Producción de Materiales en

Distintos Soportes

Instituto Superior en Lenguas Vivas “Juan Ramón Fernández”

Año 2013

1er cuatrimestre

Alumna: Florencia Sáez

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“The analysis of language teaching materials: inside

the Trojan horse” by Andrew Littlejohn

Analysis of unit 2, Incredible English 6

In order to analyse the book Incredible English 6 (unit 2), I will appeal to the schedule

presented by Littlejohn to reveal the three aspects of process, participation and content

developed in the unit. I will include the pages I analysed below the chart.

Course package as a whole

1. Type: six-level course

2. Intended audience: primary schools

3. Extent:

3.1. Components: Class book, activity book, teacher’s book, test section, CDs, teacher’s

resource pack, photocopy masters book, the incredible English adventure game poster,

DVD and DVD activity book, website.

3.2. Total estimated time: not specified.

4. Design and layout: four-colour class book, two-colour activity book and two-colour teacher’s

book.

5. Distribution:

5.1. Material: (available for the teacher)

5.1.1.1. Audio

5.1.1.2. Audio script

5.1.1.3. Answer keys

5.1.1.4. Guidance on use of the material

5.1.1.5. Methodology guidance

5.1.1.6. Extra practice

5.1.1.7. Tests

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5.2. Access: (available for both teacher and student)

5.2.1.1. Syllabus overview

5.2.1.2. Word lists

6. Route through the material: specified

7. Subdivision: 9 units, each consisting of subsections (Lesson 1 to 7)

7.1. Lesson 1: Introducing vocabulary

7.2. Lesson 2: Story

7.3. Lesson 3: Reading

7.4. Lesson 4: Listening and speaking

7.5. Lesson 5: Learning through English

7.6. Lesson 6: Learning through English

7.7. Lesson 7: Song, review and self-evaluation

Overview of an extract from the Class book

1. Length of the unit: one unit out of 9 (Unit 2)

2. Sequence of activities:

2.1. Lesson 1:

2.1.1.1. Look at the pictures, listen to the recording and repeat.

2.1.1.2. Read the sentences and correct them.

2.1.1.3. Look at the pictures, ask and answer questions.

2.2. Lesson 2:

2.2.1.1. Listen to the story.

2.2.1.2. Language practice.

2.2.1.3. Read a dialogue.

2.2.1.4. Listening activity.

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2.2.1.5. Practise new vocabulary with a speaking activity in pairs.

2.3. Lesson 3:

2.3.1.1. Read a text.

2.3.1.2. Find words in the text.

2.4. Lesson 4:

2.4.1.1. Listen and point to the photos.

2.4.1.2. Listen and choose the right answer.

2.4.1.3. Listen and find the missing words.

2.5. Lesson 5:

2.5.1.1. Look, listen and repeat.

2.5.1.2. Listen, read and answer.

2.6. Lesson 6:

2.6.1.1. Look at the charts and make sentences.

2.6.1.2. Listen, answer and check.

2.7. Lesson 7:

2.7.1.1. Guess the words in the song.

2.7.1.2. Play a game.

Task Analysis Sheet: Unit 2 (Pages 16 and 17)

Task number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

WHAT IS THE LEARNER EXPECTED TO DO?

A. TURN-TAKE

Initiate X X X

Scripted response X X X X

Not required

B. FOCUS ON

Language system (rules or form)

Meaning X X X X X

Meaning/System/Form relationship X X

C. MENTAL OLPERATION

Decode semantic meaning X X X X

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Select information X X X X X

Hypothesize

Repeat identically

Apply general knowledge X

Research

Express own ideas/information

WHO WITH?

Learners individually simultaneously X X X X X X

Learner to whole class X

Learner individually outside class

WITH WHAT CONTENT?

A. INPUT TO LEARNERS

a. Form

Extended discourse : written X

Extended discourse: aural X X X

Words/phrases/sentences: written X X

Words/phrases/sentences: aural X

Graphic X X X

b. Source

Materials X X X X X X X

Learners

Outside the classroom

c. Nature

Fiction X X

Non-Fiction X X X X X

Song

EXPECTED OUTPUT FROM LEARNERS

a. Form

Words/phrases/sentences: written X X X

Words/phrases/sentences: oral X X X X

b. Source

Materials X X X X X X X

Learners

c. Nature

Fiction X X

Non-fiction X X X X X

Song

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The use of visuals in the EFL classroom by David Hill

Analysis of the visuals in “Incredible English 6”

The first distinction Hill makes about the way in which visuals are used in textbooks is if

they are used for a purpose or if they are just used in a decorative way. After analysing unit 2 from

the book Incredible English 6, by Oxford University Press, I have reached the conclusion that most

of the visuals in that book are used for a specific purpose. They are important for the

understanding and the development of the activity; they are used with the text. An example is

shown below:

Another distinction we have to bear in mind is the kind of use textbooks give to the visuals

in them. In Incredible English 6, the visuals are used for different activity types. For example:

Some of them are used to deal with precise elements of the unit language focus (syntax,

vocabulary). In the following activity, students are asked to match the written text to the picture.

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Other pictures are just used to clarify elements that appear in a text. The following photos

used in this activity provide students some help about what the text is talking about and the

students can make some meaning out of it.

Finally, some other visuals are used to work on listening comprehension. The following

activity presents some photos which students have to match with the conversation they listen.

This is similar to the previous activity in which the visuals act as an aid for understanding better

what is being talked about.

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Analysis of the Incredible English Web Page

Incredible English Web Page: Main page (“elt.oup.com”)

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First Section: “Stories”. It is divided into the units of the book.

First Section “Stories”: Example Unit 1. It contains the audio material for the story in each unit.

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Second Section: “Characters”. It contains downloadable material such as calendars, door hangers,

etc.

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Third Section: “Songs”. It contains the same songs that appear in the units of the book with

images.

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Fourth Section: “Picture Dictionary”. It contains audio material to practice vocabulary from the

unit. It shows the same images the book shows.

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Fifth Section: “Games”. There are games to practice vocabulary from the unit. These games do

not appear in the book.

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Games Section: “Wordsearch”

Games Section: “Complete the sentences”

Sixth Section: “Web Quests”. This section contains downloadable material to practice the content

of the unit. These web quests do not appear in the book.

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Usefulness of the site

Companion vs. promotional site: mostly promotional

Links to authentic material: no links to authentic material. No third-party links.

Publisher-produces activities: there are some in the games section and the web quests.

Usability of the site

Speed: Fast

Labels and descriptions: clear

Active links: all active

System compatibility: OK

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Analysis of the lesson plan “Beauty is only skin deep”

1. What is the connection between literacy and image in this unit?

In this unit, the author explains that nowadays it is necessary to be able to understand

and interpret images since their use has increased a lot in the last time, although it has

been present throughout history. New types of literacy have appeared, one of them being

visual literacy. The author of the text defines visual literacy as the “learned ability to

interpret visual messages or texts accurately”. Since images are used to communicate

messages that must be decoded in order to have meaning, we have to be able to interpret

these messages appropriately, developing the skills necessary to make meaning of them.

2. What conceptualization of literacy is the teacher departing from?

The teacher departs from the multiliteracies conceptualization since the activities he

or she presents are aimed at developing the ability in students to interpret the messages

that images convey, to make meaning out of them. The teacher is trying to make the

students see the images in a critical way, to raise a thoughtful analysis of the underlying

message in them.

3. In what ways is the unit helping the teacher and students become code breakers?

This unit helps both teacher and students to be able to discover, to reflect on an

image, to develop the ability of reading an image and to have a critical understanding of

how images are constructed. Visualization alone does not function to maximize student

achievement, there must be some critical analysis of the image to discover the message it

tries to communicate. If not, what we do is just a description of the image.

4. How does the content of the unit appeal to young audiences?

The topic chosen for the unit is very appealing to young audiences, mostly girls,

because from a very young age people are taught that their appearances will play a huge

role in their lives and they are also taught that the perfect man or woman is the one who

is tall, thin, young and Caucasian, which is a stereotype used and reinforced by the media.

It is a topic that most young people are interested in and they will want to carry on with

the activities proposed by the unit. The content of it will help students become aware

that those are just stereotypes and not the real definition of beauty.

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Analysis of ten activities from the book “Pictures for

language learning” by Andrew Wright

In his book “Pictures for language learning”, Andrew Wright provides useful criteria to

assess the value of any activity that can be used in the classroom. He presents his criteria in the

form of five basic questions: is the activity easy to prepare? Is it easy to organize in the classroom?

Is it interesting to students and the teacher? Will the language and the way you want the students

to use it be authentic and intrinsic to the activity? And finally, will the activity give rise to a

sufficient amount of language in order to justify its inclusion in the language lesson?

What follows is the analysis of 10 activities presented in Wright´s book according to these

criteria

1) Picture story dominoes.

This activity is easy to prepare

because you don’t need a lot of

material (just some cards with

pictures). It is also easy to organize

since it can be carried out in pairs

or in groups of 4 or 5 students and

the teacher can walk around the

classroom while they do it, making

sure they are all working properly.

I chose it because I found it really

interesting and I think it will be

interesting for the students as well

since they have to be very

creative, to respond rapidly, and

to make connections. Some of

them may come up with really

crazy ideas and that would add a

lot of fun to the activity. In my

opinion this activity is meaningful

and authentic. In doing it, students are challenged to tell a story that makes sense; they are

encouraged to speak extensively without the stress of being accurate all the time. This activity

displays a sense of purpose and an emphasis on meaning rather than on accuracy and it helps

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build students ´confidence. Finally, the activity presents a great amount of language that students

will have to resort to create the stories. Before carrying it out, the teacher can practise with the

whole class different types of connectors, for example, or adjectives describing people and objects

so students can use them while doing the activity.

2) Detectives.

In order to carry out this

activity you only need a bunch of

cards with pictures of people

which you can get from the

internet so, its preparation is very

simple. Its organization is easy

too, since the teacher has to

divide the class into groups of five

students who, at the same time,

will be divided into 2 groups, one

of two students -the detectives-

and the other of three students -

the witnesses-. The activity is

appealing to students since what

they have to do is to role play, to

imagine they are either

detectives or witnesses of a crime

who must find the correct

suspect. The intrigue and the

mystery elements make the

activity fun and engaging. The

activity is meaningful and

authentic. In it, students are

solving a real-world problem: the

learning environment is similar to

a real-world application, in this

case, solving a crime. What is

more, students are asked to work

collaboratively and to make

choices, all this being part of

authentic learning. With respect to the amount of language, this activity requires a great use of

vocabulary for description which the teacher can write on the board before starting with the

activity in case of finding it useful.

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3) Picture sequence.

This activity is very simple to

prepare since what the teacher

needs is only a story without any

text or dialogues. In order to

organize it the teacher should tell

the students to work in pairs. The

activity is interesting since what

students are asked to do is to

create some meaning from the

pictures, to try to guess what is

going on and then, role play it to

their classmates. If each pair

would be given the same picture

sequence many different versions

of the same story would be

created and that would be a lot of

fun. The activity is also meaningful and authentic. It allows for multiple interpretations and

different outcomes and students need to collaborate with each other to carry it out. The amount

of language presented by the activity is a lot. Students need to be familiar with narrative texts and

it can be useful to write on the board different connectors, adjectives or phrases students can use

before starting with the activity.

4) Inventing a character.

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The activity “inventing a character” is very easy to organize and prepare. Students have to

work in groups of 8 or 10 people and the material they need is just an A4 sheet of paper to draw

and write. The activity is interesting and engaging, having students to create a character out of

the blue and then to simulate it is themselves. It is meaningful and authentic since students are

asked to work collaboratively and it creates an opportunity to solve a problem while generating an

immense enthusiasm and commitment. Finally, this activity presents a great amount of language,

both to describe the character and then to simulate being it.

5) What might happen?

For this activity, the material

needed is a picture from which

the students are to create a

story. In this case, the activity is

not carried out in groups or in

pairs but as a whole group, with

the teacher asking questions. It is

interesting in the sense that it

enables students to think,

hypothesize and play with it,

giving rise to different ideas,

interpretations and points of

view. It is meaningful and

authentic since it portrays events

that may happen in the real

world. Anyway, the purpose of

this activity is to practise the use

of “might” so, maybe, it would

not be done by the teacher and

students unless they were

learning a foreign language and

they needed to practise this new

pattern. Regards the amount of

language, it presents a new

structure for the students and, in

describing the picture and what

might or might not happen,

students are given the chance to

practise a lot of vocabulary.

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6) Picture jigsaws.

Regarding the organization

and materials needed, this

activity requires the teacher to

prepare several pictures that

depict different things, such as:

landscapes, cities, etc., and to cut

them into pieces. Each student

will be given a piece. They are

going to work in groups of

approximately 5 or 6 members

each. Students should

reconstruct the picture by finding

the people who have the rest of

the pieces. This activity is

interesting since students have

to find a relationship between

bits of information and it is fun

because in doing so, they have

walk around the classroom and

interact with each other. It is

meaningful and authentic

because it presents a challenge,

that is, to identify what their

piece is depicting and to find the

rest of the pieces and, it requires

the collaboration of all the class.

The activity presents a great

amount of language students have to use in order to describe their pieces to the rest of their

classmates.

7) Hold up picture story.

The materials needed for this

activity are some pictures which,

when put together, form a story. As

regards the organization, this activity

will be carried out as a whole group.

It is interesting since students have

to work together to put the different pictures in a sequence while debating and exchanging

opinions and ideas. It is meaningful and authentic because students are asked to work

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collaboratively; they are challenged to create a story out of bits of information; they are

encouraged to speak and write while their self-confidence is promoted. Finally, it requires the use

of a lot of language, not only to describe each picture but to create a story out of them.

8) Newspaper photographs.

To carry out this activity,

photographs from newspapers or

magazines are required. As regards

the organization, it can be done

either individually or in pairs. It is

interesting because students have

to create an article out of a picture,

which can lead to many different

interpretations and outcomes. It is

meaningful and authentic since the activity portrays a real-world situation, it has a purpose and it

is engaging. The activity contains a great amount of language students need to use in order to

write the articles.

9) Picture maps.

For this pairwork activity, only a

map of a city is required. It is a very

interesting activity to carry out since

students have to resort to their

creativity and plan a day in that city,

just as if they were tour guides. It is

meaningful and authentic in the way

that the learning environment is

similar to a real-world application, in

this case, being a tourist and getting

to know a city. It is engaging and it

has a purpose. As regards the amount

of language used in the activity,

students can practise giving

directions, describing places, writing

a letter, etc.

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10) Eyewitness.

For this activity to be

performed, a picture depicting a

street scene is required. The

activity can be done as a whole

class or, in its variations, in pairs

or in small groups. It is

interesting because students are challenged to memorise a picture and then, try to describe it and

compare it with what the rest of the class remember. Many different versions of the same picture

will surely appear. It is meaningful and authentic because the ability to remember is a key factor in

the success of the learning of a language and it is also something students put into practice in real

life situations. Finally, with respect to the language used, a lot of description vocabulary will be

useful as well as phrases used to give opinion, for example, “I think”, “In my opinion”, etc. and

phrases used to agree or disagree.

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Analysis of three online comic creators

Comic Creator Tools Function Review

Toondoo Make Beliefs

Comix Creaza

User friendly environment (drag and drop)

Transform functions (move, resize, flip)

Save function

Edit function

Export function

Import function

Print function

Content packages

Free transform page layout

Multimedia enrichment with sound and video

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Comic I created to explain the importance of using

comics in the classroom

Exporting to file-types

Community for online support