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Online magazine for EFL teachers. Issue 5, April 2011
Citation preview
Teaching reading using The ldquoJigsaw Techniquerdquo
SPECIAL ISSUE
THE TUNISIAN REVOLUTION
English Teaching Forum
The
T h e M a g a z i n e F o r A n d B y E F L T e a c h e r s I n T u n i s i a A n d A b r o a d
TUNISIAN
I s s u e 5 A p r i l 2 0 1 1
inTerviewLarry Ferlazzo talks about hisfamous ldquoWebsites of the Dayrdquo blog the Family Literary Projecthis two recent books and more
do ruLes ruLeBy steve PehaLearning to Punctuate with Real Books Not Rule Books
ProducT and Process wriTingBy Belgacem hamdi
Teaching vocaBuLary and grammar Through songs and chanTsBy noamen amara
reading vs The inTerneTBy Faten romdhani
Process and ProducT wriTing in The eFL cLassroomBy hechmi hamdi
Editorrsquos note
Mohamed Salah AbidiTeacher Trainer and eLT inspecTor in The area of sidi Bouzid Tunisia
Tunisians have struggled for their dignity and liberty and the spark of the revolution which started in the area of Sidi Bouzid has opened doors for human beings in the Arab countries and all over the world to dethrone the dictators who deprive them from elementary rights Like everybody in the country we have been concerned with what has been going on in our country and we postponed the publishing of this issue to a more appropriate time Now we think it a happy moment for the magazine to reappear and open its pages to free pens and help in the development of critical thinking which we believe is the corner stone of any reliable teaching In this issue we read two articles on product and process writing one by an ELT Inspector Belgacem HAMDI and the other is by a Senior EFL Teacher Hachmi HAMDI Steve PEHA president of TTMS focuses on one of the mechanical aspects of writing punctuation and suggests a new approach how to teach it The contribution of Noaman AMARA a Tunisian teacher in the Gulf is an article on teaching grammar and vocabulary through songs and chants Added to all this wealth of ideas Tarek BRAHMIrsquos special guest in this issue is Larry FERLAZZO who will necessarily make an addition to the pedagogical valise of any reflective teacher Tarek has also considered the teaching of reading and shares ideas on the technique of ldquoJigsaw readingrdquo with the readers of this issueMme Faten ROMDHANI EFL Teacher in the area of Nabeul and a friend of the forum and the magazine writes an elegant article about the importance of reading in an era when the reign is for the Internet rather than the paper book We havenrsquot forgotten to include some visuals in this issue to show the beauty of Tunisia and illustrate some demonstrations of our people during the revolution of December 17th 2010
Mohamed Salah Abidi
Contents
Editorial Review Board
Mohamed Salah AbidiGraphic Design
Tarak BrahmiThe Tunisian English Teaching Forum is a free quarterly magazine
Any copyrighted articles appearing in The Tunisian English Teaching Forum are reprinted with permission of the copyright ownersTo be considered for publication manuscripts should be typed on a floppy disk or CD that has been virus-checked
Letters floppy disks or CDs should be sent to Mohammed Salah AbidiLrsquoInspecteur drsquoAnglaisLycee Tahar HaddadRegueb 9170Sidi BouzidTunisie
or e-mailed to medsahagmailcom
For guidelines for writing articles and the latest news and notifications please visit our blog herehttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
TUNISIANEnglish Teaching Forum
The
Meet our special guest Larry Ferlazzo on page 18
14Process and Product writing in the efl classesA practical application of process writing inside the EFL classroom
HECHMI HAMDI
30
tarak brAHMI
teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquoHow to teach reading using the jigsaw technique
BELGaCEM HAMDI
Product and Process writingContrasting two popular approaches and examining how both can be used in the classroom
4
interViewLarry Ferlazzo talks about his great blog ldquoWebsites of the Dayrdquo the Family Literary Project and his two new books
18
StEVE PEHA
do rules ruleThinking about whether we should follow rules or follow language toward meaning when learning or teaching punctuation
12NoaMEN AMArA
teaching Vocabulary and grammar through songs and chantsAdvantages and limitations
8
22 reading Versus the internetIs the internet ldquokillingrdquo or boosting reading
FatEN rOMDHANI
4 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 January 2011
TEACHING WRITING
By Belgacem Hamdi ELT Inspector
There have been several approaches to teaching writing They have evolved with the development of different approaches to language teaching in general In spite of methodological changes writing continues to be an extremely challenging task for the teacher and learner of English As a basic language skill for EFL learners writing should be well thought of In this article I will describe and contrast two popular approaches and examine how both can be used in the classroom hoping this can help our students to develop their writing competence
Product aPProach
THE PRoDuCT APPRoACH is a traditional approach to teaching writing in which students are provided (with) a model and encouraged to mimic it in order to produce a similar productFor various reasons the product approach usually appears an extremely daunting task The main focus of this approach has always been on the final product writing is a tool for the practice and reinforcement of specific grammatical and lexical patterns accuracy being all-important whereas content and self-expression given little if any priority Basically students were lsquowriting to learnrsquo and not lsquolearning to writersquo
Process aPProach
It is clear that the process approach evolved in an era of change in which
conventions were challenged and reliance on form and conventions questioned Vanessa Steele defines the process approach as focusing more on the varied classroom activities which promote the development of language use brainstorming group discussion re-writinghellip Tribble defines the lsquoprocess approachrsquo as lsquoan approach to the teaching of writing which stresses the creativity of the individual writer and which pays attention to the development of good writing practices rather than the imitation of modelsrsquo (Tribble 1996 p160) The process approach considers writing as a creative act which requires time and positive feedback to be done well In this model the teacher needs to move away from being a marker to a reader responding to the content of studentrsquos writing more than the form
Product and Process WritingWHICH APPRoACH To usE
ldquostudents were lsquowriting to learnrsquo and not
lsquolearning to writersquo rdquo
ldquoThe process approach considers writing as
a creative act which requires time and positive
feedback to be done wellrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 5
TEACHING WRITING
In process writing the focus shifts from the final product itself to the different stages the writer goes through in order to achieve this outcome By breaking down the task as a whole into its constituent parts writing becomes less daunting and more manageable to the EFL studentStage 1First students generate ideas by brainstorming and discussion second they extend ideas into note form Then they organize ideas into a mind map spidergram or linear form This stage helps to make the relationship of ideas more immediately obvious which helps students with the structure of their texts At this phase the teacher provides only language supportStage 2Students write the first draft This is done in class and frequently in pairs or groups Stage 3Drafts are exchanged students become the readers of each otherrsquos work By responding as readers students develop an awareness of the fact that a writer is producing something to be read by someone else and thus can improve their own draftsStage 4Drafts are returned and improvements are made based upon peer feedback Stage 5A final draft is written Stage 6students once again exchange and read each otherrsquos work and perhaps even write a response or reply
The process in lsquonot linearrsquo but lsquorecursiversquo as in Tribblersquos words lsquoat any point in the preparation of a text writers can loop backwards or forwards to whichever of the activities involved in text composition
they may find usefulrsquo (Tribble 1996 p 59) Therefore it allows for great flexibility Writing is no longer a laborious activity if process-writing approach is adopted in the language classroom This model alleviates most of the problems associated with this skill and turns the writing class into an interesting and communicative experience Furthermore using this approach at lower levels is not only feasible but also backs the language learner up to become a talented writer in English There is a clear distinction between process-oriented and product-oriented writingNunan (2001) clearly states how very different this ldquoprocessrdquo approach is from the traditional product-oriented approach Whereas the product approach focuses on writing tasks in which the learner imitates copies and transforms teacher supplied models the process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work The primary goal of product writing is an error-free coherent text Process writing allows for the fact that no text can be perfect but that a writer will get closer to perfection by producing reflecting on discussing and reworking successive drafts of a text James Mccrimmon sees it as the difference between writing as a way of knowing (process) and wring as a way of telling (product) donald Murray sees it as the difference between internal and external revision (revising in order to clarify meaning for oneself vs revising in order to clarify meaning for the reader) Linda Flower sees it as the difference between writer-based and reader-based prose
a coMParisoN oF Product aNd Process aPProaches
ldquoProcess writing allows for the
fact that no text can be perfect
but that a writer will get closer to perfection
by producing reflecting on
discussing and reworking
successive drafts of a textrdquo
Product Processbull Model text to be imitatedbull Emphasis on organization of ideasbull one draftbull Emphasis on end productbull Teacher as audiencebull Teacher as authoritybull Importance of teacher-corrected papers
bull Model text as resource for comparisonbull Emphasis on ideas and idea development bull Multiple draftsbull Emphasis on processbull Various audiences according to type of
writingbull Peer feedback as valuable toolbull Importance of conferencing and interactive
feedback
6 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Which aPProach to use
The approach to use will depend on you the teacher and on the students and the genre of the text Certain genres such as formal letters and postcards in which the features (layout style organization and grammar) are fixed lend themselves most often to a product-driven approach The other genres such as discursive essays and narrative lend themselves to process-driven approaches
coNcLusioN
I believe that the two approaches are not necessarily incompatible Like the product approach the Process-centred one
does not repudiate all interest in the product (ie the final draft) Both aim at achieving the best product possible Consequently it is obvious that using aspects of both models may be the most effective approach in teaching writing as Nunan (1999) reaffirms ldquothere is no reason why a writing program should not contain elements of both approachesrdquo
ldquoThe approach to use will
depend on you the teacher
and on the students and
the genre of the textrdquo
What are the Pros aNd coNs oF each aPProach
Prosbull Easy to use with large classesbull Easier to grade because emphasis is on
formbull useful approach when form is importantconsbull Does not teach how to write independentlybull Does not teach how to thinkbull Does not make writing a manageable and
intentional activitybull Limits creativity and demotivates the
learner
Prosbull Helps novice writers develop skills to write
on their ownbull Encourages a thoughtful approach to
writingbull Helps develop thinking skills and learning
strategiesbull Helps writers to own their writing processcons bull Can take more time to teach bull Need to be sure that writer does not make
process explicit in writing itselfbull Can make classroom more challenging for
the teacher
ldquousing aspects of both models
may be the most effective
approach in teaching
writingrdquo
8 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
IN VARIous CouNTRIEs IN THE WoRLD the curricular of teaching English to young learners often emphasize the use of songs and chants This is simply because children love them and they can be both used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a very funny and engaging way Besides they can help children improve their oral skills However some researchers believe that listening and repeating a number of words or sentences are not enough for the learner to acquire a new language Thus it important for us to know how a teacher can make sure that language acquisition is taking place in hisher young learnersrsquo classroom particularly with respect to oral communication As teachers of young learners we are often advised or trained to integrate songs or chants in our teaching Besides our studentsrsquo books usually contain listening scripts either of songs or chants Thus according to scott and Ytreberg (1990) the majority of English teachers
throughout this world have used songs for one teaching purpose or another What makes chants and especially songs frequently used is that they have specific features First of all ldquosongs are highly memorablerdquo and ldquohighly motivatingrdquo (Davanellos 1999 13) as they create a joyful and interesting classroom atmosphere and they break up with the routines of the daily lesson secondly I have myself realized quite often that my third year primary students became very motivated while repeating the same introductory part of the ldquoHappy streetrdquo song at the beginning of each unit Thirdly I noticed that even weaker students enjoyed repeating the highly rhythmical verses while the CD player was on In addition they feel they are participating with their best peers at least in one activity of the lesson- that is the warming up- while smiling and tapping on their desks
By Noamen Amara Teacher of English
Young learner classes often have fun songs and chants that are repeated Children love them and they can be used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a fun and engaging way These can be very useful for improving studentsrsquo oral skills however ldquoWhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo (Slatterly amp Willis)
ldquoAs teachers of young learners we
are often advised or trained to integrate
songs or chants in our teachingrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
ADVANTAGEs AND LIMITATIoNs
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 9
Hence you can see that children enjoy the funny and merry atmosphere of songs and chants as they can learn by listening and repeating chunks of language Also songs can be useful for improving the learnersrsquo oral skills by listening and repeating what they hear
on the contrary slatterly and Willis emphasize that ldquowhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo This is in part true since when students just repeat chunks of language in a mechanical way without being aware of what they pronounce we can not say that learning is taking place In other words students in this case are just like parrots repeating sounds that they hear while being unaware of the message implied in the sounds that they utter Besides we can not talk about language acquisition or learning without necessarily referring to the mind So according to Arnold (2005) listening turns out to be ldquoan active processrdquo only if ldquothe mind actively engages in making meaningrdquo Thus as teachers we have to make sure that the listening material that we use in our lessons matches the studentsrsquo level because according to Krashenrsquos view acquisition canrsquot take place unless the input is ldquocomprehensiblerdquo(1981 6-7) In this context Brewster Ellis and Girard (2002) point out that ldquoif someone is giving you a message or opinion then of course you have to be able to understand it in order to respondrdquo Thus decoding the message into a ldquocomprehensible inputrdquo is vital in the acquisition or learning process Whenever there is a listening activity I usually make my best to ensure that my students manage to understand the listening passage through various ways and extra material that you will see The foreign language acquisition can take place through various ways during the teachinglearning process For example I often guide my pupils in the pre-listening activity to understand the keywords either through realia or flashcards or visuals Also scott and Ytreberg suggest (1990 34) ldquousing puppets or a class mascotrdquo as useful materials because they can be of great help
while ldquopresenting new language orallyrdquo For instance a parrot puppet can whisper into a studentrsquos ear give instructions or tell a story to the whole class Besides I always advise my young learners to use their background knowledge of any subject at hand in order to understand what the listening passage is about For instance my fourth-year students rely on their pre-requisite knowledge of science andor social studies to listen to the song entitled ldquoAmazing Animalsrdquo and match each section with the right ldquomilieurdquo where each animal lives Thus by relying on the teacherrsquos extra material and their background knowledge of the subject matter young learners often manage to understand the listening passage which they use later either for memorizing new vocabulary answering questions or consolidating pronunciation of new phonetic sounds While implementing the lesson plan songs and chants as listening materials can be used for various purposes and in any of the three stages of a lesson pre-stage while stage and post-stage As a good example of using a chant in the pre-stage in my junior class my young learners listened to and repeated a chant entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo so as to be familiar with the body parts while I was showing them the flash card of each member at the appropriate section So using the flash cards helped my pupils better understand the new lexical items of the body parts while listening to the chant In the while stage my students were asked to listen to a song about the same topic and act The song was centered on a set of activities based on Total Physical Response (TPR) where children listen and touch the body part(s) At this stage the teacher should make sure that hisher students understand the new vocabulary by responding appropriately to the song and touching the right body member(s) At this point I need to mention that before each listening activity the teacher should ldquoguidehellip[hisher studentsrsquo] attention to specific parts of the spoken textrsquo so that the learners will be aware of the purpose of and the rationale behind the listening activity as I did
ldquoWe have to make sure that the
listening material that we use in our
lessons matches the studentsrsquo
levelrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
Editorrsquos note
Mohamed Salah AbidiTeacher Trainer and eLT inspecTor in The area of sidi Bouzid Tunisia
Tunisians have struggled for their dignity and liberty and the spark of the revolution which started in the area of Sidi Bouzid has opened doors for human beings in the Arab countries and all over the world to dethrone the dictators who deprive them from elementary rights Like everybody in the country we have been concerned with what has been going on in our country and we postponed the publishing of this issue to a more appropriate time Now we think it a happy moment for the magazine to reappear and open its pages to free pens and help in the development of critical thinking which we believe is the corner stone of any reliable teaching In this issue we read two articles on product and process writing one by an ELT Inspector Belgacem HAMDI and the other is by a Senior EFL Teacher Hachmi HAMDI Steve PEHA president of TTMS focuses on one of the mechanical aspects of writing punctuation and suggests a new approach how to teach it The contribution of Noaman AMARA a Tunisian teacher in the Gulf is an article on teaching grammar and vocabulary through songs and chants Added to all this wealth of ideas Tarek BRAHMIrsquos special guest in this issue is Larry FERLAZZO who will necessarily make an addition to the pedagogical valise of any reflective teacher Tarek has also considered the teaching of reading and shares ideas on the technique of ldquoJigsaw readingrdquo with the readers of this issueMme Faten ROMDHANI EFL Teacher in the area of Nabeul and a friend of the forum and the magazine writes an elegant article about the importance of reading in an era when the reign is for the Internet rather than the paper book We havenrsquot forgotten to include some visuals in this issue to show the beauty of Tunisia and illustrate some demonstrations of our people during the revolution of December 17th 2010
Mohamed Salah Abidi
Contents
Editorial Review Board
Mohamed Salah AbidiGraphic Design
Tarak BrahmiThe Tunisian English Teaching Forum is a free quarterly magazine
Any copyrighted articles appearing in The Tunisian English Teaching Forum are reprinted with permission of the copyright ownersTo be considered for publication manuscripts should be typed on a floppy disk or CD that has been virus-checked
Letters floppy disks or CDs should be sent to Mohammed Salah AbidiLrsquoInspecteur drsquoAnglaisLycee Tahar HaddadRegueb 9170Sidi BouzidTunisie
or e-mailed to medsahagmailcom
For guidelines for writing articles and the latest news and notifications please visit our blog herehttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
TUNISIANEnglish Teaching Forum
The
Meet our special guest Larry Ferlazzo on page 18
14Process and Product writing in the efl classesA practical application of process writing inside the EFL classroom
HECHMI HAMDI
30
tarak brAHMI
teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquoHow to teach reading using the jigsaw technique
BELGaCEM HAMDI
Product and Process writingContrasting two popular approaches and examining how both can be used in the classroom
4
interViewLarry Ferlazzo talks about his great blog ldquoWebsites of the Dayrdquo the Family Literary Project and his two new books
18
StEVE PEHA
do rules ruleThinking about whether we should follow rules or follow language toward meaning when learning or teaching punctuation
12NoaMEN AMArA
teaching Vocabulary and grammar through songs and chantsAdvantages and limitations
8
22 reading Versus the internetIs the internet ldquokillingrdquo or boosting reading
FatEN rOMDHANI
4 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 January 2011
TEACHING WRITING
By Belgacem Hamdi ELT Inspector
There have been several approaches to teaching writing They have evolved with the development of different approaches to language teaching in general In spite of methodological changes writing continues to be an extremely challenging task for the teacher and learner of English As a basic language skill for EFL learners writing should be well thought of In this article I will describe and contrast two popular approaches and examine how both can be used in the classroom hoping this can help our students to develop their writing competence
Product aPProach
THE PRoDuCT APPRoACH is a traditional approach to teaching writing in which students are provided (with) a model and encouraged to mimic it in order to produce a similar productFor various reasons the product approach usually appears an extremely daunting task The main focus of this approach has always been on the final product writing is a tool for the practice and reinforcement of specific grammatical and lexical patterns accuracy being all-important whereas content and self-expression given little if any priority Basically students were lsquowriting to learnrsquo and not lsquolearning to writersquo
Process aPProach
It is clear that the process approach evolved in an era of change in which
conventions were challenged and reliance on form and conventions questioned Vanessa Steele defines the process approach as focusing more on the varied classroom activities which promote the development of language use brainstorming group discussion re-writinghellip Tribble defines the lsquoprocess approachrsquo as lsquoan approach to the teaching of writing which stresses the creativity of the individual writer and which pays attention to the development of good writing practices rather than the imitation of modelsrsquo (Tribble 1996 p160) The process approach considers writing as a creative act which requires time and positive feedback to be done well In this model the teacher needs to move away from being a marker to a reader responding to the content of studentrsquos writing more than the form
Product and Process WritingWHICH APPRoACH To usE
ldquostudents were lsquowriting to learnrsquo and not
lsquolearning to writersquo rdquo
ldquoThe process approach considers writing as
a creative act which requires time and positive
feedback to be done wellrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 5
TEACHING WRITING
In process writing the focus shifts from the final product itself to the different stages the writer goes through in order to achieve this outcome By breaking down the task as a whole into its constituent parts writing becomes less daunting and more manageable to the EFL studentStage 1First students generate ideas by brainstorming and discussion second they extend ideas into note form Then they organize ideas into a mind map spidergram or linear form This stage helps to make the relationship of ideas more immediately obvious which helps students with the structure of their texts At this phase the teacher provides only language supportStage 2Students write the first draft This is done in class and frequently in pairs or groups Stage 3Drafts are exchanged students become the readers of each otherrsquos work By responding as readers students develop an awareness of the fact that a writer is producing something to be read by someone else and thus can improve their own draftsStage 4Drafts are returned and improvements are made based upon peer feedback Stage 5A final draft is written Stage 6students once again exchange and read each otherrsquos work and perhaps even write a response or reply
The process in lsquonot linearrsquo but lsquorecursiversquo as in Tribblersquos words lsquoat any point in the preparation of a text writers can loop backwards or forwards to whichever of the activities involved in text composition
they may find usefulrsquo (Tribble 1996 p 59) Therefore it allows for great flexibility Writing is no longer a laborious activity if process-writing approach is adopted in the language classroom This model alleviates most of the problems associated with this skill and turns the writing class into an interesting and communicative experience Furthermore using this approach at lower levels is not only feasible but also backs the language learner up to become a talented writer in English There is a clear distinction between process-oriented and product-oriented writingNunan (2001) clearly states how very different this ldquoprocessrdquo approach is from the traditional product-oriented approach Whereas the product approach focuses on writing tasks in which the learner imitates copies and transforms teacher supplied models the process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work The primary goal of product writing is an error-free coherent text Process writing allows for the fact that no text can be perfect but that a writer will get closer to perfection by producing reflecting on discussing and reworking successive drafts of a text James Mccrimmon sees it as the difference between writing as a way of knowing (process) and wring as a way of telling (product) donald Murray sees it as the difference between internal and external revision (revising in order to clarify meaning for oneself vs revising in order to clarify meaning for the reader) Linda Flower sees it as the difference between writer-based and reader-based prose
a coMParisoN oF Product aNd Process aPProaches
ldquoProcess writing allows for the
fact that no text can be perfect
but that a writer will get closer to perfection
by producing reflecting on
discussing and reworking
successive drafts of a textrdquo
Product Processbull Model text to be imitatedbull Emphasis on organization of ideasbull one draftbull Emphasis on end productbull Teacher as audiencebull Teacher as authoritybull Importance of teacher-corrected papers
bull Model text as resource for comparisonbull Emphasis on ideas and idea development bull Multiple draftsbull Emphasis on processbull Various audiences according to type of
writingbull Peer feedback as valuable toolbull Importance of conferencing and interactive
feedback
6 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Which aPProach to use
The approach to use will depend on you the teacher and on the students and the genre of the text Certain genres such as formal letters and postcards in which the features (layout style organization and grammar) are fixed lend themselves most often to a product-driven approach The other genres such as discursive essays and narrative lend themselves to process-driven approaches
coNcLusioN
I believe that the two approaches are not necessarily incompatible Like the product approach the Process-centred one
does not repudiate all interest in the product (ie the final draft) Both aim at achieving the best product possible Consequently it is obvious that using aspects of both models may be the most effective approach in teaching writing as Nunan (1999) reaffirms ldquothere is no reason why a writing program should not contain elements of both approachesrdquo
ldquoThe approach to use will
depend on you the teacher
and on the students and
the genre of the textrdquo
What are the Pros aNd coNs oF each aPProach
Prosbull Easy to use with large classesbull Easier to grade because emphasis is on
formbull useful approach when form is importantconsbull Does not teach how to write independentlybull Does not teach how to thinkbull Does not make writing a manageable and
intentional activitybull Limits creativity and demotivates the
learner
Prosbull Helps novice writers develop skills to write
on their ownbull Encourages a thoughtful approach to
writingbull Helps develop thinking skills and learning
strategiesbull Helps writers to own their writing processcons bull Can take more time to teach bull Need to be sure that writer does not make
process explicit in writing itselfbull Can make classroom more challenging for
the teacher
ldquousing aspects of both models
may be the most effective
approach in teaching
writingrdquo
8 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
IN VARIous CouNTRIEs IN THE WoRLD the curricular of teaching English to young learners often emphasize the use of songs and chants This is simply because children love them and they can be both used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a very funny and engaging way Besides they can help children improve their oral skills However some researchers believe that listening and repeating a number of words or sentences are not enough for the learner to acquire a new language Thus it important for us to know how a teacher can make sure that language acquisition is taking place in hisher young learnersrsquo classroom particularly with respect to oral communication As teachers of young learners we are often advised or trained to integrate songs or chants in our teaching Besides our studentsrsquo books usually contain listening scripts either of songs or chants Thus according to scott and Ytreberg (1990) the majority of English teachers
throughout this world have used songs for one teaching purpose or another What makes chants and especially songs frequently used is that they have specific features First of all ldquosongs are highly memorablerdquo and ldquohighly motivatingrdquo (Davanellos 1999 13) as they create a joyful and interesting classroom atmosphere and they break up with the routines of the daily lesson secondly I have myself realized quite often that my third year primary students became very motivated while repeating the same introductory part of the ldquoHappy streetrdquo song at the beginning of each unit Thirdly I noticed that even weaker students enjoyed repeating the highly rhythmical verses while the CD player was on In addition they feel they are participating with their best peers at least in one activity of the lesson- that is the warming up- while smiling and tapping on their desks
By Noamen Amara Teacher of English
Young learner classes often have fun songs and chants that are repeated Children love them and they can be used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a fun and engaging way These can be very useful for improving studentsrsquo oral skills however ldquoWhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo (Slatterly amp Willis)
ldquoAs teachers of young learners we
are often advised or trained to integrate
songs or chants in our teachingrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
ADVANTAGEs AND LIMITATIoNs
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 9
Hence you can see that children enjoy the funny and merry atmosphere of songs and chants as they can learn by listening and repeating chunks of language Also songs can be useful for improving the learnersrsquo oral skills by listening and repeating what they hear
on the contrary slatterly and Willis emphasize that ldquowhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo This is in part true since when students just repeat chunks of language in a mechanical way without being aware of what they pronounce we can not say that learning is taking place In other words students in this case are just like parrots repeating sounds that they hear while being unaware of the message implied in the sounds that they utter Besides we can not talk about language acquisition or learning without necessarily referring to the mind So according to Arnold (2005) listening turns out to be ldquoan active processrdquo only if ldquothe mind actively engages in making meaningrdquo Thus as teachers we have to make sure that the listening material that we use in our lessons matches the studentsrsquo level because according to Krashenrsquos view acquisition canrsquot take place unless the input is ldquocomprehensiblerdquo(1981 6-7) In this context Brewster Ellis and Girard (2002) point out that ldquoif someone is giving you a message or opinion then of course you have to be able to understand it in order to respondrdquo Thus decoding the message into a ldquocomprehensible inputrdquo is vital in the acquisition or learning process Whenever there is a listening activity I usually make my best to ensure that my students manage to understand the listening passage through various ways and extra material that you will see The foreign language acquisition can take place through various ways during the teachinglearning process For example I often guide my pupils in the pre-listening activity to understand the keywords either through realia or flashcards or visuals Also scott and Ytreberg suggest (1990 34) ldquousing puppets or a class mascotrdquo as useful materials because they can be of great help
while ldquopresenting new language orallyrdquo For instance a parrot puppet can whisper into a studentrsquos ear give instructions or tell a story to the whole class Besides I always advise my young learners to use their background knowledge of any subject at hand in order to understand what the listening passage is about For instance my fourth-year students rely on their pre-requisite knowledge of science andor social studies to listen to the song entitled ldquoAmazing Animalsrdquo and match each section with the right ldquomilieurdquo where each animal lives Thus by relying on the teacherrsquos extra material and their background knowledge of the subject matter young learners often manage to understand the listening passage which they use later either for memorizing new vocabulary answering questions or consolidating pronunciation of new phonetic sounds While implementing the lesson plan songs and chants as listening materials can be used for various purposes and in any of the three stages of a lesson pre-stage while stage and post-stage As a good example of using a chant in the pre-stage in my junior class my young learners listened to and repeated a chant entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo so as to be familiar with the body parts while I was showing them the flash card of each member at the appropriate section So using the flash cards helped my pupils better understand the new lexical items of the body parts while listening to the chant In the while stage my students were asked to listen to a song about the same topic and act The song was centered on a set of activities based on Total Physical Response (TPR) where children listen and touch the body part(s) At this stage the teacher should make sure that hisher students understand the new vocabulary by responding appropriately to the song and touching the right body member(s) At this point I need to mention that before each listening activity the teacher should ldquoguidehellip[hisher studentsrsquo] attention to specific parts of the spoken textrsquo so that the learners will be aware of the purpose of and the rationale behind the listening activity as I did
ldquoWe have to make sure that the
listening material that we use in our
lessons matches the studentsrsquo
levelrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
Contents
Editorial Review Board
Mohamed Salah AbidiGraphic Design
Tarak BrahmiThe Tunisian English Teaching Forum is a free quarterly magazine
Any copyrighted articles appearing in The Tunisian English Teaching Forum are reprinted with permission of the copyright ownersTo be considered for publication manuscripts should be typed on a floppy disk or CD that has been virus-checked
Letters floppy disks or CDs should be sent to Mohammed Salah AbidiLrsquoInspecteur drsquoAnglaisLycee Tahar HaddadRegueb 9170Sidi BouzidTunisie
or e-mailed to medsahagmailcom
For guidelines for writing articles and the latest news and notifications please visit our blog herehttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
TUNISIANEnglish Teaching Forum
The
Meet our special guest Larry Ferlazzo on page 18
14Process and Product writing in the efl classesA practical application of process writing inside the EFL classroom
HECHMI HAMDI
30
tarak brAHMI
teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquoHow to teach reading using the jigsaw technique
BELGaCEM HAMDI
Product and Process writingContrasting two popular approaches and examining how both can be used in the classroom
4
interViewLarry Ferlazzo talks about his great blog ldquoWebsites of the Dayrdquo the Family Literary Project and his two new books
18
StEVE PEHA
do rules ruleThinking about whether we should follow rules or follow language toward meaning when learning or teaching punctuation
12NoaMEN AMArA
teaching Vocabulary and grammar through songs and chantsAdvantages and limitations
8
22 reading Versus the internetIs the internet ldquokillingrdquo or boosting reading
FatEN rOMDHANI
4 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 January 2011
TEACHING WRITING
By Belgacem Hamdi ELT Inspector
There have been several approaches to teaching writing They have evolved with the development of different approaches to language teaching in general In spite of methodological changes writing continues to be an extremely challenging task for the teacher and learner of English As a basic language skill for EFL learners writing should be well thought of In this article I will describe and contrast two popular approaches and examine how both can be used in the classroom hoping this can help our students to develop their writing competence
Product aPProach
THE PRoDuCT APPRoACH is a traditional approach to teaching writing in which students are provided (with) a model and encouraged to mimic it in order to produce a similar productFor various reasons the product approach usually appears an extremely daunting task The main focus of this approach has always been on the final product writing is a tool for the practice and reinforcement of specific grammatical and lexical patterns accuracy being all-important whereas content and self-expression given little if any priority Basically students were lsquowriting to learnrsquo and not lsquolearning to writersquo
Process aPProach
It is clear that the process approach evolved in an era of change in which
conventions were challenged and reliance on form and conventions questioned Vanessa Steele defines the process approach as focusing more on the varied classroom activities which promote the development of language use brainstorming group discussion re-writinghellip Tribble defines the lsquoprocess approachrsquo as lsquoan approach to the teaching of writing which stresses the creativity of the individual writer and which pays attention to the development of good writing practices rather than the imitation of modelsrsquo (Tribble 1996 p160) The process approach considers writing as a creative act which requires time and positive feedback to be done well In this model the teacher needs to move away from being a marker to a reader responding to the content of studentrsquos writing more than the form
Product and Process WritingWHICH APPRoACH To usE
ldquostudents were lsquowriting to learnrsquo and not
lsquolearning to writersquo rdquo
ldquoThe process approach considers writing as
a creative act which requires time and positive
feedback to be done wellrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 5
TEACHING WRITING
In process writing the focus shifts from the final product itself to the different stages the writer goes through in order to achieve this outcome By breaking down the task as a whole into its constituent parts writing becomes less daunting and more manageable to the EFL studentStage 1First students generate ideas by brainstorming and discussion second they extend ideas into note form Then they organize ideas into a mind map spidergram or linear form This stage helps to make the relationship of ideas more immediately obvious which helps students with the structure of their texts At this phase the teacher provides only language supportStage 2Students write the first draft This is done in class and frequently in pairs or groups Stage 3Drafts are exchanged students become the readers of each otherrsquos work By responding as readers students develop an awareness of the fact that a writer is producing something to be read by someone else and thus can improve their own draftsStage 4Drafts are returned and improvements are made based upon peer feedback Stage 5A final draft is written Stage 6students once again exchange and read each otherrsquos work and perhaps even write a response or reply
The process in lsquonot linearrsquo but lsquorecursiversquo as in Tribblersquos words lsquoat any point in the preparation of a text writers can loop backwards or forwards to whichever of the activities involved in text composition
they may find usefulrsquo (Tribble 1996 p 59) Therefore it allows for great flexibility Writing is no longer a laborious activity if process-writing approach is adopted in the language classroom This model alleviates most of the problems associated with this skill and turns the writing class into an interesting and communicative experience Furthermore using this approach at lower levels is not only feasible but also backs the language learner up to become a talented writer in English There is a clear distinction between process-oriented and product-oriented writingNunan (2001) clearly states how very different this ldquoprocessrdquo approach is from the traditional product-oriented approach Whereas the product approach focuses on writing tasks in which the learner imitates copies and transforms teacher supplied models the process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work The primary goal of product writing is an error-free coherent text Process writing allows for the fact that no text can be perfect but that a writer will get closer to perfection by producing reflecting on discussing and reworking successive drafts of a text James Mccrimmon sees it as the difference between writing as a way of knowing (process) and wring as a way of telling (product) donald Murray sees it as the difference between internal and external revision (revising in order to clarify meaning for oneself vs revising in order to clarify meaning for the reader) Linda Flower sees it as the difference between writer-based and reader-based prose
a coMParisoN oF Product aNd Process aPProaches
ldquoProcess writing allows for the
fact that no text can be perfect
but that a writer will get closer to perfection
by producing reflecting on
discussing and reworking
successive drafts of a textrdquo
Product Processbull Model text to be imitatedbull Emphasis on organization of ideasbull one draftbull Emphasis on end productbull Teacher as audiencebull Teacher as authoritybull Importance of teacher-corrected papers
bull Model text as resource for comparisonbull Emphasis on ideas and idea development bull Multiple draftsbull Emphasis on processbull Various audiences according to type of
writingbull Peer feedback as valuable toolbull Importance of conferencing and interactive
feedback
6 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Which aPProach to use
The approach to use will depend on you the teacher and on the students and the genre of the text Certain genres such as formal letters and postcards in which the features (layout style organization and grammar) are fixed lend themselves most often to a product-driven approach The other genres such as discursive essays and narrative lend themselves to process-driven approaches
coNcLusioN
I believe that the two approaches are not necessarily incompatible Like the product approach the Process-centred one
does not repudiate all interest in the product (ie the final draft) Both aim at achieving the best product possible Consequently it is obvious that using aspects of both models may be the most effective approach in teaching writing as Nunan (1999) reaffirms ldquothere is no reason why a writing program should not contain elements of both approachesrdquo
ldquoThe approach to use will
depend on you the teacher
and on the students and
the genre of the textrdquo
What are the Pros aNd coNs oF each aPProach
Prosbull Easy to use with large classesbull Easier to grade because emphasis is on
formbull useful approach when form is importantconsbull Does not teach how to write independentlybull Does not teach how to thinkbull Does not make writing a manageable and
intentional activitybull Limits creativity and demotivates the
learner
Prosbull Helps novice writers develop skills to write
on their ownbull Encourages a thoughtful approach to
writingbull Helps develop thinking skills and learning
strategiesbull Helps writers to own their writing processcons bull Can take more time to teach bull Need to be sure that writer does not make
process explicit in writing itselfbull Can make classroom more challenging for
the teacher
ldquousing aspects of both models
may be the most effective
approach in teaching
writingrdquo
8 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
IN VARIous CouNTRIEs IN THE WoRLD the curricular of teaching English to young learners often emphasize the use of songs and chants This is simply because children love them and they can be both used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a very funny and engaging way Besides they can help children improve their oral skills However some researchers believe that listening and repeating a number of words or sentences are not enough for the learner to acquire a new language Thus it important for us to know how a teacher can make sure that language acquisition is taking place in hisher young learnersrsquo classroom particularly with respect to oral communication As teachers of young learners we are often advised or trained to integrate songs or chants in our teaching Besides our studentsrsquo books usually contain listening scripts either of songs or chants Thus according to scott and Ytreberg (1990) the majority of English teachers
throughout this world have used songs for one teaching purpose or another What makes chants and especially songs frequently used is that they have specific features First of all ldquosongs are highly memorablerdquo and ldquohighly motivatingrdquo (Davanellos 1999 13) as they create a joyful and interesting classroom atmosphere and they break up with the routines of the daily lesson secondly I have myself realized quite often that my third year primary students became very motivated while repeating the same introductory part of the ldquoHappy streetrdquo song at the beginning of each unit Thirdly I noticed that even weaker students enjoyed repeating the highly rhythmical verses while the CD player was on In addition they feel they are participating with their best peers at least in one activity of the lesson- that is the warming up- while smiling and tapping on their desks
By Noamen Amara Teacher of English
Young learner classes often have fun songs and chants that are repeated Children love them and they can be used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a fun and engaging way These can be very useful for improving studentsrsquo oral skills however ldquoWhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo (Slatterly amp Willis)
ldquoAs teachers of young learners we
are often advised or trained to integrate
songs or chants in our teachingrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
ADVANTAGEs AND LIMITATIoNs
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 9
Hence you can see that children enjoy the funny and merry atmosphere of songs and chants as they can learn by listening and repeating chunks of language Also songs can be useful for improving the learnersrsquo oral skills by listening and repeating what they hear
on the contrary slatterly and Willis emphasize that ldquowhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo This is in part true since when students just repeat chunks of language in a mechanical way without being aware of what they pronounce we can not say that learning is taking place In other words students in this case are just like parrots repeating sounds that they hear while being unaware of the message implied in the sounds that they utter Besides we can not talk about language acquisition or learning without necessarily referring to the mind So according to Arnold (2005) listening turns out to be ldquoan active processrdquo only if ldquothe mind actively engages in making meaningrdquo Thus as teachers we have to make sure that the listening material that we use in our lessons matches the studentsrsquo level because according to Krashenrsquos view acquisition canrsquot take place unless the input is ldquocomprehensiblerdquo(1981 6-7) In this context Brewster Ellis and Girard (2002) point out that ldquoif someone is giving you a message or opinion then of course you have to be able to understand it in order to respondrdquo Thus decoding the message into a ldquocomprehensible inputrdquo is vital in the acquisition or learning process Whenever there is a listening activity I usually make my best to ensure that my students manage to understand the listening passage through various ways and extra material that you will see The foreign language acquisition can take place through various ways during the teachinglearning process For example I often guide my pupils in the pre-listening activity to understand the keywords either through realia or flashcards or visuals Also scott and Ytreberg suggest (1990 34) ldquousing puppets or a class mascotrdquo as useful materials because they can be of great help
while ldquopresenting new language orallyrdquo For instance a parrot puppet can whisper into a studentrsquos ear give instructions or tell a story to the whole class Besides I always advise my young learners to use their background knowledge of any subject at hand in order to understand what the listening passage is about For instance my fourth-year students rely on their pre-requisite knowledge of science andor social studies to listen to the song entitled ldquoAmazing Animalsrdquo and match each section with the right ldquomilieurdquo where each animal lives Thus by relying on the teacherrsquos extra material and their background knowledge of the subject matter young learners often manage to understand the listening passage which they use later either for memorizing new vocabulary answering questions or consolidating pronunciation of new phonetic sounds While implementing the lesson plan songs and chants as listening materials can be used for various purposes and in any of the three stages of a lesson pre-stage while stage and post-stage As a good example of using a chant in the pre-stage in my junior class my young learners listened to and repeated a chant entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo so as to be familiar with the body parts while I was showing them the flash card of each member at the appropriate section So using the flash cards helped my pupils better understand the new lexical items of the body parts while listening to the chant In the while stage my students were asked to listen to a song about the same topic and act The song was centered on a set of activities based on Total Physical Response (TPR) where children listen and touch the body part(s) At this stage the teacher should make sure that hisher students understand the new vocabulary by responding appropriately to the song and touching the right body member(s) At this point I need to mention that before each listening activity the teacher should ldquoguidehellip[hisher studentsrsquo] attention to specific parts of the spoken textrsquo so that the learners will be aware of the purpose of and the rationale behind the listening activity as I did
ldquoWe have to make sure that the
listening material that we use in our
lessons matches the studentsrsquo
levelrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
4 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 January 2011
TEACHING WRITING
By Belgacem Hamdi ELT Inspector
There have been several approaches to teaching writing They have evolved with the development of different approaches to language teaching in general In spite of methodological changes writing continues to be an extremely challenging task for the teacher and learner of English As a basic language skill for EFL learners writing should be well thought of In this article I will describe and contrast two popular approaches and examine how both can be used in the classroom hoping this can help our students to develop their writing competence
Product aPProach
THE PRoDuCT APPRoACH is a traditional approach to teaching writing in which students are provided (with) a model and encouraged to mimic it in order to produce a similar productFor various reasons the product approach usually appears an extremely daunting task The main focus of this approach has always been on the final product writing is a tool for the practice and reinforcement of specific grammatical and lexical patterns accuracy being all-important whereas content and self-expression given little if any priority Basically students were lsquowriting to learnrsquo and not lsquolearning to writersquo
Process aPProach
It is clear that the process approach evolved in an era of change in which
conventions were challenged and reliance on form and conventions questioned Vanessa Steele defines the process approach as focusing more on the varied classroom activities which promote the development of language use brainstorming group discussion re-writinghellip Tribble defines the lsquoprocess approachrsquo as lsquoan approach to the teaching of writing which stresses the creativity of the individual writer and which pays attention to the development of good writing practices rather than the imitation of modelsrsquo (Tribble 1996 p160) The process approach considers writing as a creative act which requires time and positive feedback to be done well In this model the teacher needs to move away from being a marker to a reader responding to the content of studentrsquos writing more than the form
Product and Process WritingWHICH APPRoACH To usE
ldquostudents were lsquowriting to learnrsquo and not
lsquolearning to writersquo rdquo
ldquoThe process approach considers writing as
a creative act which requires time and positive
feedback to be done wellrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 5
TEACHING WRITING
In process writing the focus shifts from the final product itself to the different stages the writer goes through in order to achieve this outcome By breaking down the task as a whole into its constituent parts writing becomes less daunting and more manageable to the EFL studentStage 1First students generate ideas by brainstorming and discussion second they extend ideas into note form Then they organize ideas into a mind map spidergram or linear form This stage helps to make the relationship of ideas more immediately obvious which helps students with the structure of their texts At this phase the teacher provides only language supportStage 2Students write the first draft This is done in class and frequently in pairs or groups Stage 3Drafts are exchanged students become the readers of each otherrsquos work By responding as readers students develop an awareness of the fact that a writer is producing something to be read by someone else and thus can improve their own draftsStage 4Drafts are returned and improvements are made based upon peer feedback Stage 5A final draft is written Stage 6students once again exchange and read each otherrsquos work and perhaps even write a response or reply
The process in lsquonot linearrsquo but lsquorecursiversquo as in Tribblersquos words lsquoat any point in the preparation of a text writers can loop backwards or forwards to whichever of the activities involved in text composition
they may find usefulrsquo (Tribble 1996 p 59) Therefore it allows for great flexibility Writing is no longer a laborious activity if process-writing approach is adopted in the language classroom This model alleviates most of the problems associated with this skill and turns the writing class into an interesting and communicative experience Furthermore using this approach at lower levels is not only feasible but also backs the language learner up to become a talented writer in English There is a clear distinction between process-oriented and product-oriented writingNunan (2001) clearly states how very different this ldquoprocessrdquo approach is from the traditional product-oriented approach Whereas the product approach focuses on writing tasks in which the learner imitates copies and transforms teacher supplied models the process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work The primary goal of product writing is an error-free coherent text Process writing allows for the fact that no text can be perfect but that a writer will get closer to perfection by producing reflecting on discussing and reworking successive drafts of a text James Mccrimmon sees it as the difference between writing as a way of knowing (process) and wring as a way of telling (product) donald Murray sees it as the difference between internal and external revision (revising in order to clarify meaning for oneself vs revising in order to clarify meaning for the reader) Linda Flower sees it as the difference between writer-based and reader-based prose
a coMParisoN oF Product aNd Process aPProaches
ldquoProcess writing allows for the
fact that no text can be perfect
but that a writer will get closer to perfection
by producing reflecting on
discussing and reworking
successive drafts of a textrdquo
Product Processbull Model text to be imitatedbull Emphasis on organization of ideasbull one draftbull Emphasis on end productbull Teacher as audiencebull Teacher as authoritybull Importance of teacher-corrected papers
bull Model text as resource for comparisonbull Emphasis on ideas and idea development bull Multiple draftsbull Emphasis on processbull Various audiences according to type of
writingbull Peer feedback as valuable toolbull Importance of conferencing and interactive
feedback
6 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Which aPProach to use
The approach to use will depend on you the teacher and on the students and the genre of the text Certain genres such as formal letters and postcards in which the features (layout style organization and grammar) are fixed lend themselves most often to a product-driven approach The other genres such as discursive essays and narrative lend themselves to process-driven approaches
coNcLusioN
I believe that the two approaches are not necessarily incompatible Like the product approach the Process-centred one
does not repudiate all interest in the product (ie the final draft) Both aim at achieving the best product possible Consequently it is obvious that using aspects of both models may be the most effective approach in teaching writing as Nunan (1999) reaffirms ldquothere is no reason why a writing program should not contain elements of both approachesrdquo
ldquoThe approach to use will
depend on you the teacher
and on the students and
the genre of the textrdquo
What are the Pros aNd coNs oF each aPProach
Prosbull Easy to use with large classesbull Easier to grade because emphasis is on
formbull useful approach when form is importantconsbull Does not teach how to write independentlybull Does not teach how to thinkbull Does not make writing a manageable and
intentional activitybull Limits creativity and demotivates the
learner
Prosbull Helps novice writers develop skills to write
on their ownbull Encourages a thoughtful approach to
writingbull Helps develop thinking skills and learning
strategiesbull Helps writers to own their writing processcons bull Can take more time to teach bull Need to be sure that writer does not make
process explicit in writing itselfbull Can make classroom more challenging for
the teacher
ldquousing aspects of both models
may be the most effective
approach in teaching
writingrdquo
8 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
IN VARIous CouNTRIEs IN THE WoRLD the curricular of teaching English to young learners often emphasize the use of songs and chants This is simply because children love them and they can be both used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a very funny and engaging way Besides they can help children improve their oral skills However some researchers believe that listening and repeating a number of words or sentences are not enough for the learner to acquire a new language Thus it important for us to know how a teacher can make sure that language acquisition is taking place in hisher young learnersrsquo classroom particularly with respect to oral communication As teachers of young learners we are often advised or trained to integrate songs or chants in our teaching Besides our studentsrsquo books usually contain listening scripts either of songs or chants Thus according to scott and Ytreberg (1990) the majority of English teachers
throughout this world have used songs for one teaching purpose or another What makes chants and especially songs frequently used is that they have specific features First of all ldquosongs are highly memorablerdquo and ldquohighly motivatingrdquo (Davanellos 1999 13) as they create a joyful and interesting classroom atmosphere and they break up with the routines of the daily lesson secondly I have myself realized quite often that my third year primary students became very motivated while repeating the same introductory part of the ldquoHappy streetrdquo song at the beginning of each unit Thirdly I noticed that even weaker students enjoyed repeating the highly rhythmical verses while the CD player was on In addition they feel they are participating with their best peers at least in one activity of the lesson- that is the warming up- while smiling and tapping on their desks
By Noamen Amara Teacher of English
Young learner classes often have fun songs and chants that are repeated Children love them and they can be used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a fun and engaging way These can be very useful for improving studentsrsquo oral skills however ldquoWhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo (Slatterly amp Willis)
ldquoAs teachers of young learners we
are often advised or trained to integrate
songs or chants in our teachingrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
ADVANTAGEs AND LIMITATIoNs
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 9
Hence you can see that children enjoy the funny and merry atmosphere of songs and chants as they can learn by listening and repeating chunks of language Also songs can be useful for improving the learnersrsquo oral skills by listening and repeating what they hear
on the contrary slatterly and Willis emphasize that ldquowhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo This is in part true since when students just repeat chunks of language in a mechanical way without being aware of what they pronounce we can not say that learning is taking place In other words students in this case are just like parrots repeating sounds that they hear while being unaware of the message implied in the sounds that they utter Besides we can not talk about language acquisition or learning without necessarily referring to the mind So according to Arnold (2005) listening turns out to be ldquoan active processrdquo only if ldquothe mind actively engages in making meaningrdquo Thus as teachers we have to make sure that the listening material that we use in our lessons matches the studentsrsquo level because according to Krashenrsquos view acquisition canrsquot take place unless the input is ldquocomprehensiblerdquo(1981 6-7) In this context Brewster Ellis and Girard (2002) point out that ldquoif someone is giving you a message or opinion then of course you have to be able to understand it in order to respondrdquo Thus decoding the message into a ldquocomprehensible inputrdquo is vital in the acquisition or learning process Whenever there is a listening activity I usually make my best to ensure that my students manage to understand the listening passage through various ways and extra material that you will see The foreign language acquisition can take place through various ways during the teachinglearning process For example I often guide my pupils in the pre-listening activity to understand the keywords either through realia or flashcards or visuals Also scott and Ytreberg suggest (1990 34) ldquousing puppets or a class mascotrdquo as useful materials because they can be of great help
while ldquopresenting new language orallyrdquo For instance a parrot puppet can whisper into a studentrsquos ear give instructions or tell a story to the whole class Besides I always advise my young learners to use their background knowledge of any subject at hand in order to understand what the listening passage is about For instance my fourth-year students rely on their pre-requisite knowledge of science andor social studies to listen to the song entitled ldquoAmazing Animalsrdquo and match each section with the right ldquomilieurdquo where each animal lives Thus by relying on the teacherrsquos extra material and their background knowledge of the subject matter young learners often manage to understand the listening passage which they use later either for memorizing new vocabulary answering questions or consolidating pronunciation of new phonetic sounds While implementing the lesson plan songs and chants as listening materials can be used for various purposes and in any of the three stages of a lesson pre-stage while stage and post-stage As a good example of using a chant in the pre-stage in my junior class my young learners listened to and repeated a chant entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo so as to be familiar with the body parts while I was showing them the flash card of each member at the appropriate section So using the flash cards helped my pupils better understand the new lexical items of the body parts while listening to the chant In the while stage my students were asked to listen to a song about the same topic and act The song was centered on a set of activities based on Total Physical Response (TPR) where children listen and touch the body part(s) At this stage the teacher should make sure that hisher students understand the new vocabulary by responding appropriately to the song and touching the right body member(s) At this point I need to mention that before each listening activity the teacher should ldquoguidehellip[hisher studentsrsquo] attention to specific parts of the spoken textrsquo so that the learners will be aware of the purpose of and the rationale behind the listening activity as I did
ldquoWe have to make sure that the
listening material that we use in our
lessons matches the studentsrsquo
levelrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 5
TEACHING WRITING
In process writing the focus shifts from the final product itself to the different stages the writer goes through in order to achieve this outcome By breaking down the task as a whole into its constituent parts writing becomes less daunting and more manageable to the EFL studentStage 1First students generate ideas by brainstorming and discussion second they extend ideas into note form Then they organize ideas into a mind map spidergram or linear form This stage helps to make the relationship of ideas more immediately obvious which helps students with the structure of their texts At this phase the teacher provides only language supportStage 2Students write the first draft This is done in class and frequently in pairs or groups Stage 3Drafts are exchanged students become the readers of each otherrsquos work By responding as readers students develop an awareness of the fact that a writer is producing something to be read by someone else and thus can improve their own draftsStage 4Drafts are returned and improvements are made based upon peer feedback Stage 5A final draft is written Stage 6students once again exchange and read each otherrsquos work and perhaps even write a response or reply
The process in lsquonot linearrsquo but lsquorecursiversquo as in Tribblersquos words lsquoat any point in the preparation of a text writers can loop backwards or forwards to whichever of the activities involved in text composition
they may find usefulrsquo (Tribble 1996 p 59) Therefore it allows for great flexibility Writing is no longer a laborious activity if process-writing approach is adopted in the language classroom This model alleviates most of the problems associated with this skill and turns the writing class into an interesting and communicative experience Furthermore using this approach at lower levels is not only feasible but also backs the language learner up to become a talented writer in English There is a clear distinction between process-oriented and product-oriented writingNunan (2001) clearly states how very different this ldquoprocessrdquo approach is from the traditional product-oriented approach Whereas the product approach focuses on writing tasks in which the learner imitates copies and transforms teacher supplied models the process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work The primary goal of product writing is an error-free coherent text Process writing allows for the fact that no text can be perfect but that a writer will get closer to perfection by producing reflecting on discussing and reworking successive drafts of a text James Mccrimmon sees it as the difference between writing as a way of knowing (process) and wring as a way of telling (product) donald Murray sees it as the difference between internal and external revision (revising in order to clarify meaning for oneself vs revising in order to clarify meaning for the reader) Linda Flower sees it as the difference between writer-based and reader-based prose
a coMParisoN oF Product aNd Process aPProaches
ldquoProcess writing allows for the
fact that no text can be perfect
but that a writer will get closer to perfection
by producing reflecting on
discussing and reworking
successive drafts of a textrdquo
Product Processbull Model text to be imitatedbull Emphasis on organization of ideasbull one draftbull Emphasis on end productbull Teacher as audiencebull Teacher as authoritybull Importance of teacher-corrected papers
bull Model text as resource for comparisonbull Emphasis on ideas and idea development bull Multiple draftsbull Emphasis on processbull Various audiences according to type of
writingbull Peer feedback as valuable toolbull Importance of conferencing and interactive
feedback
6 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Which aPProach to use
The approach to use will depend on you the teacher and on the students and the genre of the text Certain genres such as formal letters and postcards in which the features (layout style organization and grammar) are fixed lend themselves most often to a product-driven approach The other genres such as discursive essays and narrative lend themselves to process-driven approaches
coNcLusioN
I believe that the two approaches are not necessarily incompatible Like the product approach the Process-centred one
does not repudiate all interest in the product (ie the final draft) Both aim at achieving the best product possible Consequently it is obvious that using aspects of both models may be the most effective approach in teaching writing as Nunan (1999) reaffirms ldquothere is no reason why a writing program should not contain elements of both approachesrdquo
ldquoThe approach to use will
depend on you the teacher
and on the students and
the genre of the textrdquo
What are the Pros aNd coNs oF each aPProach
Prosbull Easy to use with large classesbull Easier to grade because emphasis is on
formbull useful approach when form is importantconsbull Does not teach how to write independentlybull Does not teach how to thinkbull Does not make writing a manageable and
intentional activitybull Limits creativity and demotivates the
learner
Prosbull Helps novice writers develop skills to write
on their ownbull Encourages a thoughtful approach to
writingbull Helps develop thinking skills and learning
strategiesbull Helps writers to own their writing processcons bull Can take more time to teach bull Need to be sure that writer does not make
process explicit in writing itselfbull Can make classroom more challenging for
the teacher
ldquousing aspects of both models
may be the most effective
approach in teaching
writingrdquo
8 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
IN VARIous CouNTRIEs IN THE WoRLD the curricular of teaching English to young learners often emphasize the use of songs and chants This is simply because children love them and they can be both used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a very funny and engaging way Besides they can help children improve their oral skills However some researchers believe that listening and repeating a number of words or sentences are not enough for the learner to acquire a new language Thus it important for us to know how a teacher can make sure that language acquisition is taking place in hisher young learnersrsquo classroom particularly with respect to oral communication As teachers of young learners we are often advised or trained to integrate songs or chants in our teaching Besides our studentsrsquo books usually contain listening scripts either of songs or chants Thus according to scott and Ytreberg (1990) the majority of English teachers
throughout this world have used songs for one teaching purpose or another What makes chants and especially songs frequently used is that they have specific features First of all ldquosongs are highly memorablerdquo and ldquohighly motivatingrdquo (Davanellos 1999 13) as they create a joyful and interesting classroom atmosphere and they break up with the routines of the daily lesson secondly I have myself realized quite often that my third year primary students became very motivated while repeating the same introductory part of the ldquoHappy streetrdquo song at the beginning of each unit Thirdly I noticed that even weaker students enjoyed repeating the highly rhythmical verses while the CD player was on In addition they feel they are participating with their best peers at least in one activity of the lesson- that is the warming up- while smiling and tapping on their desks
By Noamen Amara Teacher of English
Young learner classes often have fun songs and chants that are repeated Children love them and they can be used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a fun and engaging way These can be very useful for improving studentsrsquo oral skills however ldquoWhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo (Slatterly amp Willis)
ldquoAs teachers of young learners we
are often advised or trained to integrate
songs or chants in our teachingrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
ADVANTAGEs AND LIMITATIoNs
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 9
Hence you can see that children enjoy the funny and merry atmosphere of songs and chants as they can learn by listening and repeating chunks of language Also songs can be useful for improving the learnersrsquo oral skills by listening and repeating what they hear
on the contrary slatterly and Willis emphasize that ldquowhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo This is in part true since when students just repeat chunks of language in a mechanical way without being aware of what they pronounce we can not say that learning is taking place In other words students in this case are just like parrots repeating sounds that they hear while being unaware of the message implied in the sounds that they utter Besides we can not talk about language acquisition or learning without necessarily referring to the mind So according to Arnold (2005) listening turns out to be ldquoan active processrdquo only if ldquothe mind actively engages in making meaningrdquo Thus as teachers we have to make sure that the listening material that we use in our lessons matches the studentsrsquo level because according to Krashenrsquos view acquisition canrsquot take place unless the input is ldquocomprehensiblerdquo(1981 6-7) In this context Brewster Ellis and Girard (2002) point out that ldquoif someone is giving you a message or opinion then of course you have to be able to understand it in order to respondrdquo Thus decoding the message into a ldquocomprehensible inputrdquo is vital in the acquisition or learning process Whenever there is a listening activity I usually make my best to ensure that my students manage to understand the listening passage through various ways and extra material that you will see The foreign language acquisition can take place through various ways during the teachinglearning process For example I often guide my pupils in the pre-listening activity to understand the keywords either through realia or flashcards or visuals Also scott and Ytreberg suggest (1990 34) ldquousing puppets or a class mascotrdquo as useful materials because they can be of great help
while ldquopresenting new language orallyrdquo For instance a parrot puppet can whisper into a studentrsquos ear give instructions or tell a story to the whole class Besides I always advise my young learners to use their background knowledge of any subject at hand in order to understand what the listening passage is about For instance my fourth-year students rely on their pre-requisite knowledge of science andor social studies to listen to the song entitled ldquoAmazing Animalsrdquo and match each section with the right ldquomilieurdquo where each animal lives Thus by relying on the teacherrsquos extra material and their background knowledge of the subject matter young learners often manage to understand the listening passage which they use later either for memorizing new vocabulary answering questions or consolidating pronunciation of new phonetic sounds While implementing the lesson plan songs and chants as listening materials can be used for various purposes and in any of the three stages of a lesson pre-stage while stage and post-stage As a good example of using a chant in the pre-stage in my junior class my young learners listened to and repeated a chant entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo so as to be familiar with the body parts while I was showing them the flash card of each member at the appropriate section So using the flash cards helped my pupils better understand the new lexical items of the body parts while listening to the chant In the while stage my students were asked to listen to a song about the same topic and act The song was centered on a set of activities based on Total Physical Response (TPR) where children listen and touch the body part(s) At this stage the teacher should make sure that hisher students understand the new vocabulary by responding appropriately to the song and touching the right body member(s) At this point I need to mention that before each listening activity the teacher should ldquoguidehellip[hisher studentsrsquo] attention to specific parts of the spoken textrsquo so that the learners will be aware of the purpose of and the rationale behind the listening activity as I did
ldquoWe have to make sure that the
listening material that we use in our
lessons matches the studentsrsquo
levelrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
6 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Which aPProach to use
The approach to use will depend on you the teacher and on the students and the genre of the text Certain genres such as formal letters and postcards in which the features (layout style organization and grammar) are fixed lend themselves most often to a product-driven approach The other genres such as discursive essays and narrative lend themselves to process-driven approaches
coNcLusioN
I believe that the two approaches are not necessarily incompatible Like the product approach the Process-centred one
does not repudiate all interest in the product (ie the final draft) Both aim at achieving the best product possible Consequently it is obvious that using aspects of both models may be the most effective approach in teaching writing as Nunan (1999) reaffirms ldquothere is no reason why a writing program should not contain elements of both approachesrdquo
ldquoThe approach to use will
depend on you the teacher
and on the students and
the genre of the textrdquo
What are the Pros aNd coNs oF each aPProach
Prosbull Easy to use with large classesbull Easier to grade because emphasis is on
formbull useful approach when form is importantconsbull Does not teach how to write independentlybull Does not teach how to thinkbull Does not make writing a manageable and
intentional activitybull Limits creativity and demotivates the
learner
Prosbull Helps novice writers develop skills to write
on their ownbull Encourages a thoughtful approach to
writingbull Helps develop thinking skills and learning
strategiesbull Helps writers to own their writing processcons bull Can take more time to teach bull Need to be sure that writer does not make
process explicit in writing itselfbull Can make classroom more challenging for
the teacher
ldquousing aspects of both models
may be the most effective
approach in teaching
writingrdquo
8 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
IN VARIous CouNTRIEs IN THE WoRLD the curricular of teaching English to young learners often emphasize the use of songs and chants This is simply because children love them and they can be both used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a very funny and engaging way Besides they can help children improve their oral skills However some researchers believe that listening and repeating a number of words or sentences are not enough for the learner to acquire a new language Thus it important for us to know how a teacher can make sure that language acquisition is taking place in hisher young learnersrsquo classroom particularly with respect to oral communication As teachers of young learners we are often advised or trained to integrate songs or chants in our teaching Besides our studentsrsquo books usually contain listening scripts either of songs or chants Thus according to scott and Ytreberg (1990) the majority of English teachers
throughout this world have used songs for one teaching purpose or another What makes chants and especially songs frequently used is that they have specific features First of all ldquosongs are highly memorablerdquo and ldquohighly motivatingrdquo (Davanellos 1999 13) as they create a joyful and interesting classroom atmosphere and they break up with the routines of the daily lesson secondly I have myself realized quite often that my third year primary students became very motivated while repeating the same introductory part of the ldquoHappy streetrdquo song at the beginning of each unit Thirdly I noticed that even weaker students enjoyed repeating the highly rhythmical verses while the CD player was on In addition they feel they are participating with their best peers at least in one activity of the lesson- that is the warming up- while smiling and tapping on their desks
By Noamen Amara Teacher of English
Young learner classes often have fun songs and chants that are repeated Children love them and they can be used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a fun and engaging way These can be very useful for improving studentsrsquo oral skills however ldquoWhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo (Slatterly amp Willis)
ldquoAs teachers of young learners we
are often advised or trained to integrate
songs or chants in our teachingrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
ADVANTAGEs AND LIMITATIoNs
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 9
Hence you can see that children enjoy the funny and merry atmosphere of songs and chants as they can learn by listening and repeating chunks of language Also songs can be useful for improving the learnersrsquo oral skills by listening and repeating what they hear
on the contrary slatterly and Willis emphasize that ldquowhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo This is in part true since when students just repeat chunks of language in a mechanical way without being aware of what they pronounce we can not say that learning is taking place In other words students in this case are just like parrots repeating sounds that they hear while being unaware of the message implied in the sounds that they utter Besides we can not talk about language acquisition or learning without necessarily referring to the mind So according to Arnold (2005) listening turns out to be ldquoan active processrdquo only if ldquothe mind actively engages in making meaningrdquo Thus as teachers we have to make sure that the listening material that we use in our lessons matches the studentsrsquo level because according to Krashenrsquos view acquisition canrsquot take place unless the input is ldquocomprehensiblerdquo(1981 6-7) In this context Brewster Ellis and Girard (2002) point out that ldquoif someone is giving you a message or opinion then of course you have to be able to understand it in order to respondrdquo Thus decoding the message into a ldquocomprehensible inputrdquo is vital in the acquisition or learning process Whenever there is a listening activity I usually make my best to ensure that my students manage to understand the listening passage through various ways and extra material that you will see The foreign language acquisition can take place through various ways during the teachinglearning process For example I often guide my pupils in the pre-listening activity to understand the keywords either through realia or flashcards or visuals Also scott and Ytreberg suggest (1990 34) ldquousing puppets or a class mascotrdquo as useful materials because they can be of great help
while ldquopresenting new language orallyrdquo For instance a parrot puppet can whisper into a studentrsquos ear give instructions or tell a story to the whole class Besides I always advise my young learners to use their background knowledge of any subject at hand in order to understand what the listening passage is about For instance my fourth-year students rely on their pre-requisite knowledge of science andor social studies to listen to the song entitled ldquoAmazing Animalsrdquo and match each section with the right ldquomilieurdquo where each animal lives Thus by relying on the teacherrsquos extra material and their background knowledge of the subject matter young learners often manage to understand the listening passage which they use later either for memorizing new vocabulary answering questions or consolidating pronunciation of new phonetic sounds While implementing the lesson plan songs and chants as listening materials can be used for various purposes and in any of the three stages of a lesson pre-stage while stage and post-stage As a good example of using a chant in the pre-stage in my junior class my young learners listened to and repeated a chant entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo so as to be familiar with the body parts while I was showing them the flash card of each member at the appropriate section So using the flash cards helped my pupils better understand the new lexical items of the body parts while listening to the chant In the while stage my students were asked to listen to a song about the same topic and act The song was centered on a set of activities based on Total Physical Response (TPR) where children listen and touch the body part(s) At this stage the teacher should make sure that hisher students understand the new vocabulary by responding appropriately to the song and touching the right body member(s) At this point I need to mention that before each listening activity the teacher should ldquoguidehellip[hisher studentsrsquo] attention to specific parts of the spoken textrsquo so that the learners will be aware of the purpose of and the rationale behind the listening activity as I did
ldquoWe have to make sure that the
listening material that we use in our
lessons matches the studentsrsquo
levelrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
8 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
IN VARIous CouNTRIEs IN THE WoRLD the curricular of teaching English to young learners often emphasize the use of songs and chants This is simply because children love them and they can be both used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a very funny and engaging way Besides they can help children improve their oral skills However some researchers believe that listening and repeating a number of words or sentences are not enough for the learner to acquire a new language Thus it important for us to know how a teacher can make sure that language acquisition is taking place in hisher young learnersrsquo classroom particularly with respect to oral communication As teachers of young learners we are often advised or trained to integrate songs or chants in our teaching Besides our studentsrsquo books usually contain listening scripts either of songs or chants Thus according to scott and Ytreberg (1990) the majority of English teachers
throughout this world have used songs for one teaching purpose or another What makes chants and especially songs frequently used is that they have specific features First of all ldquosongs are highly memorablerdquo and ldquohighly motivatingrdquo (Davanellos 1999 13) as they create a joyful and interesting classroom atmosphere and they break up with the routines of the daily lesson secondly I have myself realized quite often that my third year primary students became very motivated while repeating the same introductory part of the ldquoHappy streetrdquo song at the beginning of each unit Thirdly I noticed that even weaker students enjoyed repeating the highly rhythmical verses while the CD player was on In addition they feel they are participating with their best peers at least in one activity of the lesson- that is the warming up- while smiling and tapping on their desks
By Noamen Amara Teacher of English
Young learner classes often have fun songs and chants that are repeated Children love them and they can be used to teach vocabulary and grammar in a fun and engaging way These can be very useful for improving studentsrsquo oral skills however ldquoWhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo (Slatterly amp Willis)
ldquoAs teachers of young learners we
are often advised or trained to integrate
songs or chants in our teachingrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
ADVANTAGEs AND LIMITATIoNs
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 9
Hence you can see that children enjoy the funny and merry atmosphere of songs and chants as they can learn by listening and repeating chunks of language Also songs can be useful for improving the learnersrsquo oral skills by listening and repeating what they hear
on the contrary slatterly and Willis emphasize that ldquowhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo This is in part true since when students just repeat chunks of language in a mechanical way without being aware of what they pronounce we can not say that learning is taking place In other words students in this case are just like parrots repeating sounds that they hear while being unaware of the message implied in the sounds that they utter Besides we can not talk about language acquisition or learning without necessarily referring to the mind So according to Arnold (2005) listening turns out to be ldquoan active processrdquo only if ldquothe mind actively engages in making meaningrdquo Thus as teachers we have to make sure that the listening material that we use in our lessons matches the studentsrsquo level because according to Krashenrsquos view acquisition canrsquot take place unless the input is ldquocomprehensiblerdquo(1981 6-7) In this context Brewster Ellis and Girard (2002) point out that ldquoif someone is giving you a message or opinion then of course you have to be able to understand it in order to respondrdquo Thus decoding the message into a ldquocomprehensible inputrdquo is vital in the acquisition or learning process Whenever there is a listening activity I usually make my best to ensure that my students manage to understand the listening passage through various ways and extra material that you will see The foreign language acquisition can take place through various ways during the teachinglearning process For example I often guide my pupils in the pre-listening activity to understand the keywords either through realia or flashcards or visuals Also scott and Ytreberg suggest (1990 34) ldquousing puppets or a class mascotrdquo as useful materials because they can be of great help
while ldquopresenting new language orallyrdquo For instance a parrot puppet can whisper into a studentrsquos ear give instructions or tell a story to the whole class Besides I always advise my young learners to use their background knowledge of any subject at hand in order to understand what the listening passage is about For instance my fourth-year students rely on their pre-requisite knowledge of science andor social studies to listen to the song entitled ldquoAmazing Animalsrdquo and match each section with the right ldquomilieurdquo where each animal lives Thus by relying on the teacherrsquos extra material and their background knowledge of the subject matter young learners often manage to understand the listening passage which they use later either for memorizing new vocabulary answering questions or consolidating pronunciation of new phonetic sounds While implementing the lesson plan songs and chants as listening materials can be used for various purposes and in any of the three stages of a lesson pre-stage while stage and post-stage As a good example of using a chant in the pre-stage in my junior class my young learners listened to and repeated a chant entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo so as to be familiar with the body parts while I was showing them the flash card of each member at the appropriate section So using the flash cards helped my pupils better understand the new lexical items of the body parts while listening to the chant In the while stage my students were asked to listen to a song about the same topic and act The song was centered on a set of activities based on Total Physical Response (TPR) where children listen and touch the body part(s) At this stage the teacher should make sure that hisher students understand the new vocabulary by responding appropriately to the song and touching the right body member(s) At this point I need to mention that before each listening activity the teacher should ldquoguidehellip[hisher studentsrsquo] attention to specific parts of the spoken textrsquo so that the learners will be aware of the purpose of and the rationale behind the listening activity as I did
ldquoWe have to make sure that the
listening material that we use in our
lessons matches the studentsrsquo
levelrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 9
Hence you can see that children enjoy the funny and merry atmosphere of songs and chants as they can learn by listening and repeating chunks of language Also songs can be useful for improving the learnersrsquo oral skills by listening and repeating what they hear
on the contrary slatterly and Willis emphasize that ldquowhen children repeat set phrases it does not necessarily mean language acquisition is taking placerdquo This is in part true since when students just repeat chunks of language in a mechanical way without being aware of what they pronounce we can not say that learning is taking place In other words students in this case are just like parrots repeating sounds that they hear while being unaware of the message implied in the sounds that they utter Besides we can not talk about language acquisition or learning without necessarily referring to the mind So according to Arnold (2005) listening turns out to be ldquoan active processrdquo only if ldquothe mind actively engages in making meaningrdquo Thus as teachers we have to make sure that the listening material that we use in our lessons matches the studentsrsquo level because according to Krashenrsquos view acquisition canrsquot take place unless the input is ldquocomprehensiblerdquo(1981 6-7) In this context Brewster Ellis and Girard (2002) point out that ldquoif someone is giving you a message or opinion then of course you have to be able to understand it in order to respondrdquo Thus decoding the message into a ldquocomprehensible inputrdquo is vital in the acquisition or learning process Whenever there is a listening activity I usually make my best to ensure that my students manage to understand the listening passage through various ways and extra material that you will see The foreign language acquisition can take place through various ways during the teachinglearning process For example I often guide my pupils in the pre-listening activity to understand the keywords either through realia or flashcards or visuals Also scott and Ytreberg suggest (1990 34) ldquousing puppets or a class mascotrdquo as useful materials because they can be of great help
while ldquopresenting new language orallyrdquo For instance a parrot puppet can whisper into a studentrsquos ear give instructions or tell a story to the whole class Besides I always advise my young learners to use their background knowledge of any subject at hand in order to understand what the listening passage is about For instance my fourth-year students rely on their pre-requisite knowledge of science andor social studies to listen to the song entitled ldquoAmazing Animalsrdquo and match each section with the right ldquomilieurdquo where each animal lives Thus by relying on the teacherrsquos extra material and their background knowledge of the subject matter young learners often manage to understand the listening passage which they use later either for memorizing new vocabulary answering questions or consolidating pronunciation of new phonetic sounds While implementing the lesson plan songs and chants as listening materials can be used for various purposes and in any of the three stages of a lesson pre-stage while stage and post-stage As a good example of using a chant in the pre-stage in my junior class my young learners listened to and repeated a chant entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo so as to be familiar with the body parts while I was showing them the flash card of each member at the appropriate section So using the flash cards helped my pupils better understand the new lexical items of the body parts while listening to the chant In the while stage my students were asked to listen to a song about the same topic and act The song was centered on a set of activities based on Total Physical Response (TPR) where children listen and touch the body part(s) At this stage the teacher should make sure that hisher students understand the new vocabulary by responding appropriately to the song and touching the right body member(s) At this point I need to mention that before each listening activity the teacher should ldquoguidehellip[hisher studentsrsquo] attention to specific parts of the spoken textrsquo so that the learners will be aware of the purpose of and the rationale behind the listening activity as I did
ldquoWe have to make sure that the
listening material that we use in our
lessons matches the studentsrsquo
levelrdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
Noamen AmaraTeacher of English since 2001bull 2001-2006 teaching in Tunisian schoolsbull 2006-2010 teaching in the Kingdom of
Bahrainbull teacher trainer for the CAPEs trainees
in the school years 2004-2005 2005-2006
bull Participation in an e-teacher scholarship Program at the university of Maryland Baltimore County usA entitled ldquoTeaching English to Young Learnersrdquo from January the 14th to March 24th 2010
For a more detailed profile of Noamen Amarahttpteachingenglish-alexenoamenblogspotcom200901noamen-mahfoudh-amara-curriculum-vitaehtml
10 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
In this framework Donaldson (1978) says that children need to know the lsquopurposes and intentionsrsquo which they can recognise and respond to This is simply because if the students are not aware of the reasons behind the listening activity they will not pay much attention to the content and if they try to do so their focus will be shattered by the lack of a reasonable motiveListening can also take place at the post-stage For example at the end of the first lesson entitled ldquoMy Bodyrdquo my students were asked to listen to the child talking about his body parts in detail while they have to point to each part whenever it is mentioned and then say it again At this stage the teacher should monitor and see whether hisher students are pointing to the right member and naming it appropriately or not If not she can help the weaker students by listening again and repeating until she makes sure that the students master thatIn the follow up activity each student was asked to come in front of his peers and identify each of his following body parts eye nose hair ear and mouth Before the activity takes place I gave a model for my students to follow by pointing to and naming each of my body parts Thus students became more motivated and were enough confident to speak in front of their peers and refer to themselves In case of errors the other students were willing to correct their classmate(s) in a very funny and tolerant atmosphere To sum up I can say that songs and chants are very useful materials in the classroom of young learners since they create a cheerful and amusing atmosphere Besides children love to learn while playing or listening to music Yet as slatterly and Willis emphasize listening to chants or songs and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo are not enough to say that language acquisition is taking place Thus the teacher should make sure that herhis students really understand what they are saying otherwise they will be just repeating mechanically chunks of language without involving their minds and feelings
references
Arnold W (2005) Listening for Young Learners httpblackboardumbceduwebappsportalframesetjsptab_id=_2_1ampurl=2fwebapps2fblackboard2fexecute2flauncher3ftype3dCourse26id3d_52891_126url3dBrewster J Ellis G amp Girard D (2002) The Primary English Teacherrsquos Guide New Edition England Pearson Education Limited cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Davanellos Akis (1999) Songs ENGLISH TEACHING professional Issue Thirteen httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedSongs20Akis20DavanellospdfDonaldson M (1978) Childrenrsquos Minds LondonFontana Press cited in Wendy Arnold (2005) Listening for Young Learners Krashen Stephen D (1981) Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition English Language Teaching series London Prentice-Hall International (UK) Ltd 202 pagesScott WA amp Ytreberg LH (1990) Teaching English to children (Chapter 4) New York Longman httpblackboardumbceduF5EBF8DF028637D3696FCDF9CABC6816courses1ELC688YL_8030_WT2010content_1187527_1embeddedScott20Ytreberg20Oral20Workpdf
ldquoListening to chants or songs
and repeating ldquoset phrasesrdquo
are not enough to say that
language acquisition is
taking placerdquo
TEACHING VoCABuLARY
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 11
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
12 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Do Rules RuleLEARNING To PuNCTuATE WITH REAL BooKs NoT RuLE BooKs
WRITING DYNAMICs
BECAusE PuNCTuATIoN is so problematic and even people who know the rules have problems applying them I think it makes more sense to talk about how punctuation works in real books rather than in rule books In fact I think rule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first place
thiNkiNg ruLes
so how are we going to punctuate our writing if we donrsquot follow rules Wersquore going to take the advice of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and writing coach donald Murray
The writer should not follow rules but follow language toward meaning always seeking to understand what is appearing on the page to see it clearly to evaluate it clearly for clear thinking will produce clear writing
Rather than memorizing rules and
then relying on them to tell us whether our writing is right wersquore going to rely on our brains and evaluate our writing for ourselves Wersquore going to read our writing carefully ask ourselves what we think it means and think clearly about whether or not it will mean the same thing to our readers
Any time you want you can put this article down and grab a rule book Therersquos certainly no shortage of them thatrsquos for sure I think I have twelve And I do look at them when Irsquom curious about something But when I write I take Mr Murrayrsquos advice and instead of following rules I follow language toward meaningI also follow Mr Murrayrsquos advice when I teach writing Thatrsquos why Irsquom more inclined to rely on real books than rule books when I want students to learn something new
By Steve Peha President of TTMS
(Teaching That Makes Sense) wwwttmsorg
Many people have problems with punctuation Regular people have problems because they feel that they never learned the rules well in school Writers have problems because they feel the rules donrsquot always apply to them Editors have problems (even though they know the rules) because the publishers they work for have additional rules of their own And publishers have problems because they canrsquot get the regular people the writers and the editors to follow their rules consistentlySo if punctuation is a problem for you or your students relaxmdashyoursquore in great company
ldquoRule books might be why so many of us have so many problems with punctuation in the first
placerdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 13
WRITING DYNAMICs
As we read in class we look closely at how writers and publishers punctuate their work When we see something that confuses us we donrsquot ask ldquoWhat is the rulerdquo we ask ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo
By looking at all the different ways punctuation is used we develop a real-world rather than a rule-world sense of how punctuation works occasionally when wersquore curious about something in particular we may use a rule book to look it up But we always come back to real books to complete our understanding of how rules are applied
Reading is all about getting meaning from text But meaning isnrsquot created on the page itrsquos created in the minds of our readers Because the rules of writing arenrsquot always in our readersrsquo minds we canrsquot count on rules to help us communicate effectively Readers will be using their brains to figure out what wersquore trying to say So wersquore better off using our brains to say it as well as we can
Let me be clear rule books are useful references Every writer should own several and consult them when they have specific questions Every writing teacher should have at least one But rule books are hard to learn from because their rules are numerous and often hard to understand
Thatrsquos why I supplement rule books with the real books students read every day Not only do we learn the rules we discover unusual things from time to time even things that break the rules Wersquoll also discover what writing really ismdashcommunication between a writer sharing ideas through language and a reader following language toward meaning
MeaNiNg ruLes
since most of us are trained in school to follow the rules approach to punctuation we might not know how to go about it any other way Whatrsquos all this ldquoclear thinkingrdquo wersquore supposed to do And what could be clearer than a rule
Take a look at this sentenceHe felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Now compare that one with this one
He felt the first blow on his back causing him to stumble and drop his bag which was promptly kicked into the bushes by another of the three
Notice the difference The top one has no commas the bottom one has two Which one is correct Whatrsquos the rule about commas Hold on a second Irsquoll get one of my twelve rule books Heck maybe Irsquoll get rsquoem all
And thatrsquos the problem When we punctuate by rule we stop following language toward meaning and we start following a rule bookmdashor twelve
so instead of asking questions like ldquoWhich one is correctrdquo or ldquoWhatrsquos the rule about commasrdquo letrsquos try questions like thesebull how does it look At first glance both
sentences look fine to me What I notice as I look more closely however is that in the version with the commas itrsquos easier to see the three-part structure of the sentence Without the commas I canrsquot tell until reading through it what the structure is so Irsquom thinking that a reader might find the commas helpful if he or she is not used to reading sentences that are so long
bull how does it sound Both sentences sound good to my ear But when I read the first one I find that I move along just a bit faster That makes sense because the commas in the second sentence cue me to slow down just a bit at the end of each part
bull how does it feel The first sentence feels slightly better to me Without the commas it reads like a single uninterrupted event I also notice that itrsquos a surprise action sequence Apparently someone has suffered a sneak attack at the hands of an enemy and his evil henchmen It happens fast and I think thatrsquos why I want it to feel fast as I read it
(Continued on page 24)
ldquoWriting is communication
between a writer sharing ideas through
language and a reader following
language toward meaningrdquo
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
14 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
Process and Product writing in EFL classes
soMe ProbLeMs reLated to WritiNg iN eFL cLassesbull Pupils are not prompted to read
regularly outside their textbooks Good readers are good writers The more we read the better we write The actual picture in EFL classes is characterized by pupilsrsquo utter dependence on textbook literature this is not enough to activate writing skills within learners
bull In EFL classes writing are generally a follow-up activity or a homework that comes at the end of the session and sometimes delayed
bull Writing assignments are unrealistic unmotivating and lacking fun
bull Focus on form and grammatical
accuracy at the expense of meaning
bull Focus on the product-oriented writing assignments under the pretext of national exam urgencies and time constraints Writing is thus merely an exam- oriented activity performed in a mechanical way with a weighty stress on structure sometimes pupils are driven to memorize whole chunks of writing pieces to be incorporated in their writing pieces
soMe coMMoN diFFereNces between Product-oriented writing and Process-oriented WritiNg
By Hechmi HamdiTeacher of English
ldquoWriting assignments are unrealistic
unmotivating and lacking funrdquo
Product-oriented writing Process-oriented writing-It is a kind of a test- Audience is not important-It is meant to be corrected -It is individual -organizing of ideas is more important than ideas themselves -The focus is on the finished correct product-The focus on structure It stresses the mechanical aspects of writing (grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and moulds) -It is writer- based-It is seen as part of authoritative models of teaching
- It is a skill-It is purposeful and directed to an audience-Ideas are the starting point- It focuses on the complexity of thought-It is based on collaboration and cooperation-Writing is a way of knowing-It is the outcome of more than one draft-It is a true to life assignment based on motivation and audience awareness-It is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning-It is reader-based - Emphasis on the creative process
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 15
TEACHING WRITING
stePs followed in Process-oriented writing
Pre-writing
Preparing to write1drafting
Putting thoughts on paper2
revising
Taking another look3
editingProofreading
carefully examining a paper to see that it contains no errors of grammar spelling or punctuation
4
Publication
The final draft5samPle Process-oriented writing assignment
I tried to apply the process-oriented writing to deal with the topic below The topic is excerpted from lesson 12ldquoPerform to learn rdquo second Year secondary Education studentrsquos Book Text Money and evil page 73 paragraph 3
topic Develop the following statement into a small paragraph laquo Money is a good servant and a bad master raquo
steps Procedures1-Pre-writing ( PlanningPreparing to write)
bull Pupils Make decision Read think gather information generate ideas about the matterBrainstorm with a peer or a group
bull Pupils decide number of paragraphs Topic sentence relevant ideas Type of organization sequence in which ideas will be presented Narrowing the topic
bull Pupils outline diagram bull Pupils work in small groups at this stage
to share ideasGroup members write an outline of their composition and a list of relevant words (nouns adjectives verbs adverbs linkersetc) that they anticipated useful for the topic
-Pupils decide how money can be a master and a servant at the same time 2 main parts in the paragraph and a concluding one-Servant a blessing (advantages) Master a curse (disadvantages)advantages-Achieve dreams-Be rich-Help oneself and others-Feel happy-Enjoy oneselfhellip-set up businesshellip-Etc-Learners can provide instances of good use of money (charities philanthropyetc)
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
16 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
TEACHING WRITING
disadvantages-Evilcorruptionrich poor wealth-The strong appeal of money -Money has a magic powerappeal (values use misuse corrupt principles teachings law crime powerdominate scorn evil happiness worryetc)-Etc-Learners provide instances of bad use of money (misuse of money)hellipconclusionBlessing +curse Money is a double-edged weapon-Money must not be misused We should(not)must (not)etc hellip LinkersFirst second third furthermorehellipon the one hand hellipon the other handhellipHowever Nevertheless
2-drafting bull Focus on content (quantity and quality to
be considered later)bull Compose freely without concern for
mechanics bull Expand notes (adding removing re-
arranging splitting or combining sections paragraphs etc)
bull Linking the different elements so that the text is clear for the reader
bull organize thoughtsexplain examplesideashellip
bull selecting the appropriate vocabulary to express meaning
Money is a good servanthellipIt is true that money is a good servant or simply Money is a good servant Or Money is blessing-Money enables us to achieve dreams-With money we can lead a decent life-Provide yourself and your family with what they need-We can stand by needy people give hope to the hopelesshellip-We can enjoy our life (Travel tour the world discover new places etchellip)-Money enables people start business-Be self-satisfaction
however money can be a bad master or simply money is bad master or money is a curse-Money leads to corruption-It is the root of all evils-People never stop reiteratingldquolife is moneyrdquo-It may lead to tyranny anarchy corruption violencehellip-Wars are waged because of moneyhellip-The rich looking down upon the poorhellip-With money the honoured dignity of people can be boughthellip-People can do the dirtiest things-It results in moral declinehellip
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 17
TEACHING WRITING
Hechmi Hamdi
bull EFL Teacher since 1996bull Proficiency certificate from
Brighton university 1991bull Main Interests Test construction
translation poetrybull Previous contributions in The
English Teachersrsquo Forum Lesson Plan based on Bloomrsquos Taxonomy
3-revisingbull share draft with peer groups bull Invite discussion accept response and helpful input
from peers (Add delete rearrange and revise first draft)
bull Read for global impression that is the writer places himself in the position of the reader
bull Reading for specific points (relevance to task coverage explicitness organization layout language) and making any necessary alterations
a)first part of the paragraph Money is a good servanta blessing(First second hellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip)
b)second part of my paragraph Money is a bad mastera curse(First hellipsecondhellipThirdhellip Moreoverhellip Furthermorehellip) to conclude Money is double-edged weapon We should never let it control our lives and haunt our dreams
4-editing Proofreadingbull share revised draft with peer group bull Invite correction of grammar spelling punctuation
usageetchellipbull Incorporate corrections in final draft
5-Publicationbull Polish your compositionbull share the product with peersbull Submit for final evaluation by teacher
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
18 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Larry Ferlazzo is a former community organizer (for about twenty years) and an ELL teacher at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento CA He is also a TechLEARNING Educatorsrsquo eZine writer He was named the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the International Reading Association Presidential Award For Reading Technology He won and was nominated for many other awards as a community organizer a teacher and a bloggerLarry also writes regularly about ideas for the ELL classroom and provides lists comprising links to various educational resources and Web20 tools in his blog Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites of the Day
Could you tell our readers more about Larry Ferlazzo
WELL oN THE PERsoNAL level Irsquom married have three children and two grandchildren I enjoy playing basketball though my skills at it peaked at mediocre many years ago In terms of additional professional information Irsquove written two books ldquoBuilding Parent Engagement In schoolsrdquo and ldquoEnglish Language Learners Teaching strategies That Workrdquo A third one will be published in May
very tentatively titled ldquostudent self-Motivationrdquo
Your blog ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo provides thousands of links to educational resources and Web20 tools which are verified on a regular basis More than 150 links are added monthly (about 5 everyday) Managing such a blog needs a lot of effort and time Knowing that you are also an active teacher how do you manage to maintain such a full-scale blog
Interviewed by Tarak Brahmi
Teacher of English
Larry Ferlazzo
T his issuersquo s special guest
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 19
INTERVIEW
over the years Irsquove been able to identify the best places to learn about new resources so that streamlines the process A supportive family helps as does getting energy from playing basketball and from teaching at a great school
Many bloggers know you as a teacher who is particularly interested in providing lists of educational resources and tools on the web Your ldquoWebsites of The Dayrdquo is a great success not only judging by the number of awards and nominations but also in terms of the number of visits to your blog and the number of blogs that use your lists as a reference But in one of your interviews you stated that ldquo[technology] has to be kept in its placerdquo Where should the boundaries be drawn when using technology in the classroom
I think tech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo If something can be done just as well with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to have students use a computer The key in my mind is looking at what increased learning value is generated by using tech If there is one use it If there isnrsquot donrsquotThat said especially for English Language Learners there are huge benefits to using tech especially with all the new and free sites out there that provide audiovisual support for text ones that evaluate individual pronunciation and interactives that give a student plenty of opportunities to risk and learn from mistakes in private
In another interview you talked about ldquoleading by the ear rather than by the mouthrdquo Could you tell us more about your teaching philosophy
Listening to what students want to learn and why they want to learn it using inductive techniques that help guide students towards learning what they need instead of telling them and inviting them to share their personal stories so we can
connect those stories to new knowledge -- all those are examples of leading with the ear rather than the mouth
The Family Literary Project that you initiated proved so successful that the school district decided to provide $80000 to triple the size of the project Could you tell our readers more about the FLP and what accounts for its success
That Project which unfortunately has had to recently been scaled back because of cuts resulting from the California budget crisis has provided computers and home internet access to immigrant families so they could use the Internet to develop their English skills students and parents in the program have had a four times greater increase in their assessment scores than those in a control groupIt has been successful I think for several reasons one it was an idea that came from immigrant parents who helped design the program Two it was designed to use tech to help build and strengthen face-to-face relationships instead of just creating a relationship with the computer screen -- families sat around the computer together reading and practicing together And three the school and families developed a system of accountability ensuring that most members of each household spent at least one hour each night on our website
It seems that your background as a community organizer is helping a lot in your success as a teacher Do you think that the strategies that you used during years of community organizing should be part of teachersrsquo training programs
Community organizing is just another word for relationship-building and yes I think you can never over-estimate its importance in good teaching
ldquoTech is a tool not a panacea Itrsquos just one of many tools
for a teacher to keep in their ldquotoolboxrdquo
If something can be done just as well
with paper pen and a whiteboard I see no reason to
have students use a computerrdquo
ldquoThe FLP has provided
computers and home internet
access to immigrant families
so they could use the Internet to develop their
English skillsrdquo
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
20 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
INTERVIEW
Larry Ferlazzorsquos Websites Of the Dayhttplarryferlazzoedublogsorg
The FLP involves parents in the learning process Does this imply that you believe in a more vigorous role for parents in general Or does it apply to foreign-born families in particular
Tons of studies show that having parents strongly connected to the school and to what their children are learning there results in huge benefits towards student achievement This holds true for all studentsThe key division I think is not between foreign-born and native parents but rather between parent ldquoinvolvementrdquo and parent ldquoengagementrdquo Involvement means schools are leading with their mouths instead of their ears not taking the initiative to build parent relationships Engagement on the other hand means that wersquore learning the hopes and dreams of the entire family looking at ways we can connect parents with other parents who have similar concerns and figuring out ways schools can look beyond the four walls of the classroom
The Education Week talking about your recent book English Language Learners Teaching Strategies that Work says that ldquoWhat stands out about Larry Ferlazzorsquos new book[hellip]from others that describe strategies to engage high school ELLs are his suggestions for how to encourage such students to be leadersrdquo Could you tell us more about your book
The book lays-out how I have applied community organizing methodology in the classroom using a five step ldquoorganizing processrdquo1 Building strong relationships with students2 Accessing prior knowledge through student stories3 Identifying and mentoring studentsrsquo leadership potential4 Learning by doing5 Reflectionso often we look at students through a ldquolensrdquo of deficits The book describes how instead it can be more fruitful to look
through a ldquolensrdquo of the countless assets that they and their families can bring Itrsquos a very practical book filled with lesson plans and ideas
With the plethora of online resources and materials teachers may sometimes find it difficult to choose the right application or material Could you give us some tips on how to select the right tools
The criteria I use includesIs it freeCan I figure out how to use it in less than one minute and can a student do the same with a little guidance from meDoes it bring some value-added benefit over doing the activity with paper and penCan it be used in some way to develop and deep face-to-face relationships
ldquoThe key division I think is not between
foreign-born and native parents
but rather between parent
lsquoinvolvementrsquo and parent
lsquoengagementrsquordquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 21
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
22 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Reading VERSuS
The inTeRneT
ITrsquos TRuE THAT THE INTERNET as a revolutionary means of communication has turned this world into a village and has promoted to a large extent the proliferation of video-based projects and has put more stress on visualizing many aspects of our life via catchy appealing and well-designed animations But this does not exclude the fact that technology can enhance the learnerrsquos the teacherrsquos avid eagerness to read During my short experience in teaching the web has added a lot to my experience in ldquoreadingrdquo and not only has it revived my habit of reading but has also made me feel more nostalgic to turning more and more pages As a matter of fact I used to read a lot before becoming a teacher but after that my readings were constrained to reading documents related to our professional development as teachers However now I feel that I am fonder and fonder of reading whether online (e-books articles poems etc) or reading forlorn books on the shelves
Thus with more and more resources available my eagerness has grown into an addiction Itrsquos true that reading for me now is intertwined with reading as a teacher looking for more tips to self-develop But itrsquos reading after all isnrsquot it I really donrsquot agree with those who claim that the internet has killed books And the proof is that more sites are encouraging members to read and boost their reading skills Many decades ago it was said that TV has killed reading and now itrsquos the turn of the internet to be blamed for so Reading is a nice habit that we can instill in our kids and in our learners from the youngest age And we as teachers are having a responsibility as all parents to make our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well- planned or enhanced in our curriculums concerning teaching English as a foreign language We can teach passages from literary books to our learners and create in them an avid passion to read more amp more
By Faten Romdhani Teacher of English
Reading keeps us alive It refreshes our mind and fosters our lexical grammatical logical and analytical skills Without reading one is amongst the dead It is said that this digital era has extinguished the flames of love for reading and has directly or indirectly led to the death of the book and consequently the death of Reading as a hobby People everywhere are so engrossed in being online that they forget about reading
ldquoWe as teachers have a responsibility to make
our learners grow fonder and fonder of reading though this is not well-
planned or enhanced in our curriculumsrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 23
ldquoKids who grow fond of reading
from an early age tend to keep
the flame alive but those whose
parents did not instill this
habit in them suffer from very
poor grades in readingrdquo
We should not I think as teachers put the blame on any technological facility as hindering or blocking a lively hobby that can never die from the hearts and minds of those who really care for And this is clearly depicted in the behavior of our learners kids who grow fond of reading from an early age tend to keep the flame alive but those whose parents did not instill this habit in them suffer from very poor grades in reading because they think reading is really outmoded and does not have any benefit for themI must feel grateful towards the net because it has been a must to read each day at least some pages from any chapter of any e- book or any interesting article in any online magazine Besides I think a book is a book whatever is its shape an electronic book or a book in print This is not a huge discrepancy It is essential that we read more each day whether virtually or reallyI hope I convinced some of my colleagues that technology is never meant to harm the enhancement of reading It is rather in accordance with it There are in fact so many websites that enhance reading and writing and develop as a community who share with each other their passion and love for reading literary passages of all types poems etchellipThese sites involve readers on many various levels and reach them on a weekly basis to send them chapters of books to read and comment upon All in all Reading as a hobby amongst our learners is facing nowadays many challenges and it needs really extra attention from all of us to make it thrive and become an inherent part of our teenagerrsquos and kidsrsquo free time
Some links that I suggest to you dear colleagueswwwbookrikscomhttpwwwpoemhuntercomhttpwwwpromonetpghttpwwwbartlebycomfictionhttpwwwbibliomaniacomhttpdigitallibraryupennedubooksindexhtmlhttpwwwseekoncomArtsOnline_Fiction
a short biographyFaten RomdhaniI have been teaching English for 12 years now I taught in different towns of Tunisia Sidi Bouzid was my first hometown of teaching There I was well- assisted and that added a lot to my enthusiasm for teaching Great values such as hard work truthfulness and positive reinforcement were the key words that made me long for being a better teacher In fact Irsquove been safely guided to the shore of enthusiasm and collaboration When in Nabeul area my dear colleagues and supervisors have been of great inspiration and help I may say that Irsquove been very lucky that during my short experience of teaching Irsquove been inspired by Great people everywhere I taught I am forever grateful for them2009 Mr Hadji Abdelmalek our ICT Trainer in Nabeul started TEIT on facebook (The token is sharing is caring) I belong to the group and I like the experience because we feel we are one communityMy websites http mypupilslettersblogspotcomhttpmypupilsessaysblogspotcomhttpissuucomromdhanifaten
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
24 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThere arenrsquot always clear
right and wrong answers in
the world of punctuation
especially when commas are
involvedrdquo
bull how does it mean (Normally we say ldquoWhat does it meanrdquo but here we want to know how the punctuation affects what the sentence means and how the meaning of the sentence is conveyed to the reader as a result) Neither approach to punctuation changes the meaning in my opinion But therersquos a subtle difference in emphasis using the two commas to separate the three parts makes me feel as though they are of equal importance Because of this I tend to focus more on the last part where the bag goes under the bushes In the sentence without commas I pay a little more attention to the front of the sentence and come away with a memory of victim being pushed from behind In either case the difference is so subtle itrsquos probably not worth worrying about
so which way would I choose Irsquod choose the no-comma approach for the reason I gave about wanting the speed of the sentence to match the speed of the action However at twenty-eight words this is a fairly long stretch of language If my readers werenrsquot used to reading sentences this long they might have some trouble Irsquom thinking of kids as young as maybe third grade You wonrsquot find a lot of twenty-eight-word sentences in third grade books And if you do theyrsquoll probably have commas in them so if Irsquom writing for young readers or for anyone who might lose their way in a long sentence Irsquoll take the two-comma approach
Not surprisingly an editor might differently about this than a writer Herersquos what a professional book editor had to say ldquoWhile the first sentence in the example is technically correct most writers would choose the second sentence simply because it can be read more easily and the action can be followed more clearly without getting mixed up Most editors would say the two commas are necessary because the second phrase is dependent on (or describes) the first clause and the third phrase is dependent on (or describes) the second phraserdquo
Though I havenrsquot looked it up Irsquoll bet this editor is right about the rules governing the use of commas in sentences with dependent phrases And if you understand the concept of dependency in grammar you may like that explanation too Irsquom not sure the editor is right about most writers preferring the sentence with the two commas In the first case we can look in a rule book In the second wersquod have to ask a lot of writers to know for sure As an experiment I asked five of my writer friends what they thought Three liked the no-comma sentence one liked the two-comma sentence and one said that issues like this are just silly and that they donrsquot matter to him at all
One thingrsquos for sure when it comes to questions of punctuation it seems like everyone has an answermdashand that everyone is certain their answer is correct Personally I think itrsquos great to have differences of opinion like these as long as everyone agrees that these are opinions and that opinions donrsquot become facts just because people repeat them over and over in a loud voice and bang their fist on the table
There arenrsquot always clear right and wrong answers in the world of punctuation especially when commas are involved some people think we have to play by the rules others think rules were made to be broken As for me I think we all learn more and get along better when we follow language toward meaning and leave the rules to the folks who write the rule books
WheW this is exhaustiNg
That was a lot of thinking for a couple of commas If itrsquos like that for every sentence we write maybe a rule bookrsquos not a bad idea But itrsquos not like that for every sentence we write In this particular case we just solved a huge problem one that is going to come up again and again for the rest of our writing livesThis wonrsquot cover every three-part sentence some will require commas for other reasons But itrsquos a useful bit of knowledge that wersquoll be able to apply in many future writing situations
DO RuLES RuLE by steve Peha (continued)
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 25
WRITING DYNAMICs
Rather than following the words in a rule book we followed the words on the page We asked four important questions and in the process we learned something about commasmdashand about reading and readers and pacing within a sentence as well as the relationship of punctuation to meaning and probably several other thingsmdashthat we can use for the rest of our lives We can use our four questions for the rest of our lives too Thatrsquos another reason why this way of doing things is probably easier than the rule book way I know I canrsquot remember a thousand rules But itrsquos easy to remember four questions
so yes at any given moment the ldquofollow language toward meaningrdquo approach to punctuation is harder than using a rule book But if yoursquore planning to write for the rest of your life itrsquos probably more efficient in the long run
ForMaLiziNg our study With PuNctuatioN readiNg
Why is punctuation so hard to learn Because itrsquos complicated and controversial and because the way we teach it in school often makes it confusing as well We tend to make three mistakes when we introduce kids to punctuation (1) We focus on rules rather than on meaning (2) we teach the marks in isolation rather than in the context of how writers use them and (3) We teach punctuation with textbooks instead of with the real books we read every day Wersquove already dealt with the first two problems Now wersquore going to tackle the third
Take a look at this opening paragraph from a student report on American history
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George
Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
Now read this
[NEW PARAGRAPH] [INDENT] [CAPITAL] on a dark [CAPITAL] december night in 1776 [COMMA] as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy [CAPITAL] delaware [CAPITAL] river [COMMA] [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington said [COMMA] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] shift your fat behind [COMMA] [CAPITAL] har [HYPHEN] ry [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but slowly or you [APOSTROPHE] ll swamp the darn boat [PERIOD] [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] he was talk [HYPHEN] ing to [CAPITAL] general [CAPITAL] henry [CAPITAL] knox [PARENTHESIS] they called him [QUOTE] [CAPITAL] ox [QUOTE] for short [PARENTHESIS] [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] there [APOSTROPHE] s a painting of [CAPITAL] george [CAPITAL] washington where he [APOSTROPHE] s stand [HYPHEN] ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for [CAPITAL] redcoats [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] i al [HYPHEN] ways thought he just wanted a good view [PERIOD] [CAPITAL] but [CAPITAL] i guess the reason he was standing was because he didn [APOSTROPHE] t have a place to sit down [PERIOD] [END OF PARAGRAPH]
Pretty weird huh But itrsquos also pretty interesting if you ask me This is what reading is really like Even though we donrsquot say the punctuation marks out loud or even quietly in our heads we do read over these things every time we read But we donrsquot pay much attention to them and thatrsquos where we miss some valuable learning
For example in that single ninety-five-word paragraph we encounteredbull Forty-eight marks of punctuation And
that doesnrsquot include other conventions like the correct spellings of ninety-five words and the correct use of ninety-four spaces
ldquoI know I canrsquot remember a
thousand rules But itrsquos easy to
remember four questionsrdquo
ldquoWe tend to make three
mistakes when we introduce kids to
punctuationrdquo
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
26 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoThe next time you sit down with
a book spend the first two or three minutes
doing a little punctuation reading You
might be surprised at what
you noticerdquo
bull ten different kinds of punctuation marks New paragraph indent capital comma quote hyphen period apostrophe parenthesis and end of paragraph
bull Fifteen uses of punctuation Indent for new paragraph Period at the end of a sentence Capital at the beginning of sentence Capital for a name Capital for something that is one-of-a-kind Capital for the word ldquoIrdquo Capital for a personal title Capital for the name of a month Parentheses for an aside Quotation marks for dialog Quotation marks for a nickname Comma to separate parts of a sentence Comma to introduce a quotation Apostrophe for a contraction Hyphen to break a word at a line ending
Is punctuation reading a good way to read Hardly Itrsquos very slow and itrsquos hard to understand what yoursquore reading But itrsquos a great way to learn about punctuation It helps you learn the names of all the marks and it helps you see how real writers use them in real writing
When I teach punctuation reading in school we try to practice it several days a week But we only practice for a few minutes each day often we just read a single paragraph like we did here For a couple of weeks we concentrate on catching all the marks as we read But we donrsquot spend much energy thinking about why theyrsquore there Then when we get so good at reading punctuation that we can do it without thinking too much we start trying to figure out how writers use it So
the next time you sit down with a book spend the first two or three minutes doing a little punctuation reading You might be surprised at what you notice
PuNctuatioN iNquiry
Punctuation reading helps us learn the names of the marks and develop a sense for where theyrsquore used But it doesnrsquot tell us why theyrsquore used For that we have go to the next exercise punctuation inquiry Donrsquot worry it isnrsquot as serious as it sounds
once yoursquove read through a passage and figured out the punctuation the next thing to do is to figure out why itrsquos there Donrsquot worry about explaining every single mark Instead pick just one markmdashideally one that is used in several different waysmdashand focus on that
For example in this paragraph we might want to focus on capitalization
On a dark December night in 1776 as he led a barefoot brigade of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River George Washington said ldquoShift your fat behind Har-ry But slowly or yoursquoll swamp the darn boatrdquo He was talk-ing to General Henry Knox (they called him ldquoOxrdquo for short) Therersquos a painting of George Washington where hersquos stand-ing up in a boat scanning the riverbank for Redcoats I al-ways thought he just wanted a good view But I guess the reason he was standing was because he didnrsquot have a place to sit down
There are several different places where different kinds of words are capitalized Letrsquos see if we can figure out why
example Why itrsquos used questionscommentson Beginning of a sentence sometimes I see really big
capital letters way taller than regular size at the start of a story Whatrsquos that about
December Name of a monthDelaware River something that is one-of-a-
kind This is a specific riverWhat if therersquos another Delaware River Is that still one-of-a-kind
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 27
WRITING DYNAMICs
ldquoPunctuation inquiry is just
what it says it is an exercise that
involves inquiring into the use of punctuationrdquo
ldquoWhen I was in school I was taught
punctuation every year But I donrsquot
think I learned much about itrdquo
George Washington A personrsquos nameGeneral A personrsquos title sometimes I see titles
not capitalized I donrsquot understand how this works
ldquooxrdquo This is a nickname but I guess itrsquos still a name
Redcoats This is the name of a group of people
Even if you canrsquot figure out why a mark is used just trying to figure it out will help you learn This is also a good time to go to one of those rule books yoursquove probably got sitting around somewhere If you know the specific mark you want to learn about and what you want to learn about it a rule book can be useful
Punctuation inquiry is just what it says it is an exercise that involves inquiring into the use of punctuation Itrsquos the questions not the answers that are most valuable Thatrsquos why the third column in our table is there As you study punctuation yoursquoll find many situations where the way a mark is used differs from or even contradicts a way yoursquove seen it used before When that happens write down your thoughts in the form of a question or a comment and save it for later
take oWNershiP oF PuNctuatioN With your oWN ruLe book
When I was in school I was taught punctuation every year But I donrsquot think I learned much about it As a teacher the students I worked with couldnrsquot punctuate well and sadly I couldnrsquot teach them very well either Then another teacher introduced me to Donald Murrayrsquos idea
Applying Mr Murrayrsquos idea of ldquofollowing
language toward meaningrdquo put me on the path to punctuation power But I still didnrsquot know how to give that power to the students I was working with
Finally I began to use punctuation reading and punctuation inquiry Now I had students following language toward meaning and learning rules at the same time Each time we came across of new use of a mark we would add the ldquorulerdquo to a big piece of chart paper We had a chart for each mark
At the end we put all the charts into a big book From then on any time anyone wanted to look up a rule we had our own rule book to look it up in This gave students a wonderful sense of ownership It also gave me a break from having to do so much correcting all the time
The ldquoBig Bookrdquo as we came to call it served as the culmination of our study We never took a test we never filled out worksheets we never corrected fake examples We read the good books we were already reading We wrote and edited many pages of our own writing And we asked ourselves simple questions about why the work of professional writers was punctuated in certain ways
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
28 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
WRITING DYNAMICs
Steve Peha President of teaching that Makes sense Inc seattle WATTMs is a successful education consulting company with more than 100 clients nationwideSteve presented more than 250 professional development workshopsHe is author of more than 190 articles for The Seattle Timesrsquo Effective Learning seriesCreator of more than 40 original workshops in reading writing math assessment and test preparationhttpwwwttmsorg
using real books instead of rule books doing punctuation reading every day and writing down the rules we discovered for ourselves through punctuation inquiry made learning to punctuate almost as much fun as learning to write
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 29
A L L F O R O n E O n E F O R A L L
A night in TunisiaBy Dizzy Gillespie The moon is the same moon above youAglow with its cool evening lightBut shining at night in TunisiaNever does it shine so bright
The stars are aglow in the heavensBut only the wise understandThat shining at night in TunisiaThey guide you through the desert sand
Words fail to tell a taleToo exotic to be toldEach nightrsquos a deeper nightIn a world ages old
The cares of the day seem to vanishThe ending of day brings releaseEach wonderful night in TunisiaWhere the nights are filled with peace
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
30 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Jigsaw reading is a cooperative learning technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension skills by helping them to meaningfully interact with the reading material and to take responsibility in sharing what they have learnt with other learners The learners are therefore actively engaged as they have to share and to explain what they have learnt to their peers in the other groups How does it work The class is divided in several teams The team members work together to answer questions related to sections of a text Then the group members join a group with a different section and they share what they know from the previous activity to complete a task which pulls all the pieces together In this article I am going to show how a jigsaw reading activity can be applied in an EFL classroom
ldquoJigsaw reading is a cooperative learning
technique that aims at enhancing the learnersrsquo reading comprehension
skills by helping them to meaningfully interact
with the reading materialrdquo
TEACHING READING
Teaching reading using the ldquoJigsaw techniquerdquo
iN keePiNg With the receNt eveNts in Tunisia I chose an extract from Wikepedia (httpenwikipediaorgwikiTunisia) The text is divided into three sections the first section deals with the country and the people the second is a short history of Tunisia and the last is about the recent events which took place in December 2010 and January 2011
Pre-reading activityWarm-up Ask students to talk about their own city You can use a map to elicit the new vocabulary For example
to elicit the meaning of the words ldquo bordered byrdquo ldquolocated inrdquo ldquocomposed ofrdquo you can ask your students about which cities surround their town on the board a teacher in sidi Bouzid can write
Sidi Bouzid is bordered by Kairouan to the north Gafsa to the south etc (see map)
Then you can ask how many statesgovernorates there are in their country You may write
Tunisia consists of ( is composed of ) 24 governorates
By Tarak BrahmiTeacher of English
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 31
When the active vocabulary has been elicited you can ask students to do the following task in pairsMatch the words with the right prepositions
Prepositional phrases
Word PrepositionConsist byDerived ofLocated fromBordered inComposed of
brainstorming activityYou can start by drawing a spidergram with the word ldquorevolutionrdquo in its center Have your students think about words that come to their minds when they see this word You can also prepare a handouttransparency beforehand with some of the letters omitted Have the students provide the missing letters see the next example
while-reading the Jigsaw activity
Ask your students to sit in groups Have each group read a section of the text (worksheets 1 2 and 3)and answer the questionsWhen they have completed this task ask the students to join a different group Hand out the worksheet ldquoall about tunisiardquo (worksheet 4)to the new groups In these groups have the students share their answers to complete the handout
protest
unrest demonstration
riot
authoritarianregime
oppressioninjustice
spark
revolution
A map of Tunisia
Welcome to Sidi Bouzid
Demonstrations in Tunis
TEACHING READING
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
32 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
section a
Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east Its area is almost 165000 square kilometres (64000 sq mi) with an estimated population of just over 104 million Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-eastThe south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Is Tunisia located in Europe2 Which countries share a border with Tunisia3 Is Tunisia a big country Why4 How long is the Tunisian coastline
section b
Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD Byzantines in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century Under the Ottoman Empire Tunisia was known as ldquoRegency of Tunisrdquo It passed under French protectorate in 1881 After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the ldquoKingdom of Tunisiardquo at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25 1957 the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 What was Tunisia called under the ottoman Empire2 Was Tunisia occupied by Britain in the 19th century3 When did Tunisia become independent4 Who was the first Tunisian president
Worksheet 1
Worksheet 2
TEACHING READING
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 33
section c
Tunisia was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled following wide-ranging protests Mohamed Bouazizi (March 29 1984 ndash January 4 2011lrm) was a Tunisian street vendor from Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire on December 17 2010 in protest of the confiscation of his wares and the humiliation that was inflicted on him by a municipal official This act became the catalyst for the 2010ndash2011 Tunisian revolution sparking deadly demonstrations and riots throughout Tunisia in protest of social and political issues in the country Anger and violence intensified following Bouazizirsquos death leading then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down on January 14 2011 after 23 years in power
QuestionsRead the text and answer the following questions1 Who ruled Tunisia from 1987 to 20112 Who was Mohamed Bouazizi Where was he from3 Why did he set himself on fire4 When did the ex-president step down
Worksheet 3
aLL about tuNisia
Share the information you learnt in your first group to complete this worksheet about Tunisiageneral information about the countrycountrycapitalcontinentNeighboring countriesPopulationcoastline (miles)
TimelineComplete the following timeline
5th century AD
6th Century
8th century
1881
1956
1987
Dec 17th 2010
Jan 14th 2011
Worksheet 4
TEACHING READING
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
34 The Tunisian English Teaching Forum | Issue 5 April 2011
Post ndash readingYou can ask your students to write a summary or to do a web quest about another country
other variations The tasks that are presented here are only some of the possibilities The texts can also be used to teach the simple past the passive voice irregular verbs word formation etc
coNcLusioN Jigsaw reading is a technique that can encourage studentsrsquo involvement and enhance their reading skills It develops their interpersonal and communication skills as well It also fits in well with the integration of the four skills as the students have to read speak listen to each other and finally write a summary or make a poster
TEACHING READING
ldquoJigsaw reading also fits in
well with the integration of the
four skills as the students have to
read speak listen to each other and
finally write a summary or make
a posterrdquo
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
httptunisian-etforumblogspotcom 35
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom
4th issue second yearNew look new ideas
Visit our bloghttptunisian-etforumblogspotcom