15 Lesson pl anning

Try to ass ess critical1y the re levance and usefulness of Ihese co nclusions for your own practice .

Stage S:Personal application Finally, reve rl to Ihe answer s you wrote yourself at the beginning of this task, and ad d notes b elow each ene, recording ideas you have le arned from this inquiry that may be helpful to you in future lesson planning.

~ Unit Three: Varying lesson components

The rcaching/learning rasks and ropics which form the basis of diffcrenr cornponcnrs of a languagc lcsson havc bcen discussed in carlicr modules: prescntation of new material, practice activities or tests; accura re rcceprion or producrion of rhe language's pronunciarion, vocabulary or grarnrnar; or more fluency-oricnted work such as discussing or writing essays, In this unir we shall be looking ar the 'packaging' uf such cornponenrs: how thcy rnay he combined with each other and presenred as a varied and effecrive lesson programrne.

In a Iesson which isenrirely rakcn up with one kind of acrivi ty, interesr is likcly ro fla g: learncrs will fi nd ir more difficulr ro concentrare and lila] ger bored and irritable which will detraer from learning and may produce disci­pline problerns in sorne clas-es. A varied lesson, besides being more inrcresting und pleasant for both teachcr and lcarncrs, is also likely ro carer for a wider range of karning srylcs and straregies, and may dclay onsct of fatigue hy providing regular refrcshing changes in rhe rype of mental or physicaI activity demanded.

Task Brainstor~

How many different ways of varying language-IearIÚng activity within a lesson can you think of? It helps to think in terrns oí contrasts : for example, rap id-moving versus leisurely activities; or individuals versus p air /group ve rsus full-class organization. Wr ite down, or pool ide as in groups; then check with Box 15.3 to see if it adds any further suggestions .

Seleetion and organization

Variation of cornponcnts within rhc programme of a lesson is a good principie, bU! ir is nor enough. Varied acri"iries fl ung rogerher in randum arder can resulr in a feeling uf restlessness ;¡nd disorder; ir is rherd ore won h defining some principiesof sclecrion and organizarion of components ro consrrucr a smoorh, coherent programme. Which components should come carlicr,which larer in a Iessun? Which are likcly ro fi r rogerher well ro form a coherent seqllence? And so on.

Belo\\' are sume glliJelines for rhe combinarion of diffcrent componems rhar1 have found usefuI ¡¡nd rek'\'ant in m}' own reaching.

Varying lesson eomponents

BOX 15.3: WAYS OF VARYING A LESSON

1. Tempo Activities may be briskand Iast-movinq (such as guessinggamesl or slow and retlective (such as reading lltereture andresponding in wriringl.

2. Organization The learners may work ontheir own al individualized tasks; or inpairs orgroups; or as a tull c1ass in interaction with the teacher.

3. Mode and skill Activities may be based on the written orthe spoken language; and within these, they mayvary as to whether the learners areasked to produce (speak. write)or recerve (listen. read).

4. Diffieulty Activities rnav be seenas easyand non-demanding;ordiíficult. requiring concentrationandeffort.

5. Topie Both the language teaching point and the Inon-linguistic)topic may change tromone act ivitv to another,

6. Mood Acrivities vary also in mood: lighl andfun-based versusserious and profound; happy versus sad; tense versus relaxed.

7. Stir-settle Sorneactivities enlivenand excite learners lsuch as controversialdiscussions. or activities that involve physicalrnovernentl: others. il ke dictations, have the ettect of calming themdownísee Maclennan. 19871.

8. Active-passive Learners mav be activated ina waythat encourages theirown initiativs: or theymay only be required to do as they are told.

@Cambndge Unll'ersiry Ptess 1996

Guidelines for ordering eomponents of a lesson

1. Put the harder tasks earlier On the whole, srudenrs are íresher and more encrgetic earlier in rhe lesson, and get progressively less so as ir goes on, particularly if the Icssonis a long one. So ir rnakes scnse ro put rhc rasks rhat dcrnand more cfforr and concentrarion e¡¡rlieron (I e¡¡rning new marerial, or rackling a difficlllt rexr, for example) anJ rhe lighrer ones Iarer. Similarly, rasks rhar need a lor of sllldent iniriari\'e \York bcner earlier in rhe Icsson, wirh rhe more srrucrured and conrrollcd ones larer.

2. Have quieter activities befo re lively ones Ir can he quire difficlllt ro ca1m down a cl:lss - parricularly of childn:n or ado lescents - who ha\'e bren pan iciparing in a 1¡ "e1y. l'xciting activir)'. So if one of your central ksson componcnts is sOlllething quil' r and rcflecri"c ir is hetter

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15 Lesson p/anning

on the wholero put ir beforea lively one, not after. The exception ro rhis is when you havea rather lethargicor tired class oi adults; here 'stirring' activiries early on can actually refresh and help studcnts get into the righr frameof mind for learning.

3. Think about transitions Ji)'ou have a sharp transition from, say,a reading-writing activiryro an oral one, or from a fast-rnovingone ro a slow one, devoresornerhoughr ro the transition srage. It may beenough to 'frame' by summing up one component in a Iewwords and introducingthe nexr; or ir may help to havea very brief transition activity whichmakesrhe rnove smoother (seeUr and Wright, 1992, for sorne ideas).

4. Pull the class together at the beginning and the end Jiyou bring the classtogether ar the beginningior general greetings, organizationand introduction of the day's programme,and then do a similar íull-class 'rounding-off'ar the end: this contribures to a sense of structure. On the whole, group orindividual work is more smoothly organized if it takes placein the middle of the lesson, with clear beginning and ending points.

5. End on a positive note This does not necessarily mean ending with a joke or a fun activiry - though of course it mayoFor sorneclasses it may mean somerhing quite serious, like a summaryof what we have achieved toda)', or a posirive evaluation of something the classhas done. Another possibiliry is ro givea task which the c!ass is very likely ro succeed in and which willgenerate feelings of sarisfacrion. The point is to havesrudents leave the classroom feeling good.

Discussion Think about or discuss the questions: task - How íar do you agree with these guidelines?

- Are they appropriate for your own teaching context as they stand, or would you wish to omit , add to or change any of them?

Follow-up Observe one or two foreign Ianguage lessons, noting down in detail what observation the components are and how they are organized. The Iessons should

task preferabIy be given by a teacher yeu do not know, or a video recording can be used. lf these options are not availabIe, use the lesson description given in Box 15.5.

Afterwards, think about your notes, or discuss them with colleagues, analysing the way the 1esson was constructed. You may find it useful to refer to the points listed in Box 15.3. What possibIe alternatives, or improvements, can you think of?

Eva/uating tesson eiiecti veness

C> Unit Four: Evaluating lesson effectiveness

Ir is importanr to stop and think aftcr giving a Icsson whether ir was a good one or not, and why. This is not in order ro indulgein self-congratularion or vain regrets, but in order ro havea basis for your own lcarning from rcflcction on experience: this lesson was unsatisfactory,what could I have done ro irnprove it? Or: this lesson was good, whar was it exactly thar made ir so? Other units in this module havedcalt with criteria that can be applied to the designor assessment of particular procedures; this one concentrates on overallevaluation of rhe Icsson event: effective, or not?

Task Evaluating criteria

Imagine you have just come out of a lesson - whether your own, or one that you have observed - and wish to assess how effective it was. By what criteria will you evaluate it?

In Box 15.4 is a list of criteria I have heard suggested by teachers; you may wish to add more. Can you put them in order of priority: the most important, in your opinion, first, the least important last? You may, of course, put two or more at the sarne level if you think they are of the sarne importance.

BeIow are sorne notes on the criteria that you may find useful; and my own solution to the task, with explanations, is givenat the end of the unit.

BOX 15.4: CRITERIA FOR EVAlUATING lESSON EFFECTIVENESS

a) The learners were active all the time. bl Thelearners were attentive all the time. e) The learners eruoved the lesson, were motivated. d) The c1ass seemed to be learning the materialwelL el The lesson went aeeording to plan. f) The language was used eommunieatively throughout. g) The learners were engaging with the foreign languagethroughout. h)

il j)

© Cambridge Univetsitv Press 1996

Notes on the criteria

1. The learners were active. attentive. enjoying themselves . Jflearners are active, attentive, enjoying thernselves and motivatcd theyare likely ro be learning better, On the othcr hand it is ver)' possible ro activare learners cffcctivelyand cnjoyablyand hold their artenrion for long periods of time in occupations that have little learning or cducarional valué.

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