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MÁSTER EN PROFESORADO DE EDUCACIÓN SECUNDARIA OBLIGATORIA Y BACHILLERATO, FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL Y ENSEÑANZA DE IDIOMAS. ESPECIALIDAD DE LENGUA EXTRANJERA: INGLÉS The use of ITC resources and language acquisition THE TEACHING PROFESSION FROM A THEORETICAL FRAME AND FROM THE EXPERIENCE IN THE EDUCATIVE CENTER ……………………………….………………………… Page 01 JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROJECTS SELECTION ………………….…….………………………… Page 06 CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THE POSSIBLE OR EXISTING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE PROJECTS MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS SECTION ……………….………………………… Page 09 FUTURE PROPOSALS AND CONCLUSIONS ………………….………………………..…………… Page 17 BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES ………………….………………………………………………… Page 21 APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………………….………………………… Page 23 INNOVATION PROJECT ………………….……………………………………………………… Page 25 LEARNING UNIT OF WORK ………………….………………………..……………………… Page 53 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition _______________________________________________ THE TEACHING PROFESSION FROM A THEORETICAL FRAME AND FROM THE EXPERIENCE IN THE EDUCATIVE CENTER The teaching profession is being, at the moment, subject of several controversial and notorious analyses and debates, many of them related to issues which do not explicitly belong to the teaching sphere, becoming a center of attention for society due to numerous external factors and elements which directly involve and threaten the core mainstays of its own natural functioning and development. In the center of this chaotic and complex situation the figure of the teacher, with all its implications, appears immerse, as a passive actor, vindicating and claiming for its leading role, which, for some people completely alien to the teaching environment, seems to be progressively less defined and banal, but whose real effects and outcomes are principal agents in the building and configuration of a balanced and better society. Therefore, the position and role of teachers, or any person related to the teaching profession, despite the current difficulties and uncertainties, still represents and symbolizes an essential but complex task which embodies some of the key principles and objectives desired for the right development of society and its citizens. This wide list of objectives can be summarized and condensed in the acquisition, by the students, of not only the theoretical or practical contents needed to carry out certain tasks and jobs but also the internalization of essential moral values and ethical guidelines needed for their self-development as human beings and their appropriate integration in social life as citizens. In this way, it seems to be clear that teacher’s role in the academic and personal education and development of the students can be crucial and determining, both positively and negatively. Consequently, future teachers’ education and formation, again both in the academic and personal aspects, are really essential and challenging tasks for the consecution of the previously mentioned goals and objectives. Subsequently, one of the main aims of the Máster Universitario en Profesorado de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idiomas, Artísticas y Deportivas is to guide and escort its students in their long and complex path to become efficient teachers, offering them the knowledge and resources needed to carry out this process positively and preparing them to the upcoming challenges they will face, and hopefully enjoy, during their future education experiences. 1 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition In order to achieve these ambitious goals, the Master is divided in two semesters, with different subjects and features. During the first semester, we were taught the general notions and basic knowledge needed to start getting familiar with all the concepts, elements and structures related to the education sphere. In the first semester, for instance, the subject ‘Contexto de la Actividad Docente’ is designed to explain the students the legal and institutional framework as well as the social and familiar context which rule the running of the different educative centers and the teaching activity. In the subject ‘Interacción y Convivencia en el Aula’ the students are taught the importance of a good, formative and stimulating coexistence in the classroom as a development tool for students’ personal and academic development. ‘Procesos de Enseñanza-Aprendizaje’ is the subject whose aim is to promote and monitor, in a critic way, the teaching-learning process, showing the students the main theories and principles related to the implementation and development of this process. Finally, the subjects ‘Diseño Curricular e Instruccional y Organización y Desarrollo de las Actividades de Aprendizaje’ and ‘Fundamentos de Diseño Instruccional y Metodologías de Aprendizaje en la Especialidad de Lenguas Extranjeras’ are intended to teach the students how to plan, design and develop learning and evaluation activities and familiarize the future teacher with the different methodologies, activities and resources used in the different learning contexts, respectively. Once in the second period of the Master, the subjects are thought to develop and apply, in a more specific way, the knowledge acquired in the subjects of the first semester, and give the students the resources needed to construct a more detailed vision of all the skills and qualities required to be an efficient teacher. In ‘Diseño Curricular de Lenguas Extranjeras’ students must adapt their general knowledge about teaching methodologies to the context regulated by the current curricula and the concrete educative reality they will discover, creating favorable conditions to promote teaching and learning process. In the subject ‘Diseño, Organización y Desarrollo de Actividades para el Aprendizaje de Inglés’ students are provided the knowledge and skills needed to adapt, plan, elaborate and implement activities which facilitate the development of the key competences and the acquisition of the abilities needed for their futures students in the foreign language. ‘Evaluación e innovación docente e investigación educativa en Inglés’ is a subject designed to explain the students the theoretical and methodological principles needed to develop their skills at innovation, investigation and evaluation in the foreign language. Finally, the subject ‘La Comunicación Oral en Lengua Inglesa’deals with aspects related to the oral production in English language, supporting their previous skills at discrimination, production and representation of English segmental and suprasegmental features and showing the students communicative strategies to teach oral discourse. 2 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition As mentioned before, all these subjects are intended to provide the students with enough techniques, strategies and resources for their use and application during the Practicum I, II and III periods. In this sense, the first real contact with educative world took place during the Practicum I in the School of Arts of Zaragoza. First of all, I should probably start commenting that my school placement, the School of Arts, was a singular and almost unique teaching paradigm in which many of the theoretical contents we learnt during the first semester, especially those ones concerning legislation and legal documentation, did not completely correspond with the center’s reality. Although at many points the School of Arts was very similar to any common secondary school, the special legislation which rules all the Schools of Arts in the country and the fact that this one is the only center in Zaragoza, with I.E.S. Goya, which offers General Certificate of Secondary Education on Arts, make the center a different and particular place full of interesting and challenging particularities. But maybe the most important and distinctive feature of the center lies in its own nature and identity: the courses the school offers and, therefore, their students. As its own name indicates, the artistic profile of several of their vocational training courses gathers a group of students, of many different ages, with innovative interests and restless creativity. With these features, the teaching and learning environment in the School of Arts is, at many points, radically different if we compare it with a common secondary school center. The fact that the school does not offer any course of E.S.O. is significant, especially in terms of students’ behavior and attitude: the higher age of its students is a relevant factor when dealing with the absence of important conflicts and the creation of a peaceful teaching atmosphere. This does not mean that E.S.O. students are a source of conflicts or stress, but, as many teachers in the School of Arts acknowledged, the calm and tranquility existing in the center can be considered as an almost unique exception among secondary schools and it is mainly due to the age and responsibility of its students. I should acknowledge that, during the Practicum I period, the first time we (me and my practice partners –an important part of my practice experience) were aware of all those differences, I felt confused and slightly upset: I found a lot of trouble to understand and learn the chaotic and complex tangle of legal documents, administrative organizations, etc. we were being taught in some subjects and, when I finally was able to go over those problems, I discovered that some centers could perfectly work without using or elaborating some of those documents. That was the case of my school placement, due to its especial features mentioned before. However, during the first days in the School of Arts, I discovered that, although all the centers have to be regulated by certain laws and documents, the most important elements 3 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition which determine the running of a secondary center are the human resources (teachers, students, administrative staff, etc.) which took part in it. Since we were allowed to enter in the classrooms and attend our tutor’s lessons and explanations (some other partners in different school placements were not so lucky), I started to become familiar with the students’ features and peculiarities and I realized that despite the number of students per class, their individual and group attitude was extremely positive in almost all the cases, being really collaborative and showing great interest for the new contents and explanations. Consequently, I started to wait for the Practicum II and III periods, considering them as good and exceptional opportunities to become an active part in the teaching-learning process and to put into practice all my previous knowledge and the new skills and concepts learnt during the master. During the first semester, we were taught in different subjects the general notions and basic knowledge needed to start getting familiar with all the concepts, elements and structures related to the education sphere and, once in the second period of the Master, understand and develop the contents related to the new subjects, being able to construct a more detailed vision of all the skills and qualities required to be an efficient teacher. In this sense, teachers explained us topics such as the legal framework which regulates the running of a center, motivation methodologies or the design of learning units of work while the second semester was more centered on explaining methodology approaches or training teaching skills which will be used for the students when implementing their learning units and activities in the school placements. The big problem was that when the Practicum II and III periods arrived, only four weeks after the beginning of the second semester, some theoretical and practical lessons were left to be taught after those practice periods. In this way, I had no doubts about my knowledge about the contents explained during this first and second semester but, since the second semester subjects were not completed, I had the feeling that I lacked some kind of knowledge or teaching strategies that may be useful for the teaching experience. In this way, I started to have certain doubts about my classroom management skills, due to the fact that my previous teaching experience had been with small groups (no more than ten or twelve students) or with individual lessons and, therefore, not so demanding since the groups were not so big and covering every student needs and create a positive classroom dynamic seemed to be an easier and not so stressing task. In addition, as I mentioned before, the student ratio per class in the School of Arts of Zaragoza is slightly higher than in a standard high school and some groups were composed by more than thirty students, putting more pressure on the teaching process. 4 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition However, as I mentioned before, the general attitude of almost all the students in the different groups was so positive and their interest for the explanations so surprisingly high that all the uncertainties and doubts quickly vanished. Our tutor suggested spending the first week observing the lessons, helping the students and solving doubts when necessary, in order to make us gain confidence progressively. Her idea really worked and during those first days I felt very comfortable helping the students and the teacher during the lessons and, again, I started to look forward to implementing my first activities with them. When the time arrived, the students’ attitude was so good and positive (maybe because they were expectant about what we were going to do) that I felt really comfortable during the whole session. The first acid test seemed passed but maybe the most encouraging and inspiring event was seeing the students really engaged during my explanations. Since that very moment I realized that motivating students was a key fact to achieve any academic and personal goal but, at the same time, maybe one of the most difficult challenges which a teacher can face. Nevertheless, the important role of motivation was not a new topic for me. For example, during the first semester, in the subject ‘Interacción y Convivencia en el Aula’ we were taught the importance of the teacher as a reference for the students, as someone who must guide and accompany them through the complex and arduous process of learning, simply indicating the way and not towing them through the pathway. Quoting the Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865–1939): Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire. This quotation, despite its brevity and simplicity, embodies the great ‘discovery’ I made after my first lessons and, subsequently, after my practice period and my whole training as a teacher: the essential role of motivation in every kind of achievement or success and the great results which motivated students, and people in general, can get if this inspiring stimulus is correctly guided and conducted. As I have mentioned, during the whole academic year I have been taught many useful and interesting information and I have lived some important teaching experiences which have improved my perspective about many issues related to education. Every subject, every teacher and every lesson have been important for my development as a future teacher, but from my point of view, the most enriching experiences have been, with no doubts, the moments spent conducting a lesson or implementing activities in my school placement. Through all these experiences, I realized the huge importance of being aware of the students’ interests and motivations and how engaging them in a positive learning dynamic is one of the most difficult but rewarding tasks related to the teaching profession. 5 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition __________________________________ JUSTIFICATION OF THE PROJECTS SELECTION In this academic year, almost every subject of the Master included in their course descriptions the possibility or obligatory to carry out different formative activities such as portfolios, essays, critical analysis of texts, learning units of work, etc. Therefore, once the moment to select and choose two of them to explain and analyze their contents, features and details has arrived, this great amount of different assignments offers me a multiple variety of options. I would not be honest if I said that I have enjoyed preparing and elaborating every single project or activity, but I do consider some of these tasks really illustrative, instructive and useful for my self-development, as student and as a future teacher. Consequently, I decided to include in this document the activities which I consider more interesting and edifying and which made me enjoyed the most: my Research Project (related to the subject ‘Evaluación e Innovación Docente e Investigación Educativa en el Ámbito de la Especialidad de Inglés’ and the Unit Learning of Work designed for the module ‘Diseño, Organización y Desarrollo de Actividades para el Aprendizaje del Inglés’. The Research Project which I carried out during my practice period in the School of Arts of Zaragoza deals about how the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources may improve and enhance students’ second language acquisition and their performance in L2. My goal was to determine if by using a more visual approach based on ICT resources students would be more appealed by the contents explained and, consequently, they would consider the learning process an easier task. I finally decided to choose this topic for my project because I am very keen on the use of new technologies (especially everything related to computers) and, from my own personal experience, I consider them a really useful tool for acquiring new knowledge and making L2 acquisition process a more attractive and easier task for the students. It was also important the fact that in the first semester, during some sessions in the subject ‘Contexto de la Actividad Docente‘, we were taught some interesting and helpful lessons about the use of Information and Communication Technology resources. We were shown how the new technologies of information and communication can be powerful tools for teachers –to improve and perfect the implementation of activities, and also for students, due to the wide range of learning possibilities and resources they offer to the students. In this way, both teachers and students can find and use for their daily teaching and learning routine a never-ending amount of devices and materials. During these sessions we were also shown the continuous efforts made by state and local administrations in order to equip the 6 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition After carrying out the whole activity and revising the results obtained in the different groups, the data collected and analyzed in the different groups reveal that the best results and the best percentages of right answers were achieved in the groups where the false friends were explained by using visual support and ICT resources while 1ºD, the group in which the explanation followed a more traditional approach, the results were not so brilliant as in the other groups, with a larger amount of mistakes. In these groups where the ICT resources were used the best results belonged to the categories whose items were explained, precisely, by using visual support and ICT resources. In these groups, students did not commit many mistakes in the questions related to the items mentioned categories. Therefore, in this way, we might be able to establish a direct connection between the use of a visual approach based on the utilization of ICT resources and the amount of right answers given by the students in the groups where these resources were used. As it can be observed in the previous table, the visual support offered by Information and Communication Technology resources is a highly important element, offering a different approach and, consequently, attracting students’ attention. When not using these ICT resources in the explanation, some different techniques, such as changes in intonation, asking students for participation, etc. must be used to get students’ attention. The use of ICT resources was a common practice during the implementation of the different activities of the learning unit of work and they were used in explanations, exercises correction, concepts clarification, etc. (See Learning Unit of Work, page 09). In this sense, since the School of Arts of Zaragoza is a center whose classrooms are equipped with many technological resources –computers, projectors, advanced audio equipment, etc. - employing ICT resources was an easy task and no problems were found. This use of Information and Communication Technology resources meant a significant advantage, not only for enhancing the implementation of activities but also to make it in a fast way, saving time and, personally, allowing the integration of my Research Project and my learning unit of work and their carrying out with no problems. Although it represents a saving of time in many activities – for instance, teacher can show the students’ a slide with the exercise correction and no time is spent on writing it on the blackboardthe preparation of Power Point Presentation, the selection of videos, photographs or any other different support, etc. requires to invest some time and effort – in the most literal of the meanings, since an appropriate investment will produce positive outcomes-. But, is I have said, these extra preparations are worth doing since the final purpose is making the contents more appealing and explanations more clear and accurate. 13 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition When using ICT resources, the use of real materials is a not very difficult task and the benefits seems to be quite evident whereas, if no Information and Communication Technology resources are applied, this integration and use of real materials during the lesson development can be more complex and burdensome. In this sense, it is remarkable the fact that choosing the appropriate materials is an essential task, because any possible mistake or misconception during the explanation or implementation of activities could be more dangerous than in lesson where ICT resources are not used (See Research Project, page 17 ) since the visual support which in other occasions is beneficial for the explanation, in this situation can be a wrong input for the students, playing the opposite role and being a source of confusions and misunderstandings. Once the Research Project has been explained, it is time to talk about my learning unit of work, which has been planned and designed in order to cover the different linguistic skills in 6 sessions and a unit exam, intended to let the students demonstrate their knowledge and abilities. As it can be observed, the use of ICT resources and visual elements are a permanent practice during the activities implementation. The two first sessions were used to teach the students the grammar points needed for the adequate development of the lesson (Conditional sentences: zero, first, second and third conditionals and modal verbs in conditional sentences in the first session and connectors in conditional sentences - whether, unless, providing that, provided that, as long as and so long asin the second session). Since the students already know this grammar point, an introduction or presentation of the topic is not essential for their understanding. However, it will be important to check the students’ previous knowledge about these grammar elements, in order to activate it and know their language level. These two first sessions are very dense and weighty, especially for the students, but, as I have mentioned, they are designed to cover all the grammar points which will be needed by the students during the lesson, so after explaining and practicing all the grammar contents, they will be able to express and understand different kinds of messages. Third session deals with vocabulary (items related to education: verbs, people and places; educative stages in United Kingdom and differences between EEUU and UK) and reading skills. After two sessions in which grammar points have been explained, students are taught the vocabulary items of the topic of this unit learning of work (education). In the following session, once the students are familiar with grammar structures (conditional sentences) and vocabulary items (education), they must put 14 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition into practice the acquired knowledge and write a discussion essay. They are taught the main features of discussion essays. The main aim of this session is to start using all the knowledge previously learnt and show the students the practical applications of grammar structures and lists of vocabulary items. Therefore, the communicative purpose of the task (to express in a written way their ideas, support them and understand other’s perceptions and arguments) can be considered as a good start point to carry out the application of this knowledge. Fifth session follows the steps of the previous ones since its main is continuing using, in a practical way, all the knowledge acquired in the previous sessions. The first step is practicing listening skills and, at the same time, reviewing some useful vocabulary and expressions. After that, students must use all the acquired knowledge in the preceding sessions preparing and carrying out an oral discussion (use of grammar elements, vocabulary items related to the topic, expressions and information structure commonly used in discussion essays, etc.) which is performed in the classroom. Finally, the last session is intended to combine some of the main aspects learnt during the whole learning unit of work. Vocabulary items related to the topic appear in two texts, making the students practice both vocabulary knowledge and reading skills and the final part of the session is employed to review and reinforce grammar elements which may be difficult for the students. In addition, some clips of video – the ones described in the description of the Research Projectare shown to the students, in order to expose them to real materials, making them familiar with English pronunciation, intonation and speech in real contexts, just as any inhabitant of an English-speaking county could find them. A unit exam will be done after these six sessions. It is designed in order to cover all the possible contents and elements taught during the lessons, paying especial attention to check students’ level of grammar, vocabulary and reading and writing skills. The activities of this learning unit, including the Research Project, are designed to be implemented following some important methodological guidelines which match with the idiosyncrasy of the learning unit of work and the school placement where it was put into practice such as the use of L2 in the classroom (teacher and students will use English whenever it is possible), the use of real materials (during the sessions, students will be exposed to clips of series, films, etc. in order to show them the unit contents in real context and familiarize them with English spoken materials and English culture), use of cooperative learning (to encourage teamwork, as an enriching and inspiring experience which teach the students the importance to cooperate and collaborate in order to achieve general and individual goals) the combination of the four basic skills (in order to achieve an integrated communicative competence, 15 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition inclusive and balanced, which allows the students to express their ideas with autonomy and correctness) and the mentioned use of Information and Communication Technology resources. As it can be observed, the criterion used to organize the different lessons is scaffolding students’ knowledge, this is to say, organizing different stages to establish a progression in their knowledge acquisition. In this way, the grammar and vocabulary contents needed to build and develop more complex structures and messages are learnt at the beginning of the learning unit of works –sessions one and two for grammar and, especially, session three for vocabulary-, and once they have been assimilated by the students, they are put into practice during the sessions, first being guided by the teacher and then, giving certain freedom to the students to practice by their own, being monitored and helped, if needed, by the teacher, who will give feedback and support. As I have explained, I included the tasks and activities which belonged to my Innovation and Research Project in the learning unit of work due to the mutual interrelationship between both projects and some common elements of their idiosyncrasy. In addition, the explanation and the Power Point Presentation about false friends could be, from my point of view, really helpful for the students since false friends are a very common source of possible confusions and misunderstandings for non-native speakers of a language and its ignorance can lead to misinterpretations in communication. In this way, an explanation about false friends and some activities designed to help the students to identify and distinguish these vocabulary items in context have been added to the contents explained in the mentioned learning unit. Knowledge scaffolding is a common practice in the sessions designed for this learning unit. In this way, it is crucial to give the students the tools to build knowledge and reinforce the previous one, letting them construct progressively new knowledge structures by their own. 16 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition _____________________________________ FUTURE PROPOSALS AND CONCLUSIONS After implementing this learning unit of work and the Research Project included in it and after learning from the whole experience lived through the three practice periods in the School of Arts of Zaragoza, certain ideas seem to be enough clear and relevant to me for stating them as conclusions or significant personal thoughts developed. First of all, I consider this practical teaching experience as something highly positive, useful and challenging, being possibly the most stimulating activity related to the Máster Universitario en Profesorado de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idiomas, Artísticas y Deportivas performed during this academic year. The chance of knowing the internal working of an educative center and of implementing our activities and a whole learning unit of work in a real context, facing the actual challenges which teachers have to overcome during their teaching routine is a very inspiring and interesting experience, really useful for my self-development and growth, both as a human being and as a future teacher. Therefore, I consider these practice periods a core element of the Master’s activities – maybe the most relevant-, which, from my point of view, should determine and structure most of the contents in all the Master modules, as it currently happens. Most of those contents are explicitly selected and taught in order to make us efficient teachers in the future but also to prepare us for the practice periods, the first real acid test in our teaching experience for many of us. However, as I have previously mentioned, since some important contents which could have been useful and interesting for improving our teaching skills were taught once the Practicum III had finished, in the last weeks of the academic year, I consider that probably these useful techniques and methods could have been more helpful if their explanation and practice in the different modules of the Master would have been earlier, and consequently we could have been able to put them into practice in the different school placements. Subsequently, one of my personal proposals would be the adaptation of the planning of some modules in order to explain some contents which could be useful to improve our performance in the practice periods (especially Practicum II and Practicum III). In this way, by giving chronological preference to some explanations related to the more practical elements involved in teaching skills and explaining the contents which are not so essential once the practice periods are over. This does not mean the exclusion of any content in any module, since all of them, from my point of view, are intended to develop different important skills but the bringing forward of some important content explanations and practices which could be instructive and edifying in the different school placements. 17 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition Secondly, as it was previously mentioned in the first pages of this document, I realized that, apart from language skills and teaching methods, students’ motivation is a crucial and essential element involved in L2 acquisition and that one of most important teachers’ tasks is getting students’ motivation, making explanations appealing enough to attract their attention, letting them show their knowledge and abilities. All these concepts are embodied in William Butler Yeats’ words, quoted before, and are a perfect summary of the new implications associated with the figure of the current teacher, who is no longer a mere information transmitter or a person whose main task is keeping order in the classroom as it happened before but a professional who must be aware of the social, cultural and individual features and peculiarities of every group and student in a certain educative center and, once these characteristics has been considered, must be able to design, plan and implement different activities and tasks which involve and integrate the students, allowing their personal and academic development both in the educative environment and in the society. In addition, one of the most important things I have learnt during all these practice periods, and especially during the design, elaboration and implementation of my learning unit of work and the Research Project, is that organization and timing are really important factors involved in a successful and effective teaching and learning process, but, at the same time, something very complicated to achieve, especially for those who lack teaching experience. Through the whole Master, in some modules, teachers have shown us how to prepare a balanced and well-organized session or even a whole syllabus. All those explanations and practical activities carried out during both semesters were the first steps and the first stages of our training process on these important issues and were put into practice during the Practicum II and III, the periods when we were able to apply in the most real of the context all the previous explanations. From my personal point of view, I consider very important being able to organize properly all the sessions of a learning unit of work, dividing and sequencing correctly the contents of the unit in order to obtain a complete and balanced learning unit of work, in which every linguistic skill and subskill is practiced and students can feel comfortable using English with autonomy and creativity inside and outside the classroom. And particularly the practice periods (especially the second and third one) are the best opportunities for gaining experience on timing and organization and improving any other teaching skill involved in communication and language acquisition in the classroom. Putting into practice any kind of activity in a real context and with real students is the perfect test to check if a good planning of the activity and the lesson has been made and it will give us feedback, as teachers, about our success in the achievement of our expected aims or, on the contrary, will show us any possible 18 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition correction or modification which should be made in order to reach these planned objectives. In this sense, another instructive experience which can be extracted from the practice periods is checking that, apart from the great importance of planning and timing for the development of a lesson, improvisation and flexibility are another key factors which must be taken into account when teaching in a classroom. No matter how well-designed and meticulously planned an activity, a lesson or a learning unit of work could be, sometimes certain events or circumstances out of our control might happen and drastically alter our previous schemes. It would not be strange that unpredicted complications such as an explanation which takes more time than estimated, any problem with an activity in whose design no apparent difficulties were thought of or unexpected problems related to students’ attitude and behavior might disrupt our previous plans for the session. Therefore, teachers must be able to improvise and carry out practical answers and solutions for these possible upsets with the lowest negative effects for the session development. For these reasons, practice periods are so fundamental experiences for our teaching skills, since they are a gold opportunity to not only put into practice the knowledge acquired in the modules of this master or get familiar with the daily routine in an educative center, but also to face all those potential complications we could find, sooner or later, during the implementation of activities in a classroom and which, hopefully, will help us to gain more experience. As the novelist Aldous Leonard Huxley said in his work ‘Texts and Pretexts’, published in 1932: Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him. Moreover, as it was mentioned before, the peculiar features of the students of the School of Arts made me use some resources and strategies especially adapted to attract their attention, with, from my point of view, considerable success. Consequently, I got confirmed my expectations of how important and necessary the adaptation of methodology and contents to students’ features and interests is. Nowadays, teachers must also have the ability to adjust their individual and teaching behavior and resources to the students’ characteristics, forgetting any fixed or unmovable principles or convictions and being flexible enough to modify their teaching ideology if needed to get the best out of the students, assuring a positive teaching and learning process. Consequently, as it can be seen in my Research Project, teachers must be constantly updating and recycling their previous knowledge, being aware of the different possibilities the new technologies can offer them, not only to design, prepare and conduct a lesson in a different, appealing and effective way but also to keep expanding their own knowledge in an autonomous way as it is demanded in a world in constant change and evolution. 19 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition From my own personal experience, Practicum I is a perfect opportunity for starting getting familiar with the social and educative environment of the school placement, being progressively introduced in their daily routine and activities while Practicum I and III are the culmination of this gradual evolution and an ideal chance to put into practice all the contents learnt in the different modules during the whole academic year. So, in this way, another possible proposal for the future would be the extension of the different practice periods in order to let us go deeper into the practical application of all the theoretical knowledge explained in the Master. Although I am completely aware of the great difficulty involved in the modification or alteration of the general schedule of the academic year, I would consider this hypothetical option as something extremely positive for our preparation since we would be allowed to be exposed to the daily reality of the education community for a longer period and, consequently, our teaching experience could be more complete, varied and enriching. In conclusion, I would say that possibly almost every student, teacher or person related to the Máster Universitario en Profesorado de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idiomas, Artísticas y Deportivas would make some changes and modifications in order to adapt it to their own expectations and necessities, revising, adjusting or maybe removing certain elements or conditions. However, from my personal perspective, all the new contents learnt during the whole academic year, and especially, the design, planning and implementation of my learning unit of work, the Research Project and the different activities carried out during the three practice periods have made me aware of the huge complexity and effort involved in all the levels and aspects of the teachinglearning process but, at the same time, showed me how encouraging and motivating this practice can result for a motivated teacher and how rewarding and gratifying a positive students’ outcome can be. 20 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition ___________________________________________ BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES Bernal Agudo, J.L. (2006). Comprender nuestros centros educativos: perspectiva micropolítica. Zaragoza: Mira. Bisquerra, R. (2000). Métodos de investigación educativa. Guía práctica. Barcelona: Ceac. Bonal, X. (1998). Sociología de la educación. Una aproximación crítica a las corrientes contemporáneas. Barcelona: Paidos. Burns, A. 1999. Collaborative Action Research for English Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Commisssion of the European Communities (2005) A New Framework Strategy for Multilingualism: http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/policies/lang/doc/com596 en.pdf Coyle, D. (1999). ‘Theory and planning for effective classrooms: supporting students in content and language integrated learning context’ in Masih, J (Ed): Learning Through a Foreign Language London: CILT. Flecha y otros (2001). Teoría sociológica contemporánea. Barcelona: Paidos. Grenfell, M. 2002. “Second Language Learning: Problems and Process‟. In M. Grenfell, S. Thornbury, A. Mª Artigas, C. Pérez-Llantada Aspectos didácticos de Inglés. 8. Colección Educación Abierta. Zaragoza: ICE Guerrero Serón, A. (1996). Manual de Sociología de la educación. Madrid: Síntesis. Izcovich, M. (2005). Tiempo de transformación. Madrid: Síntesis, D. L. Lalueza, J.L. e Crespo, I. (2003). "Adolescencia y relaciones familiares", Adolescentes del siglo XXI, Aproximación psicológica y social. Barcelona: Ediuoc, Capítulo 4, 115- 140. Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. 2004. A Handbook for Teacher Research: from design to implementation. London: Open University Press Johnson, K. (2001) 2008. An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. 2nd edition. Harlow: Longman McDonough, J. and McDonough, S. 1997. Research Methods for English Language Teachers. London: Arnold Mitchell. R. 1994. “The communicative approach to language teaching‟. In A. Swarbrick (ed.) Teaching Modern Languages. London: Routledge 21 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ The use of ITC resources and language acquisition Nunan, D. 1991. Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers. Harlow: Longman Richards, J. C. and T. S. Rodgers. 1986. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wallace, M. J. 1998. Action Research for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Widdowson, H. G. 1990. Aspects of Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press ■ LEGAL REFERENCES _____________________________________________________ □ NATIONAL LAWS: -LEY ORGÁNICA 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación. -REAL DECRETO 806/2006, de 30 de junio, por el que se establece el calendario de aplicación de la nueva ordenación del sistema educativo, establecida por la Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación. -REAL DECRETO 1631/2006, de 29 de diciembre, por el que se establecen las enseñanzas mínimas correspondientes a la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. (BOE 05/10/2007) -ORDEN ECI/1845/2007, de 19 de junio, por la que se establecen los elementos de los documentos básicos de evaluación de la educación básica regulada por la Ley Orgánica 2/2006, de 3 de mayo, de Educación, así como los requisitos formales derivados del proceso de evaluación que son precisos para garantizar la movilidad del alumnado. -REAL DECRETO 1146/2011, de 29 de julio, por el que se modifica el Real Decreto 1631/2006, de 29 de diciembre, por el que se establecen las enseñanzas mínimas correspondientes a la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, así como los Reales Decretos 1834/2008, de 8 de noviembre, y 860/2010, de 2 de julio, afectados por estas modificaciones. (BOE 30/07/2011) o Corrección de errores del Real Decreto 1146/2011, de 29 de julio, por el que se modifica el Real Decreto 1631/2006, de 29 de diciembre, por el que se establecen las enseñanzas mínimas correspondientes a la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, así como los Reales Decretos 1834/2008, de 8 de noviembre, y 860/2010, de 2 de julio, afectados por estas modificaciones. 22 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT interests, concerns and strengths and how teachers must adapt their methodology, classroom management and teaching skills, depending on the class and the group, in order to get the best of their students out. Since my practice tutor wanted us to know and handle all the possible situations a teacher can face during a lesson, she decided to give us the chance to teach in all the groups, just having less freedom of choice in the second year of Bachillerato group –due to the requirements and pressure of the final university access exam. After having worked with the different groups of Bachillerato, their general levels, characteristics and individual composition were highly similar and no relevant problems were found during the lessons. The general level of the groups can be considered as ‘good’ with some positive and negative exceptions. However, maybe due to their maturity or other factors previously mentioned and related to the idiosyncrasy of the School of Arts, the students who showed low level were highly participative and their motivation compensated, in a way, their lack of fluency or knowledge. The most problematic point was the large number of students per class (higher than in a standard secondary school because the law allows it in Schools of Arts) so it was no strange to find classrooms crowded by 32 or 35 students. However, the good behavior of the groups helped to achieve a positive class dynamics, dissolving all the expected problems related to class overcrowding. Therefore, I decided to carry out the research in the three groups of Bachillerato, since, in this way, I would be able to make a comparison among the results of the different groups. In addition, the Graphic Design group was not so homogeneous since it was formed by 27 students with different features and language level. Some students had their secondary school years quite fresh, and therefore their English knowledge, while some others, due to their age, had forgotten many concepts, vocabulary items and skills related with the English language (especially listening and speaking). 29 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT ____________________________________________________________ METHODOLOGY The groups involved in the carrying out of this research project belonged to 1º de Bachillerato. After having consulted the tutor teacher about the groups’ features and peculiarities, she stated that, after being her English teacher for, at least, two years, their general levels, characteristics and individual compositions were highly similar and there existed no relevant differences. Consequently, the project could be carried out with no concerns about possible divergences in the final results due to level differences among the groups. The research project was carried out by teaching the same vocabulary items – false friends- to these three different 1º Bachillerato groups but using different approaches depending on the group: in the two first groups, 1ºB and 1ºF, the explanation was based on a more visual approach, using Information and Communication Technology resources while in the other one, 1º D, the vocabulary items were explained following a more traditional approach and with no visual elements involved. Finally, students were able to show, in the following session, their knowledge about the explained items answering a oneminute paper which contains a series of questions related to the false friends (See Appendix II). This last part of the activity was not performed after the explanation of the items in order to, not only check their knowledge on the topic presented but also determine if they were able to remember the new contents; this is to say, to check if the language acquisition remained. The explanation of the vocabulary items using ICT resources is performed by the use of Power Point Presentations. The different false friends are explained by the teacher, who interacts with the students, asking them questions and letting them some time to think about them, using the Power Point Presentation as visual support for the explanation. This visual support can be, depending on the item, a simple written definition of the false friend, the definition and a photo which illustrates the meaning of the item or, finally, a written definition, an illustrative photo and a clip of video, especially intended to clarify the meaning and set a real context for the vocabulary item. These three explanation categories will be a key element for the performance of this research project, since the results obtained from the questions about the items 30 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT explained following each different category will be analyzed in order to determine the percentage of right answers and if there exists any relation to the method used. In this way, according to their explanation category, the vocabulary items chosen for this research are: ■ Written definition: By heart, constipated and remove. ■ Written definition and illustrative photo: Diversion, intoxicated, success, large, suburbs, garrulous and library. ■ Written definition, illustrative photo and clip of video: Insane, billion and preservatives. There were no specific criteria used for including this set of false friends and not a different one in the research. The election was made after asking the tutor teacher about which false friends her students, in the different groups, should or might know. From a large list of words, we chose those ones which were considered to be more interesting, appealing, and new –but not completely unknownfor the students. The categories whose elements are explained by using Power Point slides which integrate photo and video are the most interesting for the development of this research project, since they symbolize the qualitative difference of this ICT-based method from a more traditional one. Regarding the ‘video category’, some differentiating details can be appreciated in the 3 Power Point slides. In this way, the item ‘insane’ was explained using two short clips, the item ‘billion’ was explained using a longer one and the item ‘preservative’ was introduced using a short clip, with no subtitles (the other videos do have subtitles). The main aim was to establish if features such as the length of the video or the repetition would have any relevant effect or influence on the final results. The photos used in the slides can be found in the Appendix while the clips of videos employed for the explanation are the following: 31 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT ■ The video used for explaining ‘preservative’ can be found in [https://vimeo.com/43454227] and it is a ‘Minute Maid’ advertisement. ■ The video used for enhancing the explanation of the item ‘billion’ can be found in [https://vimeo.com/43454229] and it is a clip extracted from the TV series ‘The Simpsons’ (Season 9, Episode 20”The Trouble with Trillions”). ■ The videos used in the explanation of ‘insane’ can be found in [https://vimeo.com/43454228] and [https://vimeo.com/43454226] and were also selected from the TV series ‘The Simpsons’(Season 3, Episode 1”Stark Raving Dad”). The one-minute paper was designed to let the students show their knowledge about the topic. Again, the tutor teacher was asked in order to prepare a complete and balanced set of exercises which could test vocabulary acquisition and if students were able to use them with certain degree of autonomy and fluency. The first exercise asked the students to translate five different false friends in order to check if they knew their meaning while the second one was designed to check if students were aware of the translation and general meaning of four false friends. Finally, the third exercise asked the students to translate three sentences containing false friends in them. During the performance of the explanatory activity in the different groups no significant incidents took place. In fact, the students’ behavior during the explanatory session was highly positive and they show interest for the new contents. In 1ºB and 1ºF, the groups where ICT resources were used, students paid attention during the whole activity and they were especially attentive when the clips of video were shown. In 1ºD the general and individual attitude was also positive, but maybe their attention was not as high as in the others groups, since the explanation, did not represent any significant difference from their daily routine. Finally, when the students filled in the ‘one-minute paper’ they perform the task in a positive and efficient way. They were given ten minutes to answer all the questions about false friends and almost all the students finished their task before the established time. 32 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT _______________________________________________ ONE-MINUTE PAPER RESULTS 1º BACHILLERATO B ____________________________________________________ ■ Right answers classified according to their explanation categories: PHOTO + VIDEO PHOTO TEXT RIGHT ANSWERS 62/75 82% 114/150 76% 26/75 34% [Table 01] [Graphic 01] ■ Students with all the questions in a category answered correctly: PHOTO + VIDEO PHOTO TEXT STUDENTS 12 8 2 [Table 02] [Graphic 02] 0 20 40 60 80 100 Photo + Video Photo Text PERCENTAGE OF RIGHT ANSWERS EXPLANATION METHOD 0 5 10 15 20 25 Photo + Video Photo Text NUMBER OF STUDENTS EXPLANATION METHOD 33 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT ■ Students with no questions in a category answered correctly: PHOTO + VIDEO PHOTO TEXT STUDENTS 0 0 9 [Table 03] [Table 03] ■ Wrong answers: FALSE FRIEND WRONG ANSWERS CATEGORY CONSTIPATED 20 TEXT REMOVE 16 TEXT BY HEART 13 TEXT BILLION 12 PHOTO + VIDEO INTOXICATED 12 PHOTO GARRULOUS 8 PHOTO SUBURBS 6 PHOTO SUCCESS 5 PHOTO LARGE 3 PHOTO LIBRARY 2 PHOTO PRESERVATIVES 1 PHOTO + VIDEO INSANE 0 PHOTO + VIDEO [Table 04] 0 5 10 15 20 25 Photo + Video Photo Text NUMBER OF STUDENTS EXPLANATION METHOD 34 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT ■ Comments: Table 1 shows the big differences among the three categories, especially between the items explained using videos and the items explained using text (48%). Students have great percentages in the visual categories -‘photo and video’ and ‘photo’- obtaining 82% and 76% respectively while the ‘text’ items represent the worst category with 34% of right answers. Maybe the most outstanding data in Table 2 is that almost the half of the students (12 out of 25) had no errors in the 3 questions related to the items explained by using photos and videos.. In this same way, the items explained by using photos also had positive results since 8 students answered correctly the 3 questions. Another remarkable and interesting fact is that no student answered wrongly to the question containing the item ‘insane’ (the item in whose explanation two different videos were used). It is also remarkable the fact that the two students who answered in a right way the three questions whose items were explained by using written text also answered correctly all the vocabulary items in the one-minute paper sheet. In Table 3, the difference among categories seems to be quite clear again since no students answered in a wrong way the three items in the questions related to the false friends explained by using images (both photo and video) while 9 of them answered wrongly the three items. Regarding mistakes, the most problematic word for the students was ‘constipated’, with 20 of them answering its question wrongly or leaving the gap with no answer, followed by ‘billion’ (12 students answered wrongly this question). Many students misunderstood their explanations since for ‘constipated’ they wrote definitions such as ‘diarrea’ or ‘gastrointeritis’ –just the opposite- or ‘borracho’ – they might have mixed the item with ‘intoxicated’ since both of them are -ed adjectives. However, it can be observed how the items explained by using just a written explanation appear in the ‘top 3’. The distribution of the results in the table shows in a very clear way how the three categories occupy different positions: the top belongs to the text category, the middle to ‘photo’ and the bottom to ‘photo and video’. The item ‘billion’ represents the exception to this apparently hierarchical distribution of the results. 35 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT 1º BACHILLERATO F ____________________________________________________ ■ Right answers classified according to their explanation categories: PHOTO + VIDEO PHOTO TEXT RIGHT ANSWERS 50/63 79% 91/126 72% 19/63 30% [Table 05] [Graphic 04] ■ Students with all the questions in a category answered correctly: PHOTO + VIDEO PHOTO TEXT STUDENTS 9 4 0 [Table 06] [Graphic 05] 0 20 40 60 80 100 Photo + Video Photo Text PERCENTAGE OF RIGHT ANSWERS EXPLANATION METHOD 0 5 10 15 20 25 Photo + Video Photo Text NUMBER OF STUDENTS EXPLANATION METHOD 36 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT ■ Students with no questions in a category answered correctly: PHOTO + VIDEO PHOTO TEXT STUDENTS 0 0 11 [Table 07] [Graphic 06] ■ Wrong answers: FALSE FRIEND WRONG ANSWERS CATEGORY REMOVE 18 TEXT BY HEART 15 TEXT CONSTIPATED 11 TEXT BILLION 11 PHOTO + VIDEO INTOXICATED 10 PHOTO GARRULOUS 6 PHOTO SUCCESS 6 PHOTO SUBURBS 5 PHOTO LARGE 4 PHOTO LIBRARY 4 PHOTO INSANE 1 PHOTO + VIDEO PRESERVATIVES 1 PHOTO + VIDEO [Table 08] 0 5 10 15 20 25 Photo + Video Photo Text NUMBER OF STUDENTS EXPLANATION METHOD 37 ROBERTO JUAN GIMENO PÉREZ INNOVATION PROJECT ■ Comments: Although this group results have been, in general terms, not as good as the results obtained in 1ºB the percentage of right answers can be still considered as really good. As we it can be observed in Table 5, there exists a substantial difference among categories, with a big margin again between the items explained using videos and the items explained using text (39%). Again, as it happened with 1ºB, ‘photo and video’ is the best category (76% of right answers), followed by ‘photo’ (72%) and ‘text’ (30%). In this group, 9 students answered correctly all the questions related to the category ‘photo and video’, while 9 of them did the same with the items belonging to ‘photo’ and no students answered correctly all the questions related to the category ‘text’. This data seems to confirm what the first analyzed data seemed to suggest about the highly positive results of the visual categories. Once more, as in 1ºB, students obtained a great percentage of right answers with the item ‘insane’, in whose explanation two videos were used, being answered wrongly by only one student (in 1ºB all the students answered in a right way) As it could be observed in Table 3, Table 5 shows how the difference among categories is quite clear again since no students answered in a wrong way the three items in the questions related to the false friends explained by using images (both photo and video) while 11 of them (more than in the first group) answered wrongly the three items. Analyzing mistakes, students seem to have certain problems differencing the items ‘constipated’ and ‘intoxicated’. Maybe the lack of visual support when explaining ‘constipated’ or the slight similarity between them (both are adjectives, with negative connotations and ending in –ed) might be the origin of these mistakes. Again, the distribution of the most problematic words follows almost the same pattern explained in 1ºB, with some changes between words but with the category ‘text’ occupying the top position, the category ‘photo’ in the middle and the items related to the category ‘photo and video’ at the bottom. Once more, the item ‘billion’ (explained using photo and video) is the exception to this distribution, being placed in fourth place, between the items which belong to ‘text’ and the false friends related to the category ‘photo’. 38 45 46 47 48 49 50 False Friends NAME _________________________________________________ GROUP _____________ ■ Translate the following words: □ Suburbs → □ Insane → □ Preservatives → □ Constipated → □ Billion → ■ Write ‘TRUE’ or ‘FALSE’: □ You can buy a book in a library. □ Success is something negative. □ If you drink too much you can get intoxicated. □ A garrulous can be found only in the villages. ■ Translate the following sentences: □ Me aprendí el examen de memoria. □ Mi tío está quitando un cuadro de la cocina. □ Necesito una camiseta grande y unos pantalones largos. ■ Did you know any of these ‘false friends’ before the lesson? Which ones? 51 False Friends NAME _________________________________________________ GROUP _____________ ■ Translate the following words: □ Suburbs → □ Insane → □ Preservatives → □ Constipated → □ Billion → ■ Write ‘TRUE’ or ‘FALSE’: □ You can buy a book in a library. □ Success is something negative. □ If you drink too much you can get intoxicated. □ A garrulous can be found only in the villages. ■ Translate the following sentences: □ Me aprendí el examen de memoria. □ Mi tío está quitando un cuadro de la cocina. □ Necesito una camiseta grande y unos pantalones largos. ■ Did you know any of these ‘false friends’ before the lesson? Which ones? 52 53 ______________________________________________________________________ INDEX CONTEXTUALIZATION Pag. 01 JUSTIFICATION Pag. 03 ORGANIZATION Pag. 04 CONTRIBUTION TO THE KEY COMPETENCES Pag. 06 CONTENTS Pag. 07 METHODOLOGY Pag. 09 EVALUATION CRITERIA Pag. 10 LESSON PLANS Pag. 13 ■ Session 01 Pag. 13 ■ Session 02 Pag. 14 ■ Session 03 Pag. 16 ■ Session 04 Pag. 19 ■ Session 05 Pag. 20 ■ Session 06 Pag. 22 CONCLUSIONS Pag. 26 APPENDIX Pag. 27 ■ PPT # 01-02 Pag. 27 ■ PPT # 03 Pag. 38 ■ PPT # 04 Pag. 46 ■ PPT # 05 Pag. 48 ■ SHEET # 01 Pag. 55 ■ SHEET # 02 Pag. 57 ■ SHEET # 03 Pag. 59 ■ ONE-MINUTE PAPER # 01 Pag. 61 ■ ONE-MINUTE PAPER # 02 Pag. 62 ■ EXAM Pag. 63 54 CONTENTS _______________________________________________________________ Since this learning unit of work is designed for first year of Bachillerato, the common contents of this education stage are the general frame which determines the particular contents of the course. In this way, as stated in the Order of the 1st of July 2008, foreign languages teaching in Bachillerato stage has as main objective the development of the following skills: ■Expressing and interacting orally, in an efficient and spontaneous way, with correctness, property, autonomy and creativity in different communicative situations, using adequate strategies. ■Understanding oral text, of different topics and genres, emitted by other speaker or by the media. ■Expressing written ideas in a clear and well-structured way, with the appropriate style for the receptor and the communicative purpose. ■Understanding and interpreting written texts, from different topics and genres and with different communicate purposes. ■Reading with autonomy texts with different purposes and adequate to their interests and needs, regarding reading as a source of information, joy and leisure. ■Using the foreign language with autonomy, progressing in their learning process by means of reflecting on their use in communication, acquisition and development of different learning strategies, using all the available resources, including Information and Communication Technology tools. ■Getting familiar with the essential aspects of the sociocultural environment of the foreign language in order to facilitate a better comprehension and interpretation of those cultures and a better communication with all their speakers. ■Considering the foreign language as a way to reach other knowledge and culture, appreciating its importance as a tool for international communication and understanding in a multicultural world. ■Developing learning autonomy by means of an active participation in the planning, evaluation and control of the process, supporting their decisions and accepting the inherent responsibilities, in order to keep progressing in the language acquisition, applying the same methodology to other languages or knowledge. 61 This learning unit of work will cover the following contents: ■Conditional sentences: zero, first, second and third conditionals. ■Modal verbs in conditional sentences. ■Connectors in conditional sentences: whether, unless, providing that, provided that, as long as, so long as. ■Vocabulary items related to education: verbs, people and places. ■Educative stages in United Kingdom. ■Vocabulary items related to education: differences between EEUU and UK. ■Educative stages in United Kingdom. ■Features of discussion essays. ■Paragraph distribution in discussion essays. ■Vocabulary and connectors often used in discussion essays. ■Features of oral discussions. ■Speech techniques used in oral discussions. ■Vocabulary and connectors often used in oral discussions. ■Features of false friends or cognates. ■Vocabulary items related to education: false friends. 62 METHODOLOGY _________________________________________________________ This learning unit of work is designed to be implemented following some important methodological guidelines which concord with the idiosyncrasy of the learning unit of work and the school placement where it was put into practice. Some of these methodological principles are: ■ Use of L2 in the classroom Teacher and students will use English whenever it is possible, just using their L1 for unavoidable clarifications or when a translation is employed as a unique method for students’ comprehension. ■ Use of real materials During the sessions, students will be exposed to clips of series, films, etc. in order to show them the unit contents in real context and familiarize them with English spoken materials and English culture. ■ Use of ICT As I have mentioned before, many students of the School of Arts of Zaragoza possessed some stunning and remarkable artistic skills, showing certain predisposition to work with visual elements, seeming to have a gift for this kind of approach. In this way, the learning unit of work gives high importance to new technologies and visual elements as useful tools to improve students’ performance in L2 acquisition. As it will be observed, the use of Power Point Presentations and the integration of videos and listening material are a constant practice in the implementation of the learning unit. ■ Cooperative learning The purpose is to encourage teamwork, as an enriching and inspiring experience which teach the students the importance to cooperate and collaborate in order to achieve general and individual goals. ■ Combination of the four basic skills (reading, listening, writing and speaking) In order to achieve an integrated communicative competence, inclusive and balanced, which allows the students to express their ideas with autonomy and correctness. ■ Build new knowledge from the students’ previous one. Knowledge scaffolding is a common practice in the session designed for this learning unit. In this way, it is crucial to give the students the tools to build knowledge and reinforce the previous one, letting them construct progressively new knowledge structures by their own. 63 EVALUATION CRITERIA ____________________________________________________ Students will be evaluated about their writing, reading, listening and speaking skills according to the following criteria: □ Exam → 40% □ Discussion essay → 15% □ Oral discussion → 20% □ One minute paper: False friends → 05% □ One minute paper: Reading → 05% □ Homework (Sheet #3) → 05% □ Behaviour, attendance, etc. → 10% ■ Exam (see Appendix): It represents the 40% of the final mark. It is composed by a short text ‘Dare to be different’ 1 , some activities designed to check both reading comprehension and grammar and some others intended to check their vocabulary knowledge. Mistakes can be divided into important ones (e.g. not knowing the structure of a conditional sentence, use an inappropriate type of conditional, get some vocabulary items mixed, etc.) and those ones with no 1 English in Context 2, Student’s Book, by Jayne Wildman and Sylvia Wheeldon. Oxford University Press 2006 EVALUATION CRITERIA Exam Discussion essay Oral discussion False friends Reading Behavior, attitude, etc. Sheet # 3 64 great importance (forgetting a letter, misspelling, lack of originality in some answers, etc.). The exam structure and design is: □ Activity #1 (0,5 points): Find and underline three conditional sentences in the text. □ Activity #2 (1 point): Complete the conditional sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Four sentences, 0,25 points each one. □ Activity #3 (2,5 points): Rephrase the following sentences. Five sentences, 0,50 points each one. □ Activity #4 (3,5 points): Translate the following sentences. Seven sentences, 0,50 points each one. □ Activity #5 (1 point): Write ‘true’ or ‘false’. Four definitions, 0,25 points each one. □ Activity #6 (1,5 points): Use the back of the sheet to write a ‘conditional sequence’ starting with ‘If I had a lot of money’ and ending with ‘I would travel to Mars’. Originality is considered a positive element. ■ Discussion essay: It represents the 15% of the final mark. The piece of writing will be evaluated following a rubric (RUBRIC #X). Good organization of the ideas, originality and correct use of vocabulary are considered positive points. ■ Oral discussion: It represents the 20% of the final mark. The students’ performance in the oral discussion is evaluated using a rubric (RUBRIC #X). Since every student is expected to participate, the carrying out of the activity has an individual component and a group one, which is evaluated according to the group general performance. ■ One minute paper –Reading: It represents the 5% of the final mark. It is designed to be completed after session #3 and it will be used as an evaluation tool in order to check students’ reading comprehension and grammar acquisition. It is divided into: □ Activity #1 (1,5 points): Translate the following words. Six vocabulary items, 0,25 each one. □ Activity #2 (2,5 points): Write ‘true’ or ‘false’. Five sentences, 0,50 points each one. □ Activity #3 (6 points): Translate the following sentences. Five sentences, 1,50 points each one. ■ One minute paper –False friends: It represents the 5% of the final mark. It is designed to be completed after session #6 and it will be used as an evaluation 65 tool in order to check the students’ acquired knowledge about the information just taught in the lesson (false friends). It is divided in four parts: □ Activity #1 (1,5 points): Translate the following words. Six vocabulary items, 0,25 each one. □ Activity #2 (2,5 points): Write ‘true’ or ‘false’. Five sentences, 0,50 points each one. □ Activity #3 (6 points): Translate the following sentences. Five sentences, 1,50 points each one. □ Activity #4 : Did you know any of these false friends before the lesson? Which ones? To check students’ previous knowledge. ■ Homework (Sheet #3): It represents the 5% of the final mark. It is designed with the same structure as the final exam and as a previous activity in order to prepare the students for the exam. It is composed by a short text ‘Getting an Education –the Hard Way’ 2 , some activities designed to check both reading comprehension and grammar and some others intended to check their vocabulary knowledge. Its structure and design is: □ Activity #1 (3 points): Answer the questions in your own words. Four sentences, 0,75 points each one. □ Activity #2 (1,5 points): Find in the text three conditional sentences and write them in the right places. □ Activity #3 (3 points): Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Four sentences, 0,75 points each one. □ Activity #4 (2,5 points): Rephrase the following sentences. Seven sentences, 0,50 points each one. ■ Behaviour, attendance, etc. It represents the 5% of the final mark. Since the lesson plan is divided into 6 sessions of work the non-attendance to one of them or a bad behavior, low interest, etc. in a session is penalized with 1,5 points. 2 English in Context 2, Workbook, by Jayne Wildman and Sylvia Wheeldon. Oxford University Press 2006 66 LESSON PLANS _____________________________________________________________ The learning unit of work will be implemented in 6 sessions and has been planned and designed in order to cover the basic skills and subskills involved in language acquisition and production. The sessions are organized in the following way: ________________________________________________________________ SESSION #01 CONTENTS ■Conditional sentences: zero, first, second and third conditionals. ■Modal verbs in conditional sentences. LEARNING GOALS At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: ■Know and identify the main features of conditional sentences and their structure and elements. ■Understand and distinguish the different types of conditional sentences (Zero, 1st, 2nd and 3rd), their standard structure and use. ■Comprehend the insertion of modal verbs in conditional sentences with no important change in the general meaning. EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: ■Know and apply correctly the different grammar aspects needed to express conditional situations. ■Complete conditional sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. ■Understand, write and rewrite different types of conditional sentences (Zero, 1st, 2nd and 3rd), using their standard structure. ■Insert modal verbs in conditional sentences without changing their general meaning. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT ■ GRAMMAR: Conditional sentences (I) □ Checking students’ previous knowledge. [5’] □ Structure and elements. [5’] 67 □ Types (general structure and use). [10’] □ Conditionals and modal verbs. [5’] ○ In order to show the students that sometimes standard ‘will’ and ‘would’ can be replaced by a modal verb with no important change in meaning. □ Exercises: SHEET #1 [25’] ○ Zero, 1st, 2nd and 3rd conditional sentences exercises. ■ HOMEWORK: The students must finish SHEET #1 at home. ASSESMENT AND FEEDBACK/EVALUATION OF TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS Teaching process will be evaluated through observation of the class dynamics and students’ performance. Students can ask for clarification at any time and their questions and doubts will be taken into account for future implementations. Students’ lack of attention, demotivation or low understanding of the contents will also be considered in order to enhance upcoming activities. In addition, EPOSTL guide will be followed to reflect on how to maintain, develop or improve certain teaching skills. Students’ performance will be analyzed by means of observation. The teacher will witness and take notes about how they complete the activities and perform their individual tasks. Their interest and participation in the activities will be considered as positive elements. ________________________________________________________________ SESSION #02 CONTENTS ■Conditional sentences: zero, first, second and third conditionals. ■Connectors in conditional sentences: whether, unless, providing that, provided that, as long as, so long as. LEARNING GOALS At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: ■Know and use properly the different connectors used when dealing with conditional sentences. ■Understand and produce oral messages using conditional structures. EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: 68 ■Know and apply correctly the different grammar aspects needed to express conditional situations. ■Express and understand conditional sequences. ■Complete conditional sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets. ■Complete conditional sentences using their ideas. ■Write new sentences with the same meaning using unless. ■Choose the correct conditional connector depending on the meaning of the sentence. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT ■ WARM-UP ACTIVITY: Conditional sequence. [25’] □ The teacher starts saying a conditional sentence (beginning with 1st conditional type). A student must create another conditional sentence using as ‘if-clause’ of this new conditional sentence the ‘main clause’ of the previous one and so on with every student. The procedure will be repeated in the same way with 2nd and 3rd conditional sentences. □ In order to review 1st, 2nd and 3rd conditional in a more appealing and relaxed way. ■ Homework correction. [10’] □ Students read aloud the sentences. A Power Point Presentation will be projected in order to make them easier and faster the correction when necessary. ■ GRAMMAR: Conditional sentences (II) [10’] □ Grammar explanation of other connectors used instead of standard ‘if’ or ‘whether’ in conditional sentences: Unless, providing that, provided that, as long as, so long as. □ Exercises: SHEET #2 [5’] ○ Exercises related to the new connectors learnt in the session. Also some Zero, 1st, 2nd and 3rd conditional sentences exercises in order to review their structures and uses. ■ HOMEWORK: The students must finish SHEET #2 at home. 69 ASSESMENT AND FEEDBACK/EVALUATION OF TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS Teaching process will be evaluated through observation of the class dynamics and students’ performance. Students can ask for clarification at any time and their questions and doubts will be taken into account for future implementations. Students’ lack of attention, demotivation or low understanding of the contents will also be considered in order to enhance upcoming activities. In addition, EPOSTL guide will be followed to reflect on how to maintain, develop or improve certain teaching skills. Students’ performance will be analyzed by means of observation. The teacher will witness and take notes about how they complete the activities and perform their individual tasks. Their interest and participation in the activities will be considered as positive elements. Homework will be considered as a tool to evaluate their participation and attitude, not only by checking if it has been done or the answers are correct but also giving the students the chance to correct the exercises aloud, involving themselves in the class dynamics. ________________________________________________________________ SESSION #03 CONTENTS ■Vocabulary items related to education: verbs, people and places. ■Educative stages in United Kingdom. ■Vocabulary items related to education: Differences between EEUU and UK. LEARNING GOALS At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: ■Know, identify and use with certain degree of autonomy vocabulary items related to education. ■Understand and be familiar with the structure, organization and features of the British education system. ■Be aware of some important differences related to education between British English and American English. ■Recognize and understand general and specific information from a clip of video. ■Comprehend and obtain general and specific ideas from a written text. 70 LEARNING GOALS At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: ■Understand and know the main features of the false friends. ■Know, identify and use with certain degree of autonomy some false friends, especially those ones related to education. ■Comprehend and obtain general and specific information from a written text, inferring from the context the meaning of certain words. ■Reinforce and work in grammar points which could be problematic (third conditional). ■Identify and understand general and specific information from a clip of video. ■Work in pairs, writing a series of connected events using the reviewed grammar point. EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this lesson, students will be able to: ■Understand and know the main features of the false friends. ■Read and understand two texts containing false friends related to education and know their meaning and use. ■View and understand a Power Point Presentation related to false friends. ■Remember the features, structure and use of third conditional sentences. ■Understand the general meaning of a clip from the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and identify the conditional structures which appear in it. ■Answer some questions about the general meaning of the clip. ■Work in pairs, writing a series of connected events (real or invented) using third conditional sentences DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES TO BE CARRIED OUT ■ VOCABULARY: False friends. [5’] □ Checking their previous knowledge and brief explanation. ■ READING: My dream course [5’] 77 □ Students must read the text ‘My dream course’ 4 , and do an exercise intended to check their knowledge about false friends (especially those related to education). ■ VOCABULARY: False friends. [15’] □ Students are taught, using a Power Point Presentation, a series of false friends. □ Students watch three short clips from the series ‘The Simpsons’ (Season 3, Episode 1”Stark Raving Dad” and Season 9, Episode 20”The Trouble with Trillions”) and a Minute Maid ad. Watching these clips can be an interesting way to show the students some real material (an American TV series and a real ad) and, consequently, display in a more eye-catching and funny way some vocabulary items just seen in a real context. ■ READING: Difficult homework [5’] □ Students must read the text ‘Difficult homework’ 5 , and do an exercise intended to check their knowledge about false friends (especially those related to education). ■ GRAMMAR: Review of third conditional [10’] □ Students are asked how much they remember about 3rd conditional structure and use. The purpose is to review a problematic grammar point and reinforce students’ knowledge and familiarity with it. □ Students are shown a scene from the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008) and they must try to identify the 3rd conditional sentences. The scene perfectly fits with the activity purpose since contains great examples of 3rd conditional sentences. In addition, watching this clip can be an interesting way to show the students some real material (an American movie) and, consequently, display in a real context the grammar point reviewed. □ Students have to complete some exercises intended to check their comprehension of the scene and the grammar point. ■ WRITING: A collision course [5’] □ In pairs, students must write a ‘collision course’ (a series of connected events similar to the one which appears in the video) using third conditional sentences. The piece of writing will be handed to the teacher at the end of the session. 4 New English File Intermediate, Student’s Book, by Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham-Koenig. Oxford University Press 2006 5 New English File Intermediate, Student’s Book, by Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham-Koenig. Oxford University Press 2006 78 ■ ONE-MINUTE PAPER: [5’] □ Students must do some false friends exercises based on the information just learnt during the session. ASSESMENT AND FEEDBACK/EVALUATION OF TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS Teaching process will be evaluated through observation of the class dynamics and students’ performance. Students can ask for clarification at any time and their questions and doubts will be taken into account for future implementations. Students’ lack of attention, demotivation or low understanding of the contents will also be considered in order to enhance upcoming activities. In addition, EPOSTL guide will be followed to reflect on how to maintain, develop or improve certain teaching skills. Students’ performance will be analyzed by means of observation. The teacher will witness and take notes about how they complete the activities and perform their individual tasks. Their interest and participation in the activities will be considered as positive elements. In this particular session, students have to give the teacher their piece of writing. Its originality and correction will be taken into account, as well as the students’ ability to work in pairs, measured through observation. It will be corrected following a rubric (RUBRIC #X) and feedback will be given to students. The one-minute paper will be used as an evaluation tool in order to check the students’ acquired knowledge about the information just taught in the lesson (false friends). 79 CONCLUSIONS ____________________________________________________________ After implementing this learning unit of work and the whole experience related to my practice period in the School of Arts of Zaragoza, certain ideas seem to be enough clear and relevant to me for stating them as conclusions or significant personal thoughts developed. First of all, I consider this teaching experience as something really positive, useful and challenging, being possibly the most stimulating activity performed during this academic year. The implementation of a whole learning unit of work in a real context, facing the actual challenges which teachers have to overcome during their teaching routine is a very inspiring and interesting experience, really useful for my self-development as a future teacher. Secondly, I realized that, apart from language skills, motivation is a crucial and essential element involved in L2 acquisition and one of most important teachers’ tasks is to motivate the students, making explanations appealing enough to attract their attention. This means, from my point of view, in William Butler Yeats’ words: “Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire”. In addition, one of the most important things I have learnt during this 6-week period and the design, elaboration and implementation of this learning unit of work is that organization and timing are really important factors, but at the same time very complicated to achieve for successful teaching and learning process. From my personal point of view, I consider very important to be able to organize properly all the sessions of a learning unit of work, dividing and sequencing correctly the contents of the unit in order to obtain a complete and balanced unit, in which every linguistic skill and subskill is practiced and students can feel comfortable using English. In this way, as I previously mentioned, the peculiar features of the students of the School of Arts made me use some resources especially adapted to attract their attention, with, from my point of view, considerable success. Consequently, I got confirmed my expectations of how important and necessary the adaptation of methodology and contents to students’ features and interests is. In conclusion, the design, planning and implementation of this learning unit of work has made me aware of the huge complexity and effort involved in the teaching process but, at the same time, showed me how encouraging and motivating this process can be and how rewarding a positive students’ outcome can be. 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 SHEET #1 GRAMMAR | CONDITIONAL SENTENCES ■ Karen Roberts is thinking about what will happen if she stops smoking. Use the notes to make sentences about what will happen to Karen: □ if/stop smoking/eat more. If __________________________________. □ if/eat more/get fat. If __________________________________. □ if/get fat/need bigger clothes. If __________________________________. □ if/need bigger clothes/look awful. If __________________________________. □ if /look awful/feel depressed. If __________________________________. □ if/feel depressed/start smoking. If __________________________________. ■ Complete the first conditional sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets: □ If you ______________ (not/leave) immediately ______________ (be) late. □ If your family ______________ (move) to Madrid, which school ______________ (you/go) to? □ ______________ (go) home if you ______________ (feel) ill? □ ______________ (can) I smoke in here if I ______________ (open) the window? □ If people ______________ (not/stop) using their cars so much, the world ______________ (run out) of oil. ■ Anita Bowers likes to day-dream. She is always imagining different projects and plans. Look at the notes and make sentences about what her life would be like: □ if/sell my house/buy a farm. If __________________________________. □ if/buy a farm/keep cows. If __________________________________. □ if/keep cows/have lots of milk. If __________________________________. □ if/have lots of milk/make good cheese. If __________________________________. □ if /make good cheese/win prizes. If __________________________________. □ if/win prizes/be on TV. If __________________________________. ■ Complete the second conditional sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets: □ My brother ______________ (get) into the team if he ______________ (train) harder. □ If I ______________ (have to) go to the hospital, I ______________ (not/go) to that one. □ Your car ______________ (be) a lot safer if you ______________ (buy) some new tyres. □ If I ______________ (not/eat) so much ______________ I (feel) much fitter. □ What ______________ (you/buy) if you ______________ (win) the lottery this weekend? 109 SHEET #1 GRAMMAR | CONDITIONAL SENTENCES ■ Match the following sentences: 1 If she had more time 2 If she has the new videogame 3 If I were rich 4 He would have phoned the police 5 If he had a motorbike 6 If she had watched the tennis match 7 If I find the letter A he’d ride it to school B she’ll let you play C I’d buy a sports car D she would have known the result E I’ll tell you F she’d learn another language G if he’d seen the robbery ■ Read the text. Then complete the sentences in the first, second or third conditional: □ If Andrew’s parents ___________________ (not/buy) him the computer, he wouldn’t have shopped on the Internet. □ Andrew would make more friends if he __________________ (spend) less time on the Internet. □ If his parents __________________ (find out) earlier, Andrew would have spent less money. □ If Andrew’s mother doesn’t pay, she __________________ (have to) go to prison. □ Andrew ____________________ (not/get) into trouble if he hadn’t used his parents password. □ If I _______________ (be) Andrew’s mother, I’d sell his computer. □ If teenagers _________________________ a computer (have) they’ll want to surf the Internet. ■ Rewrite the sentences in the first, second or third conditional: □ He can’t find his wallet so he’s angry. If he could _____________________________________________________________________ . □ He may be late, but he can meet us at the Blue Note Café. If he’s _________________________________________________________________________ . □ An old woman saw him burgle the house. That’s why he’s in prison. If she __________________________________________________________________________ . □ He wants to be rich and famous. Then he’ll be happy. If he ___________________________________________________________________________ . Andrew Chance’s mother was horrified when she received her son’s internet shopping bill. Thirteen-year old Andrew had spent nearly 1.000.000€ on eMall, an American internet shopping site. Andrew used his parents’ password to get into the site. He then bought a Rolls Royce, a Van Gogh painting and an antique bed. ‘I’m in big trouble’, the worried teenager said yesterday 110 SHEET #2 REVIEW | CONDITIONAL SENTENCES ■ Complete the sentences with your ideas using first and second conditionals. □ My parents would be angry if _____________________________________________________ . □ If I go out this weekend, __________________________________________________________ . □ I wouldn't go out with someone if they ______________________________________________. □ If I have a party for my eighteenth birthday __________________________________________ . □ I'll be happy if __________________________________________________________________ . ■ Put the verbs into the correct form: □ It's good that Ann reminded me about Tom's birthday. I _______________________ (forget) if she hadn’t reminded me. □ I _______________ (give) you a cigarette if I had one but I'm afraid I haven't. □ This soup would taste better if it __________________ (have) more salt in it. □ Tom got to the station in time. If he ____________________ (miss) the train, he would have been late. □ I wouldn't mind living in England if the weather _______________________ (be) better. □ If I were you, I __________________ (not/marry) him. □ If I ______________________ (know) that you were ill last week, I'd gone to see you. ■ Rephrase the following sentences: □ She has not enough time to read your essay on poetry. If _____________________________________________________________________________ . □ She made a lot of mistakes because she didn't concentrate hard enough. If _____________________________________________________________________________ . You overslept because you went to bed so late. If _____________________________________________________________________________ . □ They broke up because she cheated on him. If _____________________________________________________________________________ . 111 SHEET #2 GRAMMAR | UNLESS/PROVIDING ■ Write a new sentence with the same meaning using unless: □ The club isn’t open to everyone. You are all allowed in only if you’re a member. _______________________________________________________________________________ . □ Don’t worry about the dog. It will attack you only if you move suddenly. _______________________________________________________________________________ . □ Today is a public holiday. The doctor will see you only if it’s an emergency. _______________________________________________________________________________ . □ You must try a bit harder or you won’t pass the exam. _______________________________________________________________________________ . □ She must apologize to me or I’ll never speak to her again. _______________________________________________________________________________ . □ You have to speak very slowly or he won’t be able to understand you. _______________________________________________________________________________ . □ Business must improve soon or the company will have to close. _______________________________________________________________________________ . ■ Choose the correct word or expression for each sentence: □ I’m playing tennis tomorrow unless/providing it rains. □ I’m playing tennis tomorrow unless/providing it doesn’t rain. □ I don’t mind if you come home late unless/as long as you come in quietly. □ I’m going now unless/provided you want me to stay. □ I don’t watch TV unless/as long as I’ve got nothing else to do. □ Children are allowed to use the swimming pool unless/providing they are with an adult. □ Unless/provided they are with an adult, children are not allowed to use the swimming pool. □ We can sit here in the corner unless/as longs you’d rather sit over there by the window. 112 SHEET #3 _____________________________________ GETTING AN EDUCATION: THE HARD WAY When you look at the children who are talking and playing outside the Midchurch School in Cape Town, South Africa, it’s hard to believe the appalling circumstances in which some of them live. For many of the 500 pupils at the school, which has the towering Table Mountain in the background, the two slices of brad they get at lunchtime is their biggest meal of the day. In addition, most of the pupils are unable to pay their school fees, which are only about €29 a year, because their parents are unemployed. Fourteen-year-old Amina Badawi, who sleeps in the street behind a petrol station with her parents, is one of the children at Midchurch School. But, today as usual, Amina, whose hair is neat, and who is smartly dressed in her school uniform, is chatting happily with her classmates. She is delighted with her school. ‘I love reading, and my favourite subject is Biology,’ she says. ‘I would spend the whole day at school if I could.’ Amina’s parents, Willard and Zahina, earn a little money by collecting old newspapers and other rubbish to sell. Mila Jacobs, the school’s head teacher, says that Amina’s parents manage to pay their daughter’s school fees despite their poverty. ‘They are very proud and don’t want help with the fees. Only if you offer them some old notebooks or pencils they will accept your help.’ Amina’s teacher, Asha Delport, is amazed because Amina’s living conditions don’t seem to affect her learning. ‘She’s one of the brightest students in the class,’ she says. And Zahina Badawi is obviously very proud of her daughter. With tears in her eyes, she says, ‘I only want the best for her. I hope that one day she can go to university to continue her education,’ she says. ‘If my parents had had an opportunity, they would have done the same.’ The story of Amina Badawi is one of many in Cape Town. But her parents are determined that their children will get an education, even if their circumstances are very difficult. So Amina will surely achieve her ambition of becoming a doctor. READING | COMPREHENSION ■ Answer the questions in your own words: □ Why do most pupils at Midchurch School do no pay for their education? □ How do Amina Badawi’s parents earn a living? □ What do Amina’s parents want to do for their daughter? □ What is Amina’s teacher opinion of her? 113 SHEET #3 GRAMMAR | CONDITIONAL SENTENCES ■ Find in the text three conditional sentences and write them in the right place: □ Describes a situation that is unreal or unlikely to happen. _____________________________________________________________________________ □ Describes a situation that is true or may become true. _____________________________________________________________________________ □ Describes a situation that is imaginary and in the past. _____________________________________________________________________________ ■ Complete the conditional sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets: □ It’s really difficult, but if Amina ______________ (go) to university, she ______________ (study) Medicine. □ If someone ______________ (offer) some help to Amina’s parents, they usually ______________ (refuse) it. □ If Amina’s mother ______________ (have) the chance when she was younger, she ______________ (study). □ If Amina ______________ (live) in better conditions, she ______________ (get) even better results. ■ Rephrase the following sentences: □ The baby didn't cry so we had a good sleep. ____________________________________________________________________________ . □ I haven't got a pen so I can't write down the address. ____________________________________________________________________________ . □ Our school hasn't got any computers because it can't afford them. ____________________________________________________________________________ . □ Green mixed with yellow is blue. (Get) ____________________________________________________________________________ . 114 ONE-MINUTE PAPER #1 NAME _________________________________________________ GROUP _____________ ■ Translate the following words: □ Headmaster → □ Pupil → □ State School → □ Revision → □ Lesson → □ Career → ■ Write ‘TRUE’ or ‘FALSE’: □ The History teacher is friendly with the students. □ French teacher used an interactive whiteboard. □ Pupils were really involved designing spreadsheets. □ Fish and chips is the most popular meal. □ Damian Whitworth got 16 out of 20 in the listening test. ■ Translate the following sentences: □ Si yo fuese tú, repasaría el examen de mañana. □ A no ser que Mary copie en el test, ella lo suspenderá. □ Si no hubiese ido a clase, el director hubiese llamado a mi casa. □ Si John tiene hijos, ellos irán a un colegio privado. 115 ONE-MINUTE PAPER #2 NAME _________________________________________________ GROUP _____________ ■ Translate the following words: □ Suburbs → □ Large → □ Attend → □ Lectures → □ Billion → □ Career → ■ Write ‘TRUE’ or ‘FALSE’: □ You can buy a book in a library. □ Insane people are in mental hospitals. □ If you drink too much you can get constipated. □ A garrulous can be found only in the villages. □ Success is something positive. ■ Translate the following sentences: □ Me aprendí el examen de memoria. □ Mi tío está quitando un cuadro de la cocina. □ Peter no suele asistir a las clases. □ Necesito una camiseta grande y unos pantalones largos. ■ Did you know any of these ‘false friends’ before the lesson? Which ones? 116 _______________________________________________________ DARE TO BE DIFFERENT Teenage years are all about daring to be different. Or are they? Whether it is the music we listen to or the films we watch, most of us want to be part of a group. Being integrated is crucial, and image is an important part of this conformity. For many teenagers, it is a question of style, but for others it is a manner of changing their appearance permanently. Becky Tyler is angry. Last summer Becky had plastic surgery on her nose. “I thought that if I changed my appearance, my life would be better”, she says. But the operation has not solved Becky’s problems. Her friends started criticizing her. “They said I was vain and arrogant”, she complains, “but I wouldn’t have had the operation if people hadn’t made fun of me.” For people like Becky, appearance is everything, and it is not surprising. Advertisements on TV, in magazines and in newspapers show us tall, thin, beautiful people. They say that if you are pretty, you will be successful and if you are successful, you will be happy. But there are many types of beauty, and sometimes it is better to stand out from the crowd as a unique individual. Real confidence comes from accepting yourself the way you are, and not by trying to look like someone else. At school, a group of students used to laugh at Rob Black. “I thought they were my friends, but they made jokes about my weight behind my back. They were cruel and hypocritical. I was really unhappy and I went on many diets.” Now he is nineteen, Rob feels differently. “They judged me by my appearance. How intolerant is that?” he says. “I’m more mature and strong now, and I don’t care what people say. I love the way I look and so does my girlfriend. When I was 16, I just wanted to be integrated. Today I have a new philosophy: believe in yourself and dare to be different!” 117 ■ Find and underline three conditional sentences in the text: ■ Complete the conditional sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets: □ According to the text, if you ______________ (accept) yourself the way you are, real confidence ______________ (come). □ If Robert Black ______________ (be) stronger in the past, he ______________ (not/suffer) so much. □ I’m quite popular, but if I ______________ (not/be) integrated, I ______________ (not/change) my style. □ If Becky ______________ (know) the consequences, she ______________ (not/have) plastic surgery on her last summer. ■ Rephrase the following sentences: □ Toby was late so he couldn’t buy a Christmas present for Mary. ________________________________________________________________________________ . □ I can’t go to the concert because I haven’t got enough money. ________________________________________________________________________________ . □ Whenever you press this button the video starts. ________________________________________________________________________________ . □ I’ll lend you my car only if you promise that you won’t drive fast. ________________________________________________________________________________ . □ My team mates are so bad that we lose all the matches we play. ________________________________________________________________________________ . 118