the  word  because  it  is  the  name  of  her   cat   or   whether   the  cat   got   its  name  because  she   loves   the  word   'docket'.     As  usual,   Emin   is  challenging  us.     Then,   to  be  different,   there  is  the  BriVsh  inventor,  James  Dyson,  who  has  chosen  the  word  'Engineering'.    What  is  different  is  that  he  has  chosen   the   word   more   because   of   what   it  represents  rather  than  what  it   sounds  like.    ArVsts  and  scienVsts,  eh?    Who'd  have  thought  it?

It  got  me  thinking  about  this  division  of  words  that  people  lay   claim   to,   between  what   it   sounds  like  and  what  it  means.     I  have  ohen  told  my  students  to  work  on  new  words  that  they   like,  because  they  are   more   likely   to   remember   them   and,   more  importantly,   be  able  to  use  them  correctly   if   they  actually   enjoy   the  word  itself  and  adopt   it  as  their  own.   Some   students   pick   on   words   that   seem  eminently  useful  to  them  -­‐  perhaps  because  of  the  work   they   do,   a  situaVon  that   seems  plausible  to  them   or   of   associaVon   with   the   translated  word  into  their  own  language  -­‐  while  others  go  for  words  that  are  fun  to  see  on  the  paper,  or  hear  out  loud

and  which  have  sonoriVes  that  appeal.    Like  quince,  perhaps,   or   o$er,   or   feather,   or   flawless.     The  trouble  with  these  words  is  that  they  might  not  be  parVcularly  useful  in  a  conversaVon  over  coffee,  or  when  buying   a  train   Vcket,   or   in   a   job   interview.    But   then  you  never   really   know,   do  you?    On  the  other  hand,  what  both  kinds  of  examples  do  give  to  the   learner   of   English   is   a   ligle   lih   in   the  personalisaVon   of   the   language:   I   never   Vre   of  saying   that   developing   a   sense   of   ownership   of  language   helps   students   to   beger   acquire   the  language.     IdenVfying   favourite   words   assists  enormously   in  this  task  and  gives  legiVmacy   to  the  student's   growing   relaVonship  with   the   language  they  are  learning.

It  was  a  short  step  from  looking  at  the  pictures  on  the  wall  to  asking  my   colleagues  for   a  ligle  bit  of  help   in   discovering   the   favourite   words   of   their  students.     What   I   wanted   to   know   was   their  favourite  word  in  English,  and  their   favourite  word  in  Portuguese  -­‐  the  lager  as  a  kind  of  control  in  the  experiment.     I  also   thought   it  would  be  useful  to  know   their   ages,   but   I   didn't   require   any   other  informaVon   though,   in   retrospect,   knowing   their  gender   might   have  presented  another   interesVng  angle   too.     In  the  largest   grouping,   the  youngest  students   were   11   and   the   oldest   were   early  twenVes,   but  the  majority  hovered  around  the  16  years  old  -­‐  sweet   sixteen,  perhaps,  and  sweet  was  quite  a  popular   word  amongst   this  age  group.    A  quick,   iniVal   trawl   through   the   piles   of   four  hundred   words   showed   clearly   that   round   about  the   age   of   14   there   was   a   marked   shih   in   the  apparent   way   that   words   were   chosen:   from   its  meaning  to  its  sound.  Many  11-­‐13  year  olds  came  

By Fitch O’Connell, Portugal

up   with   football,   friend,   love,   kiss   and  correspondingly   amizade,   amigos,   amor   and  abraço.  

By   the  Vme  we  got   to  the  16   year   olds,   it  was  clear   that   many   more   words   appeared   to   be  chosen  because  of  their  sound  rather   than  their  meaning   (though   we   can   never   enVrely  disentangle   the   two).     Lollipop,   bubble   and  gorgeous  were  very   popular,   as  were  the  fruits  strawberry   and   pineapple   (both   singular),   and  also  marshmallow  and  mushrooms.    These  same  respondents  also  had  food  on  their  minds  when  it   came   to   Portuguese,   with   francesinha   being  extraordinarily   popular   (for   those   who   don't  know,  this  is  a  remarkable  invenVon:  a  toasted  sandwich  filled  with  sausages,  ham  and  steak,  a  fried   egg   on   top   and   cheese   melted   over  everything   and   served   in   a   hot,   spicy   sauce).  Portuguese   fruit   also   crept   healthily   in,   with  pêssego,  abacaxi  and  marmelada.     There's  that  quince  again,   even  though   this  is  the  origin  of  the  English  word  marmalade.

Older  students  demonstrated  a  clear  preference  for   the  sounds  of  words  in  both  languages,  and  demonstrated   a   remarkable   grasp   of   low  frequency   lexis   in   English,   and   mulV-­‐syllable  words   in   Portuguese.     Amongst   the   English  words   for   the   16+   age   group   were   rancid,  twe l v e ,   unb i a s ed ,   c r anky ,   o$e r   a nd  (wonderfully)   turpitude   and   gregarious,   while  the   same   group   produced     e s t r am b ó l i c o ,  g a r g a l h a d a ,   o r n i t o r r i n c o   a n d  otorr inolar ingologista   -­‐   which,   amazingly,  was  the  only  word  to  be  chosen  in  each  of  the  age  categories  14-­‐16,  17-­‐19  and  20-­‐  25.

So  it  was  clear   that  choice  of   favourite  word  in  both   languages   went   about   a   fundamental  change   throughout   early   teens,   and   the  funcVonal,   literal  meaning  of  good,  basic  words  that   clearly   had   significance   for   the   younger  students  gradually   transformed  into  words  that  are   more   recognisable   for   their   musical   and  

rhythmic   qualiVes,   where   meaning   is   perhaps  less  important   than  the  metaphysical  existence  of   the   word,   or   at   least   in   implied,   sound-­‐generated  metaphor.

In  an  earlier  arVcle  I  discussed  a  quesVon  posed  by  a  poet.  "Why,"  he  had  asked  "  if  poetry  is  the  glorious  summit  of  linguisVc  achievement  in  any  language,   does   it   work   so   well   in   a   language  learning   environment?   Surely   this   is   a  contradicVon?"     At   the  Vme  I  had  ventured  an  answer   along   the   lines   that   poetry   frequently  extends  beyond   the   actual   words   it   uses   and  that  sound  and  rhythm  play  a  part  in  connecVng  with   the  listener   and  the  reader.     Teachers  of  English  as  a  foreign  language  noVce  that  certain  kinds  of  poetry  appeal  to  different  age  groups  of  children,  and  that  this  more  or   less  corresponds  to   the   kind   of   poetry   they   appreciate   in   their  own  language.    Younger  children  work  well  with  poems   that   are   centred   in   things   they   know,  using   words   and   real-­‐life   images   they   have  experienced  or   can   imagine.     In   ELT   we   have  used  the  work  of  poets  like  Michael  Rosen,  Levi  Tafari   and   Tony   Migon   to   great   effect   in   this  respect.    Older  teenagers  seem  naturally  to  veer  towards   imagery,   metaphor   and   soundscapes  and  so  this  discovery  of  the  choice  of  individual  words   came   as   no   great   surprise.     Indeed   it  reinforced  what  we  had  suspected.

The   sample   group   of   much   older   students   -­‐  those  over  30  and  40  -­‐  was  too  small  to  do  much  with   but   was  big  enough  to  hint   at   something  else  going  on.    Do  older  learners  revert  to  simple  words   with   literal   meanings   and   no-­‐nonsense  senVments?    I  might  be  tempted  to  run  another  survey   to  find  out.     Meanwhile,   I  applaud  the  zeal   with   which   so   many   young   learners   of  English  embraced  words  as  their  own.    And  the  most  popular   word?  Peace,   perhaps  inevitably,  followed   closely   by   lollipop   and   mushroom.    What   are   the   most   popular   words   with   your  students?    Do  let  me  know.

This article first appeared in Visual Thesaurus in June 2011, and appears here with the kind permission of the editor. http://www.visualthesaurus.com/

The Irony

Perhaps   I’m   living   in   an   echo   chamber.   On  examinaVon,  my  PLN  does  appear   to  be  worryingly  comprised  of  mostly   like-­‐minded  peers  and  my  RSS  aggregators  do  a  pregy  decent  job  of  trimming  the  fat   by   carefully   curaVng   the   news   and   arVcles   I  encounter.   Even   taking   that   into   consideraVon,  over   the  last   couple  of   years  I’ve  found  it  nigh  on  impossible   to   avoid   the   rising   crescendo   of  gamificaVon  devotees  feverishly   touVng   the  cure-­‐all  benefits   of   gamifying   anything   and   everything  from   healthcare,   business   and   markeVng   to  educaVon.  Aher  a  brief  period  of  iniVal  opVmism,  I  soon   found   myself   secretly   hoping   it   was   just   a  faddish  neologism,  but   if  it   is,   it’s  proving  to  be  an  extremely  stubborn  one.

Don’t   get  me  wrong,   I  love  games.   Board   games,  word  games,   card  games,   pervasive  games,  digital  games  —   I   study   them,   play   them  and  have  even  designed  a  few.   I  also  frequently   use  games  in  my  classes.   But   we’re  not   talking   about   games  here,  we’re  talking  about  “ifying”  something  that   is  not  a  game.  To  “ify”  something  (apologies  to  any  hardline  grammarians  out  there  for  contorVng  a  suffix  into  a  

verb),   is,   according   to   the   Cambridge   online  dicVonary,   “to   cause   an   increase   in   the   stated  quality”.  So,  to  gamify  is  to  make  a  non-­‐game  more  game-­‐like  by  suffusing  it  with  game-­‐like  qualiVes.

It’s  not  hard  to  understand  why  one  would  want  to  do  this,  especially   in  the  field  of  educaVon.  Games  are  fun,  intensely  engaging  and  highly  moVvaVonal  systems.   They   can   also   be   extremely   complex,  challenging   and   rewarding   experiences.   Modern  video  games  can  ohen  take  tens  or  even  hundreds  of   hours   to   complete.   They   involve   acVvely  acquiring   new   skills,   making   difficult   choices,  digesVng   huge   amounts   of   contextually   situated  informaVon   and   repeatedly   applying   criVcal  problem   solving   skills   to   overcome  what   may   at  first  appear  to  be  overwhelming  obstacles.  Gamers  do   all   of   these   things   rouVnely,   voluntarily   and  enthusiasVcally.   Many   games   are   also   extremely  collaboraVve   and   social,   with   communiVes   of  pracVce   spanning   thousands   of   blogs,   wikis   and  forums  produced  by   and  dedicated  to  players  who  want   to   share   what   they   know   and   learn   from  others.

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By  Paul  Driver,  Portugal

What   teacher   wouldn’t   want   to  imbue  their  lessons  with  more  of  these  qualiVes?   This  is  the  siren  song  appeal  of  gamificaVon.

As  with  most   things   though,   the  proof  of  the  pudding  is  to  be  found  in  the  eaVng.  And,  to  risk  stretching  the  metaphor  to  breaking  point,   with   the   pudding   of   gamificaVon,   the  problem  lies  in  the  ingredients  used,  the  cooking  technique   applied   and   the   chef   on   duty.  Examples  of   gamified  systems  can  be   found  all  around  us.  Department  stores  and  supermarkets  have   long   co-­‐opted   the  psychological  power   of  the   points   and   rewards   game   mechanic   to  promote   customer   loyalty   and   increased   sales.  Fast   food  restaurants  rouVnely   offer  tokens  and  scratch  cards  which  can  be  traded  for   fries  and  burgers  and  more  recently   locaVon-­‐based  social  networks   like  Gowalla   and   Fouresquare,   which  allow   you   to   “check   in”   to   specific   real-­‐world  locaVons   and   earn   virtual   badges,   have   been  used   as   promoVonal   tools   by   shops   and  restaurants   who   offer   discounts   to   frequent  visitors.  Arookoo,  and  many  similar  mobile  apps,  even   turn   the   act   of   walking   into   a   game   by  rewarding  users  with  points  and  badges  for   the  distance  they   cover   while  being   tracked  by   the  GPS  in  their  phones.

Schools   and   universiVes  all   over   the  world  are  jumping  on  the  gamificaVon  wagon  to  seemingly  great   effect.   Back   in   2010   I   heard   a   radio  interview  with  the  headmaster  of  a  school  here  in  northern   Portugal.   They   were  in   the   second  term  of  a  trial  which  involved  dishing  out  points,  badges   and   rewards   to   their   students   for  everything   from   good  behaviour   to   test   results  and  agendance.  Classes  were  piged  against  each  other   to   accumulate   the   highest   number   of  points  and  win  rewards  such  as  trips  and  prizes.  This   encouraged   students   to   put   pressure   on  anyone  who   appeared   to   be   slacking,   so  as  to  

boost   the   class   average.   The   headmaster   was  enthused  by   the  project   and  cited  bucket   loads  of   staVsVcs  revealing   agendance   improvements  and  test  scores.

Another  apparent  “win”  for  gamificaVon  was  the  focus  of  an  arVcle  in  Forbes  magazine  earlier  this  year.   The   arVcle,   enVtled   “EducaVon   Meets  World   Of   Warcrah”   describes   a   polytechnic  teacher   who   begins   the   academic   year   by  informing   his  students  that   they   all  have   an   F,  quickly  calming  the  ensuing  panic  by  adding  that  they   can  “level  up”.  According   to   the  arVcle  he  then,  “...divides  the  class  into  small  groups  called  “guilds,”   which   complete   quests  such   as   taking  tests  and   making   presentaVons  to   earn   points  and  then  advance  to  a  new   level.  At   the  end  of  the   course,   he  determines  the  grade  by   points  and  skill  level.”   Like  the  Portuguese  experiment,  gamifying   the   course   led   to   significant  performance  improvements:  “Ever  since  I  turned  educaVon   into   a  game”,   he   says,   “the   average  leger  grade  in  the  class  went  from  a  C  to  a  B,  and  agendance  is  almost  perfect.”

The   thing   is,   although   many   games   use   such  points   and   rewards   systems   to   track   player  progress,   they   are   only   the   most   superficial  components   and   not   fundamental   to   the  experience  of  what  a  game  is.  They  are  but  one  of   many   ways  of   providing   feedback  to  players  about   how   close   they   are   to   achieving   their  goals.  Of  course,  feedback  is  essenVal  to  learning  as  it  helps  you  to  keep  on  track  and  enables  you  to  try   out  new  strategies  and  see  how  well  they  work.  Games  of   all  kinds  are  great   at   providing  immediate,   frequent   and   intense   feedback   in  mulVple  ways  which   are  not   always  possible  or  pracVcal   in   tradiVonal   learning   environments.  This  rich  feedback  may  be  in  the  form  of  audio,  video,   hapVcs,   social   interacVon   or   narraVve  progression  among  others.  

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Furthermore,   because   the   feedback   is   usually  immediate,  it  is  strongly  situated  in  the  context  in  which  the  acVon  took  place.  Games  are  complex  systems,   a   point   which   seems   to   currently   be  ignored   by   the   majority   of   gamificaVon  proponents.

With   most   gamified  systems   and   processes  the  feedback   is   provided   in   the   form   of   a   simple,  superficial   layer   of   points,   badges   and   other  rewards  that  are  not  contextually   integral  to  the  acVvity   itself.   In   the   field   of   educaVon,   this   is  compounded  by   the   fact   that   we  have  already  introduced  such  a  feedback   layer   in  the  form  of  test  scores,  grade  averages  and  cerVficates,  so  in  essence  we  are  rewarding  the  rewards,  much  in  the  same  way   as  parents  who  give  material  gihs  in   return   for   As.   I’ll   leave   that   argument   for  another  Vme.  Over  the  short   term  this  approach  may   lead   to   measurable  outcomes  as  students  make   an   effort   to   perform   beger   in   order   to  achieve   beger   results,   or   more   agendance  points.   The   unintended   consequence   of   this   is  that   it   frames   learning   as   being   an   acVon   of  accumulaVon,   about   gaining   or   having   either  material  or  virtual  capital.   The  rhetoric   is  that  of  the  age-­‐old   carrot   and  sVck   metaphor   in  which  learners   are   condiVoned   to   act   and   behave   in  certain   ways   in   order   to   gain   certain   rewards.  This  is   the   classical  operant   condiVoning   model  which   externalizes   moVvaVon   through   the  promise  of  extrinsic  reward.

Students   want   to   “have   a   degree”   and   “get   a  good  grade”  rather   than  be   learners  and  it   then  becomes  logical  for   them   to   ask  quesVons  such  as  “will  this  be   in   the  test?”,   in  order   to   avoid  wasVng  effort  on  unrewarded  content   (for  more  on   the   whole   having   vs   being   debate   I   highly  recommend  Fromm’s  “To  Have  or   to   Be”).   This  aftude   is   precisely   the   opposite   of   what   we  should  be  encouraging   if  we  want   to  produce  a  society   of   self-­‐moVvated   and   reflecVve   lifelong  learners.   To   make   magers   worse,   although  renaming   classes   as  “guilds”,   grades  as  “levels”  and   beger   marks   as   “leveling   up”   may  manipulate   learners   into   modifying   their  behaviour,   it   does   so   by   reinforcing   and  perpetuaVng   an   anachronisVc   industrial   model  of  educaVon  through  concealment  and  thwarVng  intrinsic   moVvaVon.   Prepackaged   web   2.0  services   like   Class   Dojo   promise   to   enable  teachers  to:

"Create   an   engaging   classroom   in   minutes”   by  providing   “instant   visual   no;fica;ons   for   your  students   (‘Well   done   Josh!   +1   for   teamwork!’)  with  a  whole  host  of  game  mechanics:  think  level-­‐ups,   badges   and   achievements   to   unlock,   in-­‐classroom  games,  avatars  and  leaderboards.

Similar   gamificaVon   pla�orms   are   popping   up  every   day,   their   brightly   coloured,   cutesy   vector  graphics  thinly  concealing  the  underlying  rhetoric  of   increas ing   reward   dependency   and  undermining  intrinsic  moVvaVon.

To  have,  or  to  be,  that  is  the  ques0on.

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Image: sextoacto/Shutterstock.com

Dewey  expresses  this  nicely   in  chapter  seven  of  The  School  and  Society:

If  there  is  not  an  inherent  a$rac;ng  power  in  the  material,   then   (according   to   his   temperament  and   training,   and   the   precedents   and  expecta;ons   of   the   school)   the   teacher   will  either   a$empt   to   surround   the   material   with  foreign  a$rac;veness,  making  a  bid  or  offering  a  bribe   for   a$en;on   by   "making   the   lesson  interes;ng";  or  else  will  resort  to  counterirritants  (low   marks,   threats   of   non-­‐promo;on,   staying  ager  school,  personal  disapproba;on,  expressed  in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  naggings,  con;nuous  calling  upon   the   child   to   "pay   a$en;on,"   etc.);  or,  probably,  will  use  some  of  both  means.

...But   the   a$en;on   thus   gained   is   never   more  than   par;al,   or   divided;   and   it   always   remains  dependent   upon   something   external   —hence,  when   the   a$rac;on  ceases  or   the   pressure   lets  up,   there   is   li$le   or   no   gain   in   inner   or  intellectual  control.

Such   instrumental   learning   may   be   easy   to  implement  and  convenient  for  administrators  to  Vdily  quanVfy   into  grades  and  staVsVcs,   but  we  need   real   change   in   educaVon,   not   merely   a  shih   in  percepVons.  Games  can  help  us  achieve  this  if  we  respect  and  embrace   their  complexity  and  refrain  from  stripping  them  of  their  intrinsic  power   to   moVvate   and   engage   learners   on  mulVple   levels.   Educators   can   and   should   use  games   and   game   mechanics   in   different  contexts,   but  they  should  do  so  reflecVvely  and  unravel   their   underlying   rhetoric.   Games   can  serve   as  excellent   examples  of   how   acVve   and  sVmulaVng   learning   environments   can   be  created   for   the   purpose   of   learning,   as   good  

games   a l ready   embody   many   o f   the  characterisVcs   of   good   learning   principles  (see  James  Gee   for  more   on   this  and  John  Hunter’s  World  Peace  Game  for  a  real-­‐world  example  of  a  gamified   learning   program   that   embraces   the  rich  complexity  of  game  dynamics).

So   the   problem   of   gamificaVon   is,   somewhat  ironically,   that   in   the   majority   of   its   current  implementaVons,   it   is  not  game-­‐like  enough.  By  overlooking   the   depth   and   breadth   of   the  potenVal  games  have  to  empower  and  moVvate  learners  and  create  meaningful  experiences,  and  instead  employing  only  a  myopic  and  superficial  game  mechanic,  popular  gamificaVon  is  doing  a  disservice  to  both  learners  and  educators.

CompleVng  tasks  in  order  to  achieve  an  extrinsic  reward  is  more  akin  to  how  we  describe  work  in  its  most  alienaVng  form.  One  of  the  many  things  commonly  missing   from   gamificaVon   is   playful  freedom.   Playful   freedom   allows   learners   to  take   risks   and   test   new   strategies   in   an  environment  protected  within  the  “magic  circle”  of   gameplay,   that   is   safe   from   real   world  consequences.   An  environment   in  which   failing  at   challenging   tasks   is   as   integral   a   part   of  learning   as   succeeding,   and   the   reward   is   the  learning   that   takes  place  between  the  two,  and  what   that   skill   or   knowledge   might   empower  you  to  do  or  be  in  the  future.  

Comple0ng  tasks  in  order  to  achieve  an  extrinsic  reward  is  more  akin  to  how  we  describe  work  in  its  most  

aliena0ng  form.

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If you would like to share your views on this theme I invite you to post a comment on my blog.

We  all  should  know  that  diversity  makes  for  a  rich  tapestry,  and  we  must  understand  that  all  the  threads  of  the  tapestry  are  equal  in  value  no  

ma$er  what  their  color”

Maya  Angelou

Throughout  human  evoluVon  there  has  been  the  

pernicious   and   pervasive   idea   that   some   races  

were   superior   to   others.   As   a   result,   racial  

segregaVon,   hosVlity   and   even   genocide   have  

been   perpetrated,   not   only   because   there  were  

differences  but  because  those  differences  weren’t  

allowed  to  exist.  

The   twenVeth   century   showed   us   that   Charles  

Evans  Hughes  was  right   when  he   said  When   we  

lose  the  right  to  be  different,  we  lose  the  privilege  

to   be   free.  Many   people   lost   their   freedom   and  

died  because  of  their   idenVty:   the  genocide  of  the  

Jews  carried  out   by   the  Nazi  regime;   the  Rwanda  

genocide   of   the  Tutsis   lead  by   the  Hutus  or   the  

ethnic   cleansing   in   Srebrenica  by   the  Serb  army;  

the  poliVcal  and  ideological  'cleansing'  of   the  Red  

Khmer  in  Cambodia….  the  list  goes  on.

  The   discovery   of   the   human   genome   in  

2000   changed  human  understanding  forever.   Our  

ideas  about  human  idenVty  were  altered  when  we  

discovered  that  all  humans  share  99,  99%  of  their  

genes.   So,   we   can   conclude   that   the  concept   of  

race  can  no  longer  be  used  to  argue  extreme  ideas  

of  superiority  or  inferiority.

  Students   all   are   different,   unique   and  

diverse.   Their   internal   diversity   is   complex;   it’s  

built   through  choices,   goals  and  ideas  throughout  

their   lives   and   their   idenVty   is   conVnuously  

changing   and  schooling   has  an   important   role   in  

this  transformaVon.

As  a  teacher   I  deal  with  different   students.   They  

are  different,  not  only   because  of  their  disVncVve  

characterisVcs,  but  due  to  their  upbringings.  More  

and  more  we  receive  in  our  schools  students  from  

different   countries,   cultures,   beliefs...   More   and  

more   we   have   to   accept   the   differences   and  

embrace   them   in   order   to   lead   our   students  to  

success.  We  must  all  embrace  Malcolm  Stevenson  

Forbes’   idea:   “Diversity   is   the   art   of   thinking  

independently  together”  and  this  not  only  enriches  

our  schools  but   improves  its  essence:    to  educate  

and   form  human   beings   through   knowledge  and  

values.

Learning  with  DiversityAlexandra  Sobral  e  Costa,  Portugal

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Image: Kokhanchikov/Shutterstock.com

I   agree   with   Jeff   Cobb’s   definiVon   of   learning:  

Learning   is   the   lifelong   process  of   transforming  

informaVon   and   experience   into   knowledge,  

skills,   behaviors,   and  aftudes  because  it’s  done  

by   each   individual,   it   never   ends,   it’s   a   social  

process  and   it   involves   acVvity   by   conveying   a  

change.  (Drummond  and  others,  1989)

We  know  more  about  the  process  of  learning  and  

foremost   about   what   is   intelligence.   Howard  

Gardner’s   theory   of   mulVple  

intelligences  challenged  all  the  past  

educaVonal   assumpVons   and   all  

educators   perceive   teaching   and  

learning   differently   now.   With   his  

theory,   teachers   can   beger  

comprehend   and   apprehend   the  

differences  between  their   students  

in   order   to   help   them   to   achieve  

success  in  their  learning  processes.

Children   with   special   needs   have  

ohen   stood   outs ide   of   the  

mainstream   developments   of   educaVonal  

progress  and   thinking.   Even   if   incorporated   into  

mainstream   schools  they   may   not   have  had  the  

same   experiences,   frequently   having   different  

curricula  and  had  special  means  of  assessment.    

With   the  DeclaraVon  of   Salamanca,   born   a  new  

concept  for  inclusion:

a)  Learning  should  be  ac0ve;  

b)  Learning  should  be  prac0cal;  

c)   Existence   of   a   con0nuous   assessment   should  

be  given  by  the  teacher’s  feedback;

d)  Goals  should  be  nego0ated.    

As  Ainscow  (1994)  menVoned  inclusive  educaVon  

implies   a   conVnuous   process   (…)   and   school  

needs  to  promote  all  students’   parVcipaVon  and  

learning.  Schools  need  to  be  in  constant  change  in  

order  to  be  commiged  to  receive  all  children  and  

give  an   adequate  answer   to   students’   diversity.  

There   is  not   just   an  answer,   one  way;   there  are  

many  paths  that  can  be  taken.

Two   years   ago   I   undertook   a  

voyage   with   my   students.   I   took  

part  in  a  Comenius  project  with  my  

students   about   the   Ecological  

Footprint   in   many   different  

countries.   They   have   created   two  

websites   where   they   showed  

vocabulary   games:   hangman;  

c r o s swo rd s ;   wo rd   pu z z l e s ;  

PowerPoints;   and   a   dicVonary  

about   environmental   terminology  

in   the   languages   f rom   the  

c o u n t r i e s   i n   t h e   p r o j e c t .  

Aherwards,   we  went   to   one   country,   Italy,   and  

there   they   met   their   colleagues   face  to   face.   It  

was   a   marvellous   experience:   human   and  

pedagogical.  

Now,   I  have  started  another   project:   ConnecVng  

Classrooms  with  the  BriVsh  Council  and  unVl  now  

it  has  been  very  posiVve.  The  aim  is  to  know  more  

about   ourselves   and   about   others,   in   order   to  

understand   diversity   and   embrace   it   as   a  

construcVve  concept  and  reality.  MulVculturalism  

is  a  reality,  not  only   in  Portugal,  but  also  in  other  

developed  countries  throughout  the  world.  

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We,   as   teachers,   should   draw   our   students’  

agenVon  to  a  more  tolerant  posture  concerning  

others  because  they   are   going   to   be   the   next  

generaVon   and   if   they’re   now   more   open-­‐

minded,   there  won’t  be  space  in  the  future  for  

prejudice   and   discriminaVon.   CooperaVon  

through   teamwork   can   be   the   answer!   These  

projects   lead   us   to   overcome   barriers   which  

prevent  us  from  becoming  beger  and  achieving  

excellence!

In   my   opinion,   these   projects   are   incredibly  

important   for   my   students’   improvement,   not  

only   as   human   beings;   European   ciVzens,   but  

also  as  students.  They  make  beger  use  of  their  

skills   when   they’re   devoted   to   the   project’s  

development.   At   the   same   Vme   they   are  

involved  in  the  project’s  tasks,  they  increase  and  

enhance  their   oral  and  wrigen   skills  and   IT   is  

crucial   in   terms   of   communicaVng   with   the  

other   partners  and   in   terms  of   showing   what  

the   students   are   creaVng.   The   internet   has  

become  a  vital  access  that  connects  this  global  

village  that   is    planet  Earth    Our  students,  who  

are  frequently   incredible   techies,  master   these  

technological  devices,  such  as  Skype,  Facebook;  

Wikkies;   Twiger   and  we  can  and   should   learn  

through  them.     Our   projects  become  so  much  

beger  because  of  their  talents  and  skills

Other   important  tool  that  has  helped  me  to  put  

into   pracVce   our   ideas   was   the   e-­‐twinning  

pla�orm.  E-­‐twinning  is  a  Pandora's  box,  an  open  

door   to   the   unlimited   world   of   partners   and  

clusters.  However,  it  is  a  tool  that  must  be  used  

wisely!

In  conclusion,  I  have  recognized  the  importance  

of   working   Diversity   through   this   European  

cooperaVon.   By   knowing   other   realiVes,   my  

s t u d en t s   a n d   I   h a v e   b e c ome   mo r e  

understanding,   supporVve.   We   now   beger  

accept   and   embrace   others  who   are   different  

from   us.   Diversity   shouldn’t   be   considered   a  

barrier;   it   must   be   seen   as   part   of   the   huge  

tapestry   that   is  Humankind.  This  tapestry   is  full  

of  colours  and  threads,  but  all  can  be  connected  

to  build   a  whole  piece.   We  are  all  pieces  of   a  

colossal   puzzle,   all   different,   but   all   equal   in  

terms  of  rights  and  duVes!

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Painting by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527–1593)

Learning   involves  a  ‘something’   to  be   learned  and  a  context  of  circumstances  in  which  it  takes  place.    It   is  this  rich  texture  of  factors,  ranging  from  the  material  to  the  ethereal,  that   I  want  to   reflect   on   in   this   arVcle.     Clearly   these  factors   intersect   and   overlap   in   complex   and  not   always   predictable   ways,   but   I   shall  nonetheless   agempt   to   separate   out   the  following  six  strands  for  discussion:

~  Physical,  material,  economic  factors.

~  Socio-­‐poliVcal  and  religious  factors.

~  LinguisVc  factors.

~  Philosophical  /educaVonal  factors.

~  Family  and  peer  group  factors.

~  Psychological,  relaVonal,  affecVve  factors.

1.  Physical,  material  and  economic  factors.

On   the   face   of   it,   it   appears   obvious   that  material   circumstances   have   a   massive  influence  on  the  effecVveness  of   learning.     In  the   1960’s   I  worked   with   primary   schools   in  Ghana.     Many   of   them,   parVcularly   in   rural  areas,   lacked  even  the  most  basic   faciliVes:   no  desks  or   chairs,   few  books,  blackboards  piged  like   baglefields…Classes   were   crowded   into  classrooms   as   hot   as   ovens.     Children   had  someVmes   to   walk   long   distances   to   school  aher   performing  early  morning  chores  such  as  foraging  for  wood  and  collecVng  water.    Many  were   under-­‐nourished   or   suffering   from  malnutriVon.    

Poverty,  disease  and  malnutriVon  are  the  daily  reality   in  many  educaVonal  sefngs  worldwide.  They  are  certainly   not  confined  to  West  Africa.    Neither  are  they   the  exclusive  reserve  of  rural  communiVes.    However,  I  want  to  suggest   that  such  deprived  material  sefngs  can  someVmes  –   all  too  rarely   but   someVmes  -­‐   be  overcome  by   affecVve  and  relaVonal  factors.     I  have  seen  some   of   the   most   joyful   and   creaVve  educaVonal  moments  of  my  career  in  just  these  

kinds   of   classrooms:   an   improvised   puppet  show   using   old   newspapers   to   make   the  puppets  and  a  table  on  its  side  as  a  stage,  with  the  kids  performing  a  play  they  had  themselves  wrigen;  an  art  exhibiVon  of  collages  made  from  the  clippings  of  the  seamstresses’   stalls  in  the  market…   I  do   not   suggest   for   a  moment   that  such   deprived   environments   are   in   any   way  desirable,   but   we   should   not   assume   that  material  circumstances  are  everything.    I  have  seen   some  of   the  most   lacklustre,   deadening  lessons   given   in   classrooms   with   ergonomic  furnishings,   designer   lighVng   and  with   all  the  technical   equipment   one   could   desire.     The  material  circumstances  are   important   but   not  always  decisive.

Navigating the Environment. By Alan Maley

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There  is  oaen  more  varia0on  within  socie0es  than  between  

2.  Socio-­‐poli0cal  and  religious  factors.

These  factors  can  exercise  a  negaVve  influence  on   learning   when,   for   example,   the   belief  systems   in   place   exclude   (or   downgrade   the  importance)  of  women  in  educaVon.    There  are  also   cases   where   certain   secVons   of   the  populaVon   are   given   privileged   access   to  educaVon   to   the  detriment   of   other   secVons,  as,   for   example   in  Malaysia  or   India.     Or   the  system   may   take   a   non-­‐scienVfic   stance  towards  science,  as  in  the  CreaVonist  approach  in   the  US,   or   view   science  as  a  fixed   body   of  experVse   to   be   used   for   poliVcal   objecVves  rather   than   as  an   open-­‐ended  pracVce  of  inquiry.     They   clearly   affect   the   way  geography  or  history  are  taught.    Even  the  Mercator   projecVon,  which   forms  the  basis  for   many   maps,   has  a  lot   to  answer   for.  PoliVcs  can  affect   language  learning  too,  as  in  cases  of  post-­‐colonial  resistance  to  the  language  of  the  colonisers,  or   in   views   of   one’s   own   language   as   being  inherently   superior   to   the   one   being   learned.    Factors  such  as  these  are  more  influenVal  and  more   stubborn   than   even   material   factors,  partly   because  those  who  hold  such  views  are  ohen  unaware  that  they  do  so.

3.  Linguis0c  factors.

The  linguisVc   environment   can  have  significant  effects  on  language  learning  in  parVcular.    Is  the  society   monolingual   (the   excepVon),   or  plurilingual,  where  it   is  common   for   people  to  switch  between  several  languages,   and  not   to  regard  learning  another  language  as  difficult?    Is  the  target   language  being   learned  in  a  country  where  it  is  in  use  outside  the  classroom,  or  not?  How   distant   are   the   mother   tongue   and   the  target   language,   and   what   effect   does   this  have?   (Curiously,   languages  which  are  close  to  one’s  own  are  not  always  the  easiest  to  learn.)    What  difference  does  it  make  if  the  language  being  learned  is  high  presVge  or   low  presVge?    Because   English   is   the   major   internaVonal  language,   are   naVve   speakers   of   English  

disadvantaged   in   their   learning  of  other  languages?  How  do  folk  beliefs   about   language   impact  on   learning?     (‘French   is   the  language  of  culture’,  ‘Italian  is  so  

musical’,  ‘German  sounds  harsh’,  ‘Greek  sounds  really   masculine.’   etc.).     And  how  do  aftudes  toward  the  target   language  affect   the  learning  of  it?    Do  I  resent  having  to  learn  this  language,  or  do  I  embrace  the  opportunity?    Are  my  most  cherished  values  put  at  risk  when  I  acquire  this  language?

4.  Philosophical  and  educa0onal  factors.

Some   socieVes   accord   greater   presVge   to  educaVon   than   others  and   this   clearly   affects  the  educaVonal  environment.    Of  course,  it  may  also  have  a  negaVve  impact  on  some  members  

of  the  society,  who  may  be  excluded  or  who  simply  drop  out  of  a  race  they  feel  certain  they  can  never  win.    There  are  also  clear  differences   between   broadly   eliVst  systems  and  ‘democraVc’  ones.    Sadly,  

it  is  ohen  the  case  that  equality  of  access  to   educaVon   may   not   guarantee   equal  

quality   of  provision  however.     But   there  are  winners  and  losers  in  all  socieVes,  and  to  teach  or   learn  in  an  environment   of  ‘losers’   is  all  too  ohen   a   guarantee   of   failure,   leading   to   more  failure  in  a  downward  and  irreversible  spiral.Other   factors  include  the  overall  beliefs  about  how   learning   should   be   conducted.     Broadly  conservaVve   or   tradiVonal   beliefs   place   high  value   on   discipline,   effort,   compeVVon,  memorisaVon   and   tesVng,   and   tend   to   view  learning  as  something  difficult  and  painful.    By  contrast,   more   l iberal   or   exploratory  approaches   view   learning   as   a   pleasurable,  creaVve  and   cooperaVve  enterprise  where  the  emphasis  is  on  the  quality  of  the  process  rather  than   the   short-­‐term   product   in   the   form   of  examinaVon  results.    I  am  aware  of  the  dangers  of   stereotypes,  of  course,   but   it   is  nonetheless  true   that   generalisaVons   can   someVmes  usefully   be  made.     There  are  socieVes  where  the  form  is  more  important  than  the  substance,  the   word   than   the   deed.   It   is   important  however   to   avoid   agribuVng   such   beliefs   to  whole  socieVes,  (claiming,  for  example,  that  the  Chinese  are  all  influenced  by   Confucian  values,  etc.).   There   is   ohen   more   variaVon   within  socieVes   than   between   them.   Things   change,  and   one   complaint   increasingly   heard   about  young  ‘nouveau  riche’  Chinese  students  abroad  is  precisely   that   they   do   not   conform   to   the  expected  disciplined  and  obedient  model!

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5.  Family  and  peer  group  factors.

The  family,  and  in  parVcular  parental  influence,  is  sVll   paramount   in   the   environment   of   most  learners.     Parents   can   exert   posiVve   influence  through   acVve   involvement   in   their   children’s  educaVon,   by   non-­‐coercive   encouragement,   by  supporVng  them  in  moments  of  crisis,  and  through  their   example   as   role-­‐models.     This   is   perhaps  nowhere   so   apparent   as   in   the   development   of  literacy.    Those  children  whose  parents  read   to  them  at   night,  who   provide   reading   material  of   compelling   interest   to   their  kids,   who   show   themselves   to  be   avid   readers   themselves   –  those  children  become  readers,  and   reading   i s   the   best  predictor   of   academic   success  that  we  have.     Children  whose  parents   are   not   like   that   will  have   a   struggle   ahead   to   achieve  even  minimal  standards   of   literacy.     Most   people   learn   more  from   their   parents  –   for   beger   or   worse   –  than  they  ever  do  from  their  teachers.

Arguably,  they  also  learn  far  more  from  their  peers,   both   posiVvely   and   negaVvely.     The  pressure   to   conform   to   group   norms   has  never  been  stronger,  supported  as  it   is  by  an  aggressively   consumerist   ethos.     How   they  look,   what   they   own,   how  they   speak,   how  quickly   they   can  adjust   to   the   latest   change  of  fashion  –  all  are  subject  to  the  unforgiving  judgements   of   their   peers.     But   they   also  learn  how  to  be  with  other  people,  to  respect  and   be   respected   by   them,   to   give   and  receive  understanding…and  much  else.    We  someVmes  forget   just   how  much  kids   learn  outside  school:  arguably  more  than  they  ever  learn   inside  it.     And  this  too   is  part   of   the  wider  learning  environment,  especially  when  so  much  informaVon  is  so  readily  available  on  the  Internet.

6.  Psychological,  rela0onal,  affec0ve  factors.

An  arVcle  of  this  length  can  scarcely   do  jusVce  to  the  mulVtude  of  personal  factors  which  pervade  

the  learning   environment.     All  I  can  do  is  remind  myself,  and  you,  of  some  of  the  stronger   currents  running   beneath   the   surface   of   the   learning-­‐teaching   surface.     Hormones,   hangovers   and  hyper-­‐acVvity   can   cause   havoc   in   any   learning  group.     The  moods,  expectaVons,   aspiraVons  and  aftudes  of  both  teachers  and  learners  also  form  an   important   part   of   the   learning   environment.    

Just   how   the   skilful   teacher  manages   to   harness   and  orchestrate  the  energies  and  tensions   of   a   group,   and  direct   them   in   producVve  direcVons  remains  one  of  the  g r e a t e s t   p e d a g o g i c a l  mysteries.     As  teachers,   we  have   all   experienced   classes  which  went  like  a  dream,  and  those  which   felt   like  endless  

nightmares.     How   to   achieve   the   ‘flow’  experiences   of   the   former,   where   both   teacher  

and  class  are  lost  in  the  ‘effortless  effort’  of  the   moment   is   elusive,   though   Jill  Hadfield’s  book,  Classroom  Dynamics  gives  valuable  signposts.     Nancie  Atwell,   in  The  Reading  Zone,   also  gives  some  guidance  in  how   to   harness  the  energy   of   a  group   in  the   shared   and   powerful   experience   of  reading.    And  the  ‘flow’  bible  is,  I  guess,  sVll  The   Inner   Game   of   Tennis   by   Timothy  Gallwey.     As   teachers   we   need   to   be  ‘present’   in   the   fullest   sense,   yet  simultaneously   absent,   so   that   we   leave  space  for   the  individuals  and  the  group  to  enact   their   learning.     I  have  a  parVcular  convicVon   that   it   is   the   teacher’s   voice  quality  which  is  a  key  to  this,  though  I  have  only   anecdotal   evidence   to   support   my  case.     But   is  certain   that   teachers’   voices  remain  with  us  for   good  or   ill  throughout  

our   lives.     The   immediate   chemistry   of   a   class,  requiring   split-­‐second  decisions  by   the  teacher   is  unlikely  ever  to  be  completely  anatomised,  yet  it  is  this   which   ulVmately   overrides   virtually   every  other  factor  I  have  discussed.    Good  luck!

As  teachers,  we  have  all  experienced  classes  which  went  like  a  dream,  and  

those  which  felt  like  endless  nightmares.

Atwell,  Nancie.  (2007)    The  Reading  Zone.  New  York:  ScholasVc.Gallwey,  Timothy.    (1974)    The  Inner  Game  of  Tennis.    London:  

Pan  Books.Hadfield,  Jill.    (1992)    Classroom  Dynamics.    Oxford:  Oxford  

University  Press.

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Management  And  The  ClassroomCadu  Souza,  Brazil

It   is   undeniable   that   educaVon   has   recently  undergone  a  huge  number  of  changes  and  gone  are   the   days   when   teaching   was   something  poeVc.   Of   course   there   is   sVll   poetry   and  romance   in   teaching,   but   one  can  hardly   deny  that   the   number   of   schools   in   the   market  offering   increasingly   customized   services,   thus  making   it  more  customer   orientated,  mulVplies  as  we   speak.   But   I   am   not   here   to   talk   about  what   we   can   do   to   make   our   schools   more  compeVVve;  I  am  here  to  share  the  idea  that  we,  teachers,  can  learn  from  big  corporaVons  how  to  beger  manage  our   classrooms  –  or  at  least  have  a  beger  insight  of  what  things  are  really  like.  

Aher   gefng  an  MBA  in  Management,  I  decided  to  apply  some  of  the  techniques  I  had  studied  to  my  teaching  repertoire  -­‐  and  one  of  them  is  the  SWOT  Analysis.   The  SWOT  Analysis   consists  of  examining  the  external  and  internal  factors  that  might   boost   or   hinder   your   business   –   in   our  case,  our  lessons.  

The   SWOT   Analysis,   developed   by   Albert  Humphrey,  enables  us  to  gather  the  informaVon  available  –   internal  (Strengths  and  Weaknesses)  and  external  (OpportuniVes  and  Threats)   –   and  beger   understand   the  scenario   our   business  is  in,   and  create  a  plan  of  acVon.  But  how  does  it  work  in  pracVce?  

First,   we  should  collect   as  much  informaVon  as  possible  about   the  group  we  teach  and  want  to  work  with.  Obviously,  with  the  passing   of  Vme,  more  informaVon  can  be  added  to  our  analysis,  which   is   great   and,   therefore,   we   should   take  advantage   of   it.   It   is   paramount   to   remember  

that   any   informaVon  available  should   be  taken  into  consideraVon,  be  it  posiVve  or  negaVve.

Once  you  have  a  certain  amount  of  informaVon,  arrange   them   in   a   template,   such   as   the   one  below,  where  you  can  beger  visualize  them.

S T R E N G T H SThese   are   internal   factors,   things   that   are  available  to  you.  Take  notes  of  all  the  strengths  you,  your  school,  your  group  of  students  (or  any  student   in  parVcular),   your   classroom,   etc,  may  have.   If   they   are  not   available  to  you,   they   are  weaknesses!  Ask  yourself  what   advantages  your  school  has  and  what  you  do  beger   than  others.  Also,  idenVfy   what  people  in  the  same  area  see  as   your   strengths   –   ask   a   fellow   teacher.  Examples  of  strengths  can  be:  

• Excellent  rapport  with  students;

• InteracVve  white  boards  in  all  classrooms;

• Students  arrive  on  Vme  for   the  lesson  (Yes,   it  is  a  strength!);

• Academic   department   willing   to   listen   to  teachers’   suggesVons   and   adapt   material,   if  necessary.

Internal  FactorsInternal  Factors

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities S  x  O W  x  O

Threats S  x  T W  x  TExternal  Factors

STRENGTHSWEAKNESSESOPPORTUNITIESTHREATS

W E A K N E S S E S  

These  are  also   internal  factors.   Take  notes  of  all  the  weaknesses  you,  your  school,  your  student(s),  your   classroom,  etc.  may  present.  If  you  think  of  something  negaVve  that   you  –   or   your   school  –  have  no  control  of,  than  it  is  a  threat.  It  is  a  good  idea  to  ask  yourself  what  you  could  do  to  improve  and  what  you  should  avoid.     Some  examples  of  weaknesses  are:

• Teachers   do   not   know   how   to   use   the  technology  available  in  the  school;

• There  are  way  too  many  students  in  your  group  and   they   do   not   feel   like   agending   classes  because  they  do  not  believe  they  are  producing  as  much  as  they  should;

• The  classroom  is  too  hot  or  too  cold;

• The  classroom  is  small;

• There  are  too  many   students  in  my   group,  say,  25  students.

OPPORTUNITIES  

These   are   external   factors.   An   opportunity   is  everything  you  realize  your  group  can  profit  from  and   that   is   not   available   for   you.   It   is   an  opportunity  because  the  use  of  it  will  help  you  do  your   job   beger.   Be   aware   of   the   opportuniVes  facing   you   and   interesVng   trends  you  might   be  aware  of.  Take  notes  of  them.  Some  examples  of  opportuniVes  are:

• Students   take   their   cell   phones  or   tablets   to  class  –   it  might   be  disturbing   if  they  use  them  when   they   should   not,   but   they   can   also   be  quite  sVmulaVng.

• InteracVve  white  boards  –   if  your   school  does  not  have  one.

• Training   for   teachers  –   if   related   to   the   age  group  or  level  you  are  teaching.

T H R E A T SThese   are   external   factors   as   well.   A   threat   is  anything   that   might   prevent   your   students  from  going   to   class  or   enjoying   it,   and   you   have   no  power   over.   Mind   you   that   if   you   noVce  something   that   might   prevent   students   from  going   to  class  or   enjoying   it  but  you  can  change  (you   have   power   over),   than   it   is   a   weakness!  Think   about   the   obstacles   you   face,   what   your  compeVVon   is   doing,   if   technology   (or   lack   of  knowledge  of  it)  is  threatening  your  job,  etc.  Here  are  some  examples  of  threats:

• It  is  winter  and  many  students  have  got  flu;

• Students’  school  teachers  are  assigning  a  lot  of  homework  and  they  need  the  Vme  they  would  be   in   their   English   class   to   cope   with   their  assignments;

• One   of   their   parents  may   have   lost   their   job  and  they  cannot  afford  their  children’s  course;

• There’s  another   course  at   the  same  Vme  that  they  may  find  more  interesVng  –  or  important!

TV,  Internet,  computer  games,  etc.

Once   you   have   listed   all   internal   and   external  factors,   it’s   Vme   to   analyse   how   they   can  influence   each   other   and   what   you   can   do   to  change  any  negaVve  aspect  that  might  be  making  your  students  drop  out  or  not  enjoy  your  lesson.

S  x   O   –  How  can  strengths  (internal)   be  used  to  embrace  an  opportunity  (external)?  

✓ course  available  (external  -­‐  opportunity),  do  it.  

✓ Students   love   music   (external   -­‐   opportunity)  and   there   is  an   interacVve  white   board   with  internet   connecVon   in   every   classroom  (internal   -­‐   strength)   –   or   in   some   of   them.  Prepare  some  lessons  with  music  clips,  trying  to  adapt  to  the  syllabus  which  must  be  taught.

W  x  O  –  How  to  use  the  opportuniVes  (external)  available   to   reduce   the   weaknesses   (internal)  present?

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ü Teacher  doesn’t  know  how  to  make  power  point  presentaVons   (internal   -­‐   weakness)   and   there  are   many   places   nearby   that   offer   computer  courses  (external  -­‐  opportunity).

ü The  school  doesn’t  have  a  lot   of  extra  material  to   be   used   in   class,   or   computer/internet  technology   available  (internal  –  weakness),   but  it  is  in  a  place  where  teacher  can  take  students  for   a  walk   and   show   what   is  being   taught   in  pracVce  (external  –  opportunity).

S  x  T  –  How  can  threats  (external)  be  fought  using  teacher's  strengths  –   or  the  school’s  (internal)?

ü Some   students   prefer   to  stay   at   home  and  watch  TV   (external   –   threat).  Teacher   can   ga ther  i n f o r m a V o n   a b o u t  s tuden t s ’   l i k e s   and  dislikes  to  have  acVviVes  that   might   be   more  en joyab le   fo r   them  (internal   –   strength).  Even  beger  if  teacher  can  make   use   of   computer  technology.

ü Students   have   a   lot   of  homework   from   school   teachers   (external   –  threat)   and   are   missing   class   for   this   reason.  Teacher  can  arrange  with  students  to  assign  less  homework   or   try   and   have  a  more  producVve  lesson,   where   part   of   the   English   homework  would  be   done   in   class   (internal  –   strength)  –  relieving  students’  burden.

üW  x   T   –  Of  all  four   scenarios  presented,   this  is  the   one   we   should   be   most   worried   about.  There  is  a  threat  hovering  and  this  is  a  weakness  for  the  teacher  or  the  school.  The  idea  here  is  to  be   aware   of   what   is   going   on   not   to   let   it  become  worse  and  deal  with  the  mager   when  possible  –  as  soon  as  possible.

ü It’s  summer  and  it’s  very  hot   (external  –  threat)  and  the  school  doesn’t  have  money  to  buy  new  

air   condiVoners  (internal  –  weakness).  Arrange  some   extra   fans   unVl   the   school   can   afford  buying  air  condiVoners.

ü Teacher   is  not   very   creaVve  or   does  not   know  how   to   make   good   use   of   resources   or  technology  available  (internal  –  weakness).  As  a  consequence,   students  prefer   to  stay   at  home,  either  using  their  computers  or  watching  TV.    If  the   school   can’t   invest   in   a   course   for   this  teacher  or  the  teacher  him/herself  can’t  do  it  at  the   moment,   maybe   a   soluVon   for   the   Vme  being  would  be  to  arrange  for   teachers  to  work  

together   planning   the  lessons,   so   that   beger  ideas  could   come  up   to  moVvate   students   to  agend   c l a s se s   and  parVcipate  more.

The   example   above  shows   how   a   SWOT  analysis   can   be  used   to  idenVfy  the  scenario  the  teacher   is   in.   It’s   quite  important   to   noVce,  though,   that   not   always  it   is  going  to  depend  on  the  teacher  to  solve  the  problem   and  that   many  Vmes   the   school   or   the  

academic   department   will   have   to   be   involved.  Other   Vmes,   however,   it   will   depend   on   the  teacher  alone  to  outline  a  plan  of  acVon  and  work  things  out.

You  certainly   noVced   that   some  of  the  examples  dealt  with  things  that  we  cannot  change,   such  as  the  size  of  the  classroom  or   lack  of  money  to  buy  an  air  condiVoner.  Use  the  SWOT  analysis  not  only  to   idenVfy   areas   for   improvement,   but   also   to  create  soluVons  to  the  problems   idenVfied  using  the   tools   you   have.   Many   schools  and   teachers  already   do   it   –   intuiVvely   or   not.   The  important  thing  here  is  to  raise  our  awareness  of  what  can  or  cannot  be  done  in  order  to  make  our  lessons  more  interesVng   and   use   this   understanding   in   our  favour.  

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Image:Stuart Miles/Shutterstock.com

Robert  Grant,  Portugal

One  of   the  things  we  want  most  in   our   classes   is   to   get   our  students   talking   to   each   other   -­‐  in   the   target   language   -­‐   in   pairs  or   small   groups.   And   whenever  possible,  we  hope  that  there  will  be   some   real   communica0on  going   on.   In   other   words,   we  h o p e   t h a t   t h e y   w i l l   b e  exchanging   real   informa0on:  facts   about   their   lives,   their  opinions,   their   likes   and  dislikes  and  so  on.  

But  as  every  teacher  knows,  it  isn't  easy.  For  students  -­‐  especially   those  who  are  sVll  at  a  relaVvely   low  level  of  English  -­‐  to   talk   meaningfully   to   each   other,   it  isn't   enough  for   us  just   to  say   "Go  on  -­‐  have   a  conversaVon",   or   'Talk   to   each  other  about  your  likes  and  dislikes".  This  is  a  recipe  for  stony  silence!  

Of   course,   it   is   up   to   us  to   provide  a  structure  which  will  guide  the  students  and   give   them   confidence   to   speak.  Ohen   we   do   this   by   means   of   paper  

handouts   -­‐   quesVonnaire   grids,  handouts  of  the  "Pairwork  A  and  8"  sort  and   so   on.   While   these   can   be   very  effecVve,   they   cost   money   and   of  course   they   take   a   lot   of   Vme   to  produce.   My   aim   here   is   to   present  some   ideas   for   sVmulaVng   oral  communicaVon   in   pairs   and   groups  without  having  to  use  paper  handouts.  For   all   these   acVviVes   -­‐   which   are  intended  for   beginners  and  elementary  learners  -­‐  the  board  is  the  central  focus  as  it   is  used  to  provide  the  prompts  for  speaking.  Just  occasionally  you  will  need  a  visual  aid   or   some  recorded  music   -­‐  but   nothing   that   requires   complicated  preparaVon

Guessing  games  

Guessing   games   are   a   good   way   of  pracVsing   quesVon-­‐forming.   especially  if   the  answers  are   restricted   to   yes  or  no .   They   can   be   descr ibed   as  communicaVve   in   that   the   students'  communicaVve  aim  is  to  win  the  game.  

Nothing but the board: communicative oral practice

with a minimum of resources

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Try  this  one  with  first-­‐year  learners:  

Tell  the  students  that   you  are  not   a  teacher  but   an  animal.   Have  a  picture  of   the  animal  face   down  on   the  desk   (this  is   to   show   the  students  that   you   aren't   cheaVng!),   and  tell  them   they   have  to  discover   what   it   is.   Now  the  point  is  that  they  are  not  to  guess  wildly:  in  other  words  they  can't  just   say  "Are  you  a  monkey?  A  giraffe?  A  horse?"   If   they   do  this  and  the  guess  is  wrong,   the  teacher  wins  the  game.  

Another  way  to  limit  guessing  is  to  set  a  limit  to  the  number  of  quesVons  asked.

I   use   the   board   to   give   the   students   the  structures  needed:  

Have you got…?

Can you…?

Do you…?

The  answer:

Walkabout  SurveyIn   this   type   of   acVvity   the   students   walk  around   the   room   asking  all  their   classmates  for   one   piece   of   informaVon,   such   as   their  birthday   or   telephone   number.     Students  copy  the  form  from  the  board:

NAME BIRTHDAY

(One  row  for  each  child  in  class  or  group)

They   can   then   be  asked   to   get   up  and  walk  around  asking  other   students  unVl  they  have  everyone's  birthday.  Once  students  have  the  informaVon   they   can   use   it   for   follow-­‐up  work,  such  as  drawing  a  graph.  

Board  ques0onnaires  Instead   of   preparing   and   photocopying  quesVonnaires  and  grids.   you  can  have  your  students  copy  them  from  the  board.  This  will  save  Vme  spent   on  preparaVon,  money   and  paper  and  will  help  to  involve  the  students  in  the  acVvity.  However,   if  you  want   to  do  this  qu ick ly   and   effic ient ly ,   i t   i s   worth  remembering  a  couple  of  important  points.  

• It's   a   good   idea   to   use   the   board   rather  than  an  OHT,  as  you  can  control  the  order  they   do   things   in   -­‐   and  demonstrate  how  quickly  it  can  be  done!  

• If   it   is  a  grid,   tell   the  students  how  many  lines  or  boxes  there  are  .  

• Make  sure  the  grid  they  draw  is  big  enough  for  what  they  will  have  to  put  in  it  

• Single-­‐word   prompts   are   more   efficient  than  full  quesVons,   e.g.   'place'  rather   than  Where  did  you  go  on  holiday?'  

• Walk   around   the   class   while   the   class   is  copying  the  grid  and  make  sure  that  they're  doing  it  the  way  you  want  them  to!  

When  the  grid  or   quesVonnaire  is  ready,  you  will  probably   want   to   check   that   they   know  the  quesVon  form  and  perhaps  drill  it.  A  good  way  to  do  this  is  to  have  the  class  ask  YOU  the  quesVons  before  you  let  them  start  to  work  in  pairs/groups.  You  should  also  check  that  they  know  how   they   should  record  their   answers,  e.g,   '8.00'   rather   than   'She  gets  up   at   eight  o'clock'   or   'Paris'   rather   than   'They   went   to  Paris'.  Again,   look  to  make  sure  that  they   are  not  wasVng  too  much  Vme  wriVng.  

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Here   is   an   example.   Your   class   has   been  working  on  past  tense  quesVon  and  affirmaVve  forms.   The   lexical   theme   is   "holidays".   You  want  to  pracVse  quesVons  and  answers.

Ask  the  class  to  copy  this  list  of  words  from  the  board  -­‐  as  you  are  wriVng   it   up  -­‐  on   the  leh-­‐hand  side  of  the  page:  

Place:When:How long:Accommodation:Activities:Souvenir:

Remind  them  that  they  have  to  ask  each  other  about   their   last   holiday.   What   tense  will  they  use?  So  what  is  the  first  quesVon?  "Where  did  you  go?"  

Another   topic   suitable  for   an  even   lower   level  would   be  "daily   rouVne",   pracVsing   quesVons  with  'What  Vme  do  you  ...  1"  and  using  prompts  like  these:  

get upstart school have lunch finish school do homework have dinner go to bed

At   this  point   you  may   be  wondering   why   we  bother   to   write   this   down?   Wouldn't   it   be  quicker   simply   to   have   them   read   from   the  board  and  then   ask  each  other   quesVons?  Of  course  it   would   be  quicker   and   ohen  we  will  want   to   do   it   that   way.   But   the  advantage  of  wriVng  the  informaVon  down  is  that  it  can  then  be  used  for  further  work,  especially  in  the  form  

of  wriVng  (based  on  models  which  the  students  will  already  have  seen):  

Whether   or   not   you   choose   to   have   the  students   write   will   depend   on   whether   the  speaking   is  a  "stand  alone"   acVvity   or   is  to  be  integrated  with  other  skills  work.  A  and  B  To  add  variety,  you  can  use  the  board  to  create  an  "A  and  B'·∙  acVvity  where  the  students  work  in  pairs  but  each  has  different  quesVons  to  ask.  You   put   up   two   sets   of   prompts   and   each  student   only   has   to   ask   his/her   own   set   and  reply  to  the  other  student's.  

Do  you  like  ...  ?  

A Bdogs catsice-cream vegetable soup

'Big Brother' science fiction films

horror films football

A:  Do  you  like  dogs?  B:  Yes,  I  love  dogs  Do  you  like  cats?  A:  No,  I  don't.  Do  you  like  ice-­‐cream?(etc)  

These  are  a  few  ideas  for  gefng  more  speaking  out   of   your   elementary   students   without  spending  long  hours  preparing  materials.  

My   friend   Miguel   went   to   the   Azores   on  holiday   last   July.   He   stayed   with   his   uncle  and   aunt   for   two   weeks.   He   went   horse  riding   and   he   swam   in   natural   pools.   As  a  souvenir   he   bought   a   "Peter's   Cafe"  

Nothing but the board:

This  arVcle  first  appeared  in  'In  English'  magazine,  autumn  2004.

Content-Based Foreign Language Teaching: An Analysis of Instructional Materials for

English Language Teaching

It is common sense that the integration of various levels of knowledge constitutes a positive factor for the learner development. Instructional materials can have inter-disciplinary content as a means to help the learner to develop a critical view of the world and to articulate diverse knowledge live in society. This article aims at analyzing the interdisciplinary character of course books for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) by means of an investigation of the claims made by their authors in their covers, introductions, notes for teachers and blurbs in contrast with a detailed analysis of a number of lessons from each course book within the corpus. This in order to reveal degrees of consistency between what is claimed and what is actually done in material design.

”“

EFL   teaching   and   the   communica0ve  approach  in  Brazil  Ellis   (2005:   3-­‐7)   discusses   three   approaches  for   the   teaching   of   a   second   or   foreign  language:   Ora l -­‐S i tuaVonal ,   NoVonal -­‐FuncVonal,  and  Task-­‐Based.  

*  Table  1:  Three  approaches  for  language  teaching  –  Theories  of  learning  (adapted  from  Ellis  ibid,  p.  7)

The   NoVonal -­‐FuncVonal   approach   is  considered   as   a   basis   for   the   origin   of   the  CommunicaVve   Approach.   Within   this  perspecVve,   Hymes   (1970)   argues   that   the  knowledge   of   a   language   involves   both   the  knowledge   of   grammaVcal   rules   and   the  command  of   rules  of   language  use.   Krashen  

(1981,  1982,  1985),  in  his  turn,  claims  that  the  learning  of  a  foreign  language  (FL),  or   second  language   (SL),   requires   similar   condiVons   to  those  in  which  first   language  (L1)  occurs,   i.e.,  providing   comprehensible   input   and  opportuniVes  for  communicaVon.  

FL   teaching   has   received   special  agenVon   in  Brazil  since  the  poliVcal  freedom  in  the  1980s  and   the  consequent   opening   of   the  naVonal  economy  to  internaVonal  markets.  There  was  an   important   demand   for   professionals  who  mastered  at   least   one  FL.   Coincidently,   in  the  same   decade,   researchers   and   teachers  engaged  in  the  elaboraVon  of  curricula  aiming  at   pracVcing   the   CommunicaVve   Approach  principles   on   language   learning   as   the  expression  and  negoVaVon  of  meanings.

In  Brazil,   the  instrucVonal  material,   especially  the   course  book,   has  been   the  predominant  source  of   informaVon  on  which  teachers  and  learners  can  base  their   classes.   They   depend  on   the   course   book   to   obtain   knowledge  required  either   for  the  acquisiVon  of  contents  or  in  the  process  of  literacy,  preparaVon  to  act  in   society   and   cultural   development.   This  invesVgaVon   a ims   a t   ana lyz ing   the  

instrucVonal   materials   for   EFL   teaching   in  order   to  reveal  which   aspects  related   to   EFL  learning   are  valued.   Our  main  objecVve  is  to  study   the   teaching   of   contents   from   other  disciplines   (sciences,   mathemaVcs,   History,  among  others).  The  corpus  of  analysis  consists  of  three  course  books  for   EFL  teaching  within  the  context  of  elementary  educaVon  in  Brazil.  

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Cris0ane  da  Silva  Lopes  &João  Carlos  Lopes,  Brazil

*  The  tables  accompanying  this  arVcle  can  be  downloaded  here.

Evalua0on   of   didac0c   materials   for   FL  teaching  McDonough  &   Shaw   (2003:   59-­‐72)  propose  two   stages   for   the   evaluaVon   of   a   course  book.   The   first   stage   is   the   external  evaluaVon   (or   macro-­‐evaluaVon)   and  focuses   on   the   cover,   blurb,   introducVon  and   notes   for   teacher,   and   the   contents  table   in   order   to   verify   the   principles  towards   FL   learning   to   which   the   authors  subscribe.   The   external   evaluaVon  serves   as   parameter   for   a  selecVon  of  materials  for   the  next   stage,   the   internal  e v a l u a V o n   ( o r   m i c r o -­‐evaluaVon).

The  essenFal  issue  at  this  stage  is  for   us   to   analyse   the   extent   to  which   the   aforemenFoned  factors  in  the  external  evaluaFon  stage  match  up  with  the   internal  consistency   and   organizaFon   of  the   materials   as   stated   by   the  author/publisher.  (2003:  66-­‐67)

Both  authors  recommend  that  a  minimum   of   two   units   or  lessons  should  be  analyzed   in  order   to  invesVgate  quesVons  such  as:   In  what  ways  are  the  four   skills   addressed?   How  are  the  contents  sequenced?  Is  reading  being  addressed  in  texts  that  are  relaVvely  long?

Analysis  of  course  books  The   analysis   of   the   course   books  chosen   as   corpus  of   this  study   follows  the  criteria  developed   by   McDonough  &   Shaw  (2003).   The   internal   analysis   involves   the  three  first  units  or  lessons  of  each  book.  The  external  analysis  of  book  1   reveals  that  the  objecVves   a lternate   communicaVve  funcVons  and  the  memorizaVon  or  decoding  of   lexical   and   grammaVcal   items.   In   the  introducVon,   the   authors   claim   that   the  teaching  of  contents  is  addressed.  

The  external  analysis  of  book  2  revealed  that  there   is   not   a   systemaVzed   addressing   of  contents.  There  are  acVviVes  which  present  contents   but   require   only   knowledge   of  vocabulary   and  grammar.  In  contrast,   there  are   other   acVviVes   which   enable   an  extension   to   the   students’   previous  knowledge   and   the   personalizaVon   of  informaVon.

 The   authors  of   book   3   claim   that  

quesVons  such   as   preparaVon  fo r   c iVzensh ip   and   the  

development   of   criVcal  awareness  are  vital   in   the  m a t e r i a l   d e s i g n .   I n  addiVon,   interdisciplinary  themes   and   the   teaching  of   contents   are   essenVal  c ompo n e n t s   o f   t h e  acVviVes.  

The   internal   evaluaVon  addresses   the   occurrence  of   acVviVes   focused   in   the  teaching   of   contents   in   the  first   three   units   of   each  book.  The  analysis  of  book  1   (see   table   2)   revealed  that,   despite   the   authors’  

c la im,   the   teaching   of  contents  is  incidental.  

The  units  analyzed  in  book  2   (see   table   3)   revealed  that,  although  a  number   of  acVviVes   involve   contents  from   other   disciplines,   they  require  only   the  knowledge  of  

grammaVcal  rules  and  vocabulary.  

There  are  acVviVes  addressing  contents  that  enable  the  use  of   previous  knowledge  and  personalizaVon   of   informaVon.   However,  there   are   others   in   which   the   teaching   of  contents   is   restr icted   to   obtaining  informaVon  and  vocabulary  decoding.

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Image:MrGarry/Shutterstock.com

Conclusion  

The   external   evaluaVon   enabled   us   to  understand   that   the  authors  do   not   agree   in  terms   of   the   relevance   of   the   teaching   of  contents  via  English   language.  Book  1   authors  claims   that   their   material   contains  “acVviVes  that   relate   the   English   language   with   other  disciplines”.   Book   2   authors   do   not   refer   to  teaching   English   based   on   contents   in   the  lessons  evaluated.  Finally,  book  3  authors  claim  that   the  interdisciplinary   themes  are  essenVal  components   of   their   material   and   that   the  teaching   of   contents   is   paramount   in   the  acVviVes  proposed.

The  internal  evaluaVon  enabled  us  to  contrast  the   claims   about   the   methodology   and  characterisVcs  of  each  book  with  the  acVviVes  analyzed.   Book   1   focuses  on   the   teaching   of  grammar   and   vocabulary   through   translaVon  and   the   relaVon   with   synonyms.   Therefore,  quesVons  such  as  the  development  of  the  four  skills   are   ignored.   Similarly,   book   2   seems  to  disregard   the  teaching   of  contents  via  English  language.   Book   3   presents   acVviVes   which  seem  to   reflect   the  concern  with   contents  of  the   essenVal   curriculum   of   elementary  educaVon.  The  item  observaVons  in  the  tables  4,   5   and   6   present   objecVves   addressing  comprehensible  input,   the   target   use  domain  of   the   content,   the   sensiVvity   to   the   culture  and   subjecVviVes   of   the   learner,   and   the  acquisiVon   of   literacy.   On   the   other   hand,  learning   structures   and   vocabulary   are   sVll  present  in  the  quesVons  addressing  contents.

In   summary,   EFL   teaching  via   interdisciplinary  contents  does  not  seem  to  be  the  objecVve  of  the  materials  under   analysis.   The   teaching   of  foreign  languages  in  Brazil  follows  the  needs  of  the  market,   i.e.,  learning  the  four   skills.   In  this  manner,   the   approach   suggested   by   book   3  could  be  an  alternaVve  since  the  focus  on  the  four   skills   and   the   learning   of   grammar   and  vocabulary   in   that   material   provides  opportuniVes   for   the   design   of   acVviVes  related  to  the  acquisiVon  of  contents.  

References

ELLIS, R. Instructed Second Language Acquisition: A Literature Review. Report to the Ministry of Education: Research Division, Auckland UniServices Limited, Wellington, New Zealand, 2005.HYMES, D. H. On communicative competence. In J. Gumperz and D.H. Hymes (eds) Directions in Sociolinguistics. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970.KRASHEN, S. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.KRASHEN, S. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1982.KRASHEN, S. The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. London: Longman, 1985MCDONOUGH, J. & SHAW, C. Materials and Methods in ELT. A Teacher’s Guide. 2nd edition, Blackwell Publishing, 2005.PARÂMETROS CURRICULARES NACIONAIS: Orientações Curriculares para O ensino Médio. Linguagens, Códigos e suas Tecnologias, Capítulo 3: Conhecimentos de Línguas Estrangeiras, Brasília, Brasil, 2006.RICHARDS, J. C. & RODGERS, T. S. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: A description and analysis. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986.

The Corpus: Book 1: GOULART, Alcides João A. & DA SILVA, Maria Ângela. It’s a New Way 1. 3ª edição, Editora New Way, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, 2003.Book 2: MORINO, Eliete C. & De FARIA, Rita B. Start Up Stage 7. 1ª edição, São Paulo, Brasil: Editora Ática, 2004.Book 3: FERRARI, Mariza T. & RUBIN, Sarah G. English Clips Book 6. São Paulo, Brasil: Scipione, coleção English Clips, 2001.

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If  you  have  any  events  happening  between  May  and  September  you  wish  to  adverVse  in  the  next  ediVon  of  IED,  please  let  us  know  

by  the  end  of  March.

Date Event Venue Organisers Contact  details Country

February  11th"(Re)Valorizar  as  Línguas  no  Currículo  Escolar"

Goethe-­‐Ins0tut,  Lisbon FNAPLV www.appi.pt Portugal

March  

19th  -­‐  23rd  

IATEFL  46th  Annual  Conference  and  

Exhibi0on

Scoqsh  Exhibi0on  &  Conference  

Centre,  Glasgow,  Scotland

IATEFL

UK

hgp://www.iatefl.org/glasgow-­‐2012/46th-­‐

annual-­‐conference-­‐and-­‐exhibiVon

UK

April  27th-­‐29th  

APPI  26th  Annual  Conference  -­‐  'Mo0vated  

Teachers  Make  a  Difference'

Hotel  Vila  Galé  Coimbra

APPI www.appi.pt Portugal

April  29-­‐May  1st

Brazilian  Immersion  Conference  for  Educators:  

'  Pathways  to  Bilingualism:  Pedagogy,  

Best  Prac0ces  and  Accountability'

Escola  Beit  Yacov,  Sao  Paulo

Escola  Beit  Yacov

www.beityaacov.com.br Brazil

May  9th-­‐12th  

ABRAPUI

Language  and  Literature  in  the  Age  of  Technology

Universidade  Federal  de  Santa  

Catarina,

Florianopolis,  SC

ABRAPUIhSp://

www.abrapui.org/Brazil

DATES TO REMEMBER

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