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Appendix 1 Learning Unit ‘World of Work’ W WO OR RL LD D O OF F W WO OR RK K ( (L Le ea ar rn ni in ng g U Un ni it t o of f W Wo or rk k f fo or r 4 4t th h y ye ea ar r o of f E ES SO O- - D Di iv ve er rs si if fi ic ca at ti io on n) ) Carolina Valero Monreal Diseño, organización y desarrollo de actividades para el aprendizaje del inglés Profesoras: Vicky Gil / Ana Artigas Mayo de 2012 1 INDEX Justification p.1 Contextualization p.2 Organization p.3 Learning Unit of Work p.4 Contribution to the key competences p.4 Objectives p.5 Contents p.6 Methodology p.7 Evaluation Criteria and Evaluation of contents and objectives p.8 Lesson plan 1 p.9 Lesson plan 2 p.10 Lesson plan 3 p.11 Lesson plan 4 p.12 Lesson plan 5 p.13 Lesson plan 6 p.14 Lesson plan 7 p.15 Appendix 1 p.16 Appendix 2 p.18 Appendix 3 p.20 Appendix 4 p.22 Appendix 5 p.24 Appendix 6 p.28 Appendix 7 p.31 Other materials p.33 Conclusion p.38 References p.40 2 1. JUSTIFICATION This unit is intended to motivate SS by getting them to speak about familiar issues, like jobs, since all of them are 18 years old and they have to decide what they want to be in a future, either they want to leave studies to work or to keep on with their studies. The unit starts with simpler input that gets more complex as the lesson goes on. This allows the teacher to go from previous knowledge to the new, making sure that all SS get involved in the activities and feel at ease. The material chosen includes oral and visual messages, which will help SS to follow the teacher by establishing connections between the foreign language and the images. Motivation is also enhanced in the final task, since a formal letter to apply for a job is something that can be very close to them; in fact some of the students are already working. As SS will have to explore, express and exchange their work with the rest of the class they will be encouraged to do their best. Furthermore, the use of the ICTs will help them become autonomous and life-long learners. 3 2. CONTEXTUALIZATION Group: diversification groupmixed abilities and backgrounds- 13 students. School: IES Pilar Lorengar, Zaragoza School context: this school is located in the neighbourhood of ‘La jota’. In this neighbourhood there are many backgrounds mixed, since it is a mixture of old residential areas, an industrial area and new housing developments. The population is originally rural although nowadays, there is also an urban side of the population due to the city´s recent expansion and development. Students’ background: this learning unit is aimed to students in the fourth year of secondary School. It is a diversification group. Students are generally 16-18 since some of them have done the same course twice throughout the secondary education. They mainly belong to low class families with social problems and with lower level of education. In this group there are 13 students, all of them are Spanish, except a Moroccan boy and 2 girls from South America (Chile, Ecuador). The group seems to be a difficult one; however, this is a hard working group. They are always willing to take part in all activities that are planned in the lessons. There are no problems of discipline at all, so everything can be carried out at ease. They help each other to achieve what is proposed. Regarding, English competence, it is a group that needs to revise some basic aspects of English, but they are always ready to learn more and more. The main goal of teacher working at this high school are to motivate students making them interest in their subjects always with an attitude of respect and towards all the people of this community. 4 3. ORGANIZATION This learning unit has been designed to be covered in 7 periods of 50 minutes each. The lessons have been mainly organised according to the four macro-skills in language communication (reading, listening, speaking and writing) although all of them are integrated in every lesson to a gerater or lesser extent. Throughout the unit there is a wide range of activities always taking into account the different students’ needs. All of them are designed to encourage students to participate during the lessons, since all of them are lead from a communicative approach. 5 4. LEARNING UNIT OF WORK 4.1 Contribution to the key competences According to the Aragonese Curriculum, the students will have to achieve the eight key competences at the end of the course in every subject they are taught. Therefore, throughout the academic year, in the subject of English we try to contribute to the acquisition of them, by making students aware of the importance of them. Throughout this unit, the students will work on the following competences: Competence in the linguistic communication: since they have to develop communicative competence in order to understand and express oneself appropriately in English. They will have to express their opinion about different jobs and about their future. ICTs and digital competence: since they will have to typewrite the formal letter and upload to the class’ blog. Social and Citizenship competence: Students are asked always to show a respectful attitude towards their partners’ and teacher’s opinion and tolerate other cultures and beliefs. Competence in learning to learn and autonomy and personal initiative: Students must reinforce the entrepreneurial spirit, developing self-confidence, a critical attitude, personal initiative and the ability to plan, make decisions and assume responsibilities. Reinforce the concept of team-work and value others’ points of view, experiences and ways of thinking. 6 4.2 Objectives Students will understand the specific oral information about jobs and review the use of comparative and superlative adjectives in English. Students will use the language and interact orally in class when talking about jobs and their future, correctly and with certain degree of autonomy using comparative and superlative adjectives and vocabulary related to jobs, showing and attitude of respect and cooperation. Students will read and understand a short story about two friends and one’s job. They will get both general and specific information and to use the reading text(s) as a source of personal enrichment, since they have a kind of hidden message at the end. Students will write sentences using the comparative and superlative forms of the adjectives and will write a formal letter to apply for a job. Students will develop autonomy in learning, to reflect on their own learning process by means of self-assessment. Students will show receptive attitude and to be self-confident in the use of foreign language during the whole class discussion. 7 4.3 Contents 1. Listening, speaking and discussing  Audio with six recordings to identify the jobs  Audio: ‘at the post office’  Act out a dialogue  Debate: based on a previous reading o Dan was wrong to charge Abby only £35 for the wheel. o It was Abby’s fault that Dan lost his job. 2. Reading and writing  Abby’s story  Sixteen and serious  A formal letter to apply for a job 3. Language in use  Grammar: comparative and superlative forms  Vocabulary: jobs Communication functions  Talk about their jobs and their future  Give opinions about different jobs  Express agreement or disagreement with their partners 4. Sociocultural and inter-cultural aspects  Reading about different jobs of different teenagers in the world. 8 4.4 Methodology Learning tasks and activities will be designed for students to learn the language (English) in authentic and meaningful contexts of use. For instance, lessons will be planned around a type of text to help students to use related language skills, grammatical structures and vocabulary appropriately in spoken and written language to suit the purpose, audience, context and culture. Learning points will be enriched through explicit instruction and related follow-up practice. Learners are the focus of the teaching learning process. Teaching will be changed according to students’ need, abilities or interests. The teacher will provide a rich environment for communication that will explicitly foster listening and speaking skills and focus on the learning on the achievement of the learning outcomes. At the same time, the teacher will actively engage pupils by encouraging participation in their learning, boosting their confidence in the use of language and promoting collaboration among learner from different socio-cultural backgrounds. The areas of language learning: the receptive skills as well as the productive skills, grammar and vocabulary will be taught in an integrated way, together with the use of different resources, to provide multiple perspectives and meaningful connections. The development of language skills and knowledge about language involves the teaching of process. The teacher will model such processes for students, while guiding them to put together their final spoken, written and multimodal products. 15 WORLD OF WORK (lesson 6) Teacher Guide Learning goals (Specify skills/information that will be learned.) At the end of this lesson students will: Be able to talk about their future choosing a job and giving their reasons Understand general and specific information about an oral text where two customers enter the post office to send some letters. Be able to write a dialogue following the script and act out in front of the class. Materials Needed  Pen  Notebook  Photocopies  Blackboard  CD player  Audio CD Other Resources  Class book Critical input (Give and/or demonstrate necessary information) The teacher will give an example telling them why he or she chose this job comparing it with other job, so they will use the vocabulary and the grammar viewed in the unit. When the students are given the script of the listening, all the expressions and vocabulary are checked to make them easier to write a similar dialogue Learning Activities (Describe the activities to reinforce learning and how they will be organized i.e whole group, pairs, CL, individual) Warm up Activity What do they want to be in a future? (5’) Listening Acitivity Pre- Listening  Look at the picture. SS suggest where they are. They give different ideas to be written on the BB (10’’) While Listening  What do the girl and boy want to do? Individually, SS have to complete a chart (10’) Post- Listening  SS must decide whether the sentences are true or not. If they are false, they will correct them as a whole class activity (10’)  Then, they are given the script and in pairs they have to write a similar dialogue to be acted out. (15’) Homework assigned Those who haven’t finished the dialogue must finish it at home. Verification (Steps to check for student understanding) The teacher will provide feedback when they choose the job and their reasons. The activities will be corrected aloud and the dialogue will be monitored by the teacher. Summary (what has been achieved and what needs to be reinforced in future lessons) During this lesson, students will have learnt what they have to say if they have to go to a post office and send a letter, buy stamps and so on. Moreover, they will have to act out in front of the class, something that it is always hard for students, since they feel embarrassed. Perhaps, the students will need more time devoted to the writing, because most of them will have to finish it at home. Additional Notes 16 WORLD OF WORK (lesson 7) Teacher Guide Learning goals (Specify skills/information that will be learned.) At the end of this lesson students will: Know the structure of a formal letter Be able to write a formal letter to apply for a job. Materials Needed  Pen  Notebook  Photocopies  Blackboard  Blackboard Other Resources  Class book Critical input (Give and/or demonstrate necessary information) The teacher will clearly explain for what they can write a formal letter, especially to apply for a job since it is closer to them. The teacher will show a formal letter so that students will see the structure they have to follow to write one. Learning Activities (Describe the activities to reinforce learning and how they will be organized i.e whole group, pairs, CL, individual) SS look (but not read) at the advertisement and letter. T asks them to think about it. (5’) SS give ideas about when/why the might write a formal letter. (5’) T asks the SS some questions about the letter structure looking back at the sample letter (5’) SS must answer some questions about the letter (10’) SS must write a letter of application for this job following and given advert and structure. (25’) Homework assigned Finish the letter at home Once the teacher has given feedback, they have to rewrite it and upload to the class’ blog Verification (Steps to check for student understanding) The teacher will monitor the main activity which is writing the formal letter, in fact the letter will be handed in to be checked carefully. Summary (what has been achieved and what needs to be reinforced in future lessons) By the end of this lesson, students will be aware of the importance of writing a correct formal letter if they want to apply for a job. They have to follow carefully the structure given. They will be likely to need more time, perhaps they will need 2 lessons to complete the activities. Additional Notes They clearly need a structure to follow, if they did not have the structure, the activity would not work. 17 APPENDIX 1 The first part of the session will be devoted to introducing the topic of the unit as a warming up activity and as a whole class activity. With the help of a computer and a projector the specific vocabulary related to jobs will be presented: 12.11.10.9. 8.7.6.5. 4.3.2.1. /e//ɑː / /ʌ/ /əʊ/ /aɪə/ /aɪ//æ//e//ʊə//aI/ /3:/ /əʊ/ /aI/ /ɔː / The jobs to introduce are: vet, architect, plumber, soldier, fire fighter, cashier, chef, tour guide, surgeon, coach, flight attendant and lawyer. The teacher will say them and they repeat in order to check the pronunciation. The phonetic symbol of the stressed vowel is presented to make them aware of their pronunciation. Then the teacher makes them the following question: what do you want to be in a future? So we can add more jobs to the list. Once the jobs have been introduced we will work on what they do. Students will talk about what people do at work. The teacher will help the students with questions such as what do vets do? What do you think? Do they look after sick animals or passengers? The SS will give their ideas. After this brainstorming they will be ask to do the following exercise about what people do in their jobs. 18 They have to complete the following sentences with the jobs we have just learnt. 1. A __________ looks after sick animals. 2. A __________ repairs water pipes, bathrooms, etc. 3. An _________ designs buildings. 4. A __________ works in the army. 5. A __________ cooks food in a restaurant. 6. A __________ is a doctor who operates on people. 7. A __________ looks after passengers on a plane. 8. A __________ takes money from customers in shops or restaurants. 9. A __________ helps people with legal problems. 10. A __________ puts out fires. 11. A __________ helps sports people to train. 12. A __________ shows people round famous places. When the SS finish the exercise, we all together check it by reading the sentences aloud. To finish the lesson, the class is divided into three groups to make a puzzle. Each group is given a set of cards1 and the have to make a puzzle by forming sentences related to the previous jobs they have seen at the beginning. 1 The cards are included at the end with the appendix. 19 APPENDIX 2 At the start of the session, we will recap what was done in the previous session. We will write on the blackboard words related to jobs, such as the jobs we saw the previous lesson and the main verbs. All these words will be written on the blackboard at random. Students will come to the blackboard and choose two words to make full sentences to talk about the jobs we have already learnt. The teacher will encourage them by asking what do Vets do?, for instance. take Vets work Plumbers design cook Fire fighters look after Cashiers operate show Coaches help Architects put out look after Tour Guides help Soldiers Lawyers Flight attendants repair Surgeons Chefs Then, the class is divided into pairs. They will listen to 5 people talking about their jobs and they have to find out what job they are talking about. The pair who more jobs guesses will win an extra point. Script: 1. Woman I’ve visited probably 30…35 countries in the world now. Of course, I usually only stay for a few days- or even a few hours. We sometimes stay in nice hotels. The most difficult passenger I’ve ever had was a man who wanted to use his laptop… 2. Man It’s all mind. That’s what I tell my athletes. You don’t run with your legs, you run with your heart- and your head. I remember one boyfifteen or sixteen years oldhad the fastest legs I’ve ever seen. But he lost every race. Why? His mind was too slow. So I worked with him and within six months… 3. Woman 20 I’ve always loved animals. I had lots of pets when I was younger. Dogs, cats, mice, fish…So I knew I wanted to work with animals. The only animals I don’t like are snakes. In fact, I hate snakes. I remember once, a man brought a snake to see me… 4. Man Of course you think about the danger. But we’re professionals. We’re trained to do a job, and we do it. I’m part of the United Nations peace-keeping force. It’s fairly quiet at the moment, but when we arrived, they were less than hospitable… 5. Woman A lot of people are surprised when I arrive at their house and they see I’m a woman. But as long as I repair their shower, or their kitchen sink, or whatever, then they are happy. And they always recommend me to their friends because I’m not too expensive, not like some of these men who… 6. Man Once, a customer asked for tomato ketchup with his lamb and mushrooms. I got a bit upset about that and told him to leave the restaurant. I mean, I spend months-years- creating these recipes. If these people don’t appreciate my art, then… Students will listen to the script twice. Once we have checked the jobs, each pair can improve their punctuation by answering questions such as:  How many countries has the flight attendant visited approximately?  Why was a passenger for her?  Are heart and head as important as legs to run?  Does this vet love all animals? Which animal does she hate?  Why are people surprised when they see her?  Is she cheaper or more expensive then other plumbers?  Why was the chef upset? These questions will be written on the blackboard and they will be given to the teacher as a writing activity. The teacher will checked the answers and tell them who the winner is, those who have guessed more answers. 21 APPENDIX 3 As a whole-class and warm-up activity, we all remind ourselves what was done in the previous lesson. We check the answers for the listening exercise all together to check if they agree with the answers of the rest of the class. The second part of the session will be devoted to a reading activity. Before reading the story, the teacher asks the students to look at the photos and tell you what is happening: Who is in the story? What can you see in photo 1? Where are they? Are they inside or outside? What do you think is happening? What’s Dan doing in photo 2? Whose bike do you think it might be? What do you think the email is about? The teacher will ask questions such as Where do you think Dan works? Do you think he works everyday or only at weekends? Do you think London is more expensive than Liverpool? While reading the story, the teacher asks the students to read and listen to the story attentively. The teacher will make a question, how much did Dan recharge to repair Victor’s bike? They have to find the answer while they are reading and listening to the story. After reading the story, the teachers monitor if the story has been completely understood, that is, if the students understand the vocabulary and the meaning of the 22 story. The teacher will ask the following questions to the students, they answer them orally.  How does Abby think London is different form Liverpool?  Where does Dan work on Saturdays?  What happened to Abby’s brother, Victor?  What’s wrong with Victor’s bike?  Why did Dan lose his job at the bike shop? Once the class has answered the questions, the students will do the following exercises by their own. a) Dan got Victor’s bike form Abby’s house. b) Dan lost his job. c) Dan saw Abby and asked about Victor. d) Abby gave Dan £35 for the new wheel. e) Abby watched Dan repairing the bike. f) Dan offered to repair Victor’s bike. g) Abby got an email from Dan. The teacher reminds SS to read the story again if they are not sure of the right order. Then, the class all together checks the answers. Then, to check the vocabulary of the story the SS are asked to find the equivalents for the following sentences in the story:  London is familiar to me now (I’m used to)  The boss discovered what happened (The boss found out)  It doesn’t matter (Never mind)  It was responsible for everything. (It was all my fault) Once they have found the meaning of the sentences above in the story, they have to work in pairs. The students are asked to write a conversation similar to that of the story using the expressions of the exercise above. This exercise has the aim of contextualising the expressions, since there is no point in seeing words in isolation. 23 APPENDIX 4 To introduce today’s lesson, the class will look back at Abby’s story. The SS remember what happened in the story they read the day before. Then, the teacher will ask the students if they agree or disagree with the following statements related to the story:  Dan was wrong to charge Abby only £35 for the wheel.  It was Abby’s fault that Dan lost his job. The SS must say what they think about these two statements. The class is divided into 4 groups and they have to prepare to give their reasons. To help them the teacher will give the students some structures to express agreement and disagreement such as I agree/ I don’t agree, on the contrary, I believe, I think, from my point of view… The teacher advises them to write notes, because later the whole class will do a debate about these two statements and then vote. The second part of the lesson will be devoted to introducing the comparative and superlative forms. The T asks the students to look back again at Abby’s story and ask the following questions where these forms of adjectives appear:  Are the people in Liverpool busier than in London? (No, people in London are busier)  London is more expensive then Liverpool, true or false? (True)  Victor is the nicest boy Abby’s met in London, true or false? (False. Dan is the nicest boy she’s met)  The people in London aren’t as friendly as the people in Liverpool, true or false? (True)  London isn’t as expensive as Liverpool, true or false? (False) The teacher will write these questions and answers on the board and underline the comparative forms. Then the teacher will ask: what are these forms? Do you remember how we form them? The whole class remembers the formation of superlative and comparative forms while the teacher write on the board their ideas about the rules. To check if the class has understood the use of superlative and comparative forms, they are asked to complete the following text using the following adjectives: Big close exciting far interested interesting successful tiring 24 Do you travel with your job? Yes, I do. It’s probably _______________ thing about my job. However, it is also the _________. The competitions take place all over the world and I sped a lot of time flying. The ___________ on is in Australia, about 17,000 kilometres away! Do you earn a lot of money? No, I don’t. Last year was my __________ year and I earned about £20,000. The prizes for men are _________. That’s because TV companies are ________ in the men’s sport. What are the best things about your job? I love the peoplethe other surfers. We’re __________ then most families. And of course, I love surfing. It’s the _________ sport in the world! 31 Clerk: Good morning. Can I help you? Ben: Good morning. I’m going abroad soon and need to get a passport. Clerk: OK. You need to fill in this form. Ben: Should I bring it back here? Clerk: No, you have to send it to the passport office in London. You’ll need some photographs of yourself, too. Ben: OK. Thanks. Clerk: Anything else I can do for you? Ben: Yes, I’d like a stamp for this postcard, please. Clerk: Where are you going to send it? Ben: To the USA. Clerk: OK, that’s 39p, please. Ben: Thanks. Goodbye. Clerk: Goodbye 32 APPENDIX 7 Students are asked to look (but not read) to the following advertisement and letter. The teacher will ask the students about them:  Is it a letter to your friend?  What kind of letter is it?  How do you know? Once the class knows that it is a formal letter, Students will give ideas about when and why they might write a formal letter (to complain about something, to apply for a job, to write to a newspaper…) Then, students will read completely the formal letter above and they will have to answer some questions about the letter.  Where did Rebecca see the advertisement?  Which job is she applying for?  What three jobs has she had? 33  Why does she want to change jobs?  What’s the earliest date she could start working? After answering the questions, the next part of the lesson will be devoted to the formal aspects of an application letters. Students, as a whole class activity, will answer the following questions to learn how they have to structure a formal letter in English.  Where does Rebecca write her address?  Where is the date?  Where is Better Burger’s address?  How does Rebecca start the letter?  How does she finish it? Then, the students must look carefully to the following advertisement where a job is offered. To finish the unit, they have to write a formal letter to apply for the job announced. They must follow the following structure as a help to write the letter properly. They also must look at the sample letter to have more ideas. PART-TIME STAFF Starlight café We have vacancies for waiters or waitresses and kitchen helpers in our café on fridays between 18.00 and 22.00. Applicants should be 16 or over, smart and hard-working. Pay: £7 an hour. Please write to: Peter Bridges, Starlight café, 54 Market St, Oxford OX4 3SD Paragraph 1 I saw… and I’m writing Paragraph 2 I am… and I am a student at… I’m… (describe your character) I’ve worked.. (What jobs have you done?) Paragraph 3 34 At the moment,… (where are you working now?) I could start… Paragraph 4 I’m sending…and I look forward… As students will not probably have enough time to finish the letter in class, they will be asked to finish it at home. Then students will hand in to the teacher who after checking them will give all the letters back to the students. Students will have to rewrite again properly and upload them to the class blog. 35 OTHER MATERIALS DIFFERENTIATION ACTIVITIES 1. Complete the chart with the words. You have to make sentences about what the following people do. Repairlook after (x2)- trainshow- put outwork- take moneydesign- cook-help- operate on WHO? WHAT? VETS FLIGHT ATTENDANTS TOUR GUIDES CASHIERS SURGEONS SOLDIERS LAWYERS COACHES FIRE FIGHTERS PLUMBERS CHEFS ARCHITECTS 2. Match the words to compare different jobs. 1. Lawyer important architect 2. Vet good fire fighter 3. Coach rich chef 4. Soldier easy player 5. Plumber dangerous chef 6. Flight attendant interesting tour guide 36 Now, make sentences with the words above. 1. Lawyers ___________________________________ 2. A vet’s job _________________________________ 3. For a team, a great coach _____________________ 4. Being a soldier ______________________________ 5. A plumber’s life _____________________________ 6. A flight attendant’s job _______________________ 37 2. PUZZLE CARDS Vets Flight attendants Architects Chefs Soldiers Lawyers Surgeons Cashiers Plumbers Coaches Fire Fighters Tour Guides look after cook look after take work design money water pipes, bathrooms... 38 help repair put out show help operate on sick animals buildings food fires sport people people passengers people people in the Army in a restaurant with legal aspects on a plane in a shop people in the Army 39 to train Round famous places in a restaurant with legal aspects on a plane in a shop 40 CONCLUSIONS This learning unit has been designed to be covered in a Diversification Group in the fourth year of Secondary Education. I say that because if we have a look at the learning unit the level of the contents is not too high, but all these students need to go step by step to achieve the aims. For that reason, as I have said in the introduction, the students will go from the simpler input to a more complex output. They will reactivate their previous knowledge, always doing warm-up activities at the very beginning of each lesson. I think that it is pretty important to remember what has been previously learnt as an introduction of each lesson, this way the teacher set students in a context of work. Furthermore, I think that the main aim has to be explained since the very beginning in every lesson. Students must always know why they are doing what they are doing, I mean, what the final task is. In this learning unit, all the sessions are devoted mainly to a specific skill (although it is true that all of them, reading, listening, speaking and writing, are introduced in each session in a greater or lesser extent), but everything will lead the students to write a formal letter to apply for a job. After designing this learning unit, I have realised that the students are the centre of our unit; the unit must be designed according to their interests and motivation. We must choose a topic close to their lives and experiences. For these reasons, I have chosen this topic: The world of work, since all students are thinking about their future, some of them want to study a vocational training and some of them want to start working, but all of them must think about the job they want for their future. Moreover, when a teacher is designing a learning unit, he or she must also think about the students’ needs, and he or she must be aware that the designed activities may be changed according to their needs. I think that this learning unit has been planned according to the communicative approach. It is pretty important for the students to feel confident when they speak the second language, but at the same tame it is the hardest skill to develop, perform and improve for them. That is why; I have given much importance to the speaking which is integrated in every lesson, in fact almost all the activities are doing orally at first. I think that the teacher must provide a comfortable atmosphere for the students to speak in class, he or she must encourage and push them to participate always celebrating the success of the students and giving clear feedback to help the students, of course this can be applied to every skill developed during the lesson. Furthermore, I have clear that teachers must be a guide and a model for students. We have to guide them in the teaching-learning process by giving those clear examples and explanations when needed as well as useful feedback for them, since we have to take their mistakes ad a base to teach something new. On the other hand, teachers must celebrate their success, and even more in groups like this, since they sometimes have their self-esteem quite low and they need to be pushed and to know that they are able to do anything they want. 47 - If teachers make their rules fun to follow, students will be more likely to follow these rules. - Highly energetic students with short attention spans respond remarkably well. - Rebel students become significantly less rebellious when the teacher is eagerly supported by the rebel´s former allies. - If classroom instruction engages the whole brain, students do not have any mental area left over to create challenging behaviour. This method is applied to several classes; English, Maths or Literacy classes. However, we will concentrate on the methods we can use in our English classes because those have been the ones we have analyzed in our Research Project in the school placements, and these are the ones which helped us to reinforce the use of English in our classes. There is no much literature about this topic since it is a novelty in the educational field. However we can state that it is already becoming more and more popular in the United States, obviously, but also in Spain. There are some forums on the Internet where some teachers share their experiences in the Spanish education system and give advice to the new teachers who are starting to discover this method. They are starting to organize some seminars and sessions to share their opinions and points of view. Traditionally it has been believed that left hemisphere of the brain was in charge of the analytical operation, the written and spoken language and the logical processes. On the other side, the right hemisphere was in charge of the visualization, synthesis and creativity. People‘s skills operate in one hemisphere more than the other and for this reason, it is said that some people prefer science, other prefer languages and other prefer arts, and likewise, they learn better in a visual way or in a logical way. Related to the different learning styles which can occur in a classroom, it is Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory. Conventionally the standardized IQ tests and the SATs2 have addressed a general intelligence which did not collect the different personal characteristics of the students. Not everyone has the same interests and capacities and not all of them learn in the same way. We cannot learn everything, so it is necessary to choose some kind of knowledge. But this knowledge must be selected according to the capacities and interests of our students. This is the main two hypotheses Gardner develops. People are different, so it would be logical to think that there are also different types of intelligences. However, it was not until the 20th century when Howard Gardner relinquished this traditional notion of intelligence to coin the concept of “Multiple 2 IQ test (Intelligence Quotient) and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) 48 Intelligences”. There are eight different multiple intelligences and students are more likely to be defined by some of them, but this does not mean that they have either one type or intelligence or the other, but a mixture of some of them. Each intelligence can be subdivided. The objective of every school should be the development of the intelligences to help students to reach the vocational purposes which are adequate to their intelligences. People who receive support in this sense, feel much more competent and involved and, consequently, more given to serve in the society in a constructive way (Gardner). The linguistic intelligence and the logical-mathematical are the two intelligences which have been always developed. Students who have developed these two intelligences are the ones who have traditionally passed the IQ tests. However, children who have developed other intelligences are not successful in these tests but this does not mean they are not intelligent enough. Concentrating exclusively on the linguistic and logicalmathematical capacities during the school days could mean a deception for the students who have skills in other intelligences. Encouragement and evaluation should take place in an adequate way. All students should develop all the intelligences during their school time in order to be successful in the future. So we should create as many opportunities as possible to develop all these intelligences not to kill the individual talents (Gardner 1993). Whole Brain teaching helps to develop all these intelligences since it uses techniques that integrate the synthetic and imaginative brain skills with the analytical and language skills. The brain downshifts under perceived threats and learn optimally when appropriately challenged-learning occurs best in an atmosphere that is low in threat and high in challenge. Whole Brain Teaching‘s approach facilitates a relaxed atmosphere where the process of learning can take place easily. Traditionally it has been believed that left hemisphere of the brain was in charge of the analytical operation, the written and spoken language and the logical processes. On the other side, the right hemisphere was in charge of the visualization, synthesis and creativity. People‘s skills operate in one hemisphere more than the other and for this reason, it is said that some people prefer science, other prefer languages and other prefer arts, and likewise, they learn better in a visual way or in a logical way. Related to the different learning styles which can occur in a classroom, it is Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences theory. 49 Conventionally the standardized IQ tests and the SATs3 have addressed a general intelligence which did not collect the different personal characteristics of the students. Not everyone has the same interests and capacities and not all of them learn in the same way. We cannot learn everything, so it is necessary to choose some kind of knowledge. But this knowledge must be selected according to the capacities and interests of our students. This is the main two hypotheses Gardner develops. People are different, so it would be logical to think that there are also different types of intelligences. However, it was not until the 20th century when Howard Gardner relinquished this traditional notion of intelligence to coin the concept of “Multiple Intelligences”. There are eight different multiple intelligences and students are more likely to be defined by some of them, but this does not mean that they have either one type or intelligence or the other, but a mixture of some of them. Each intelligence can be subdivided. The objective of every school should be the development of the intelligences to help students to reach the vocational purposes which are adequate to their intelligences. People who receive support in this sense, feel much more competent and involved and, consequently, more given to serve in the society in a constructive way (Gardner). The linguistic intelligence and the logical-mathematical are the two intelligences which have been always developed. Students who have developed these two intelligences are the ones who have traditionally passed the IQ tests. However, children who have developed other intelligences are not successful in these tests but this does not mean they are not intelligent enough. Concentrating exclusively on the linguistic and logicalmathematical capacities during the school days could mean a deception for the students who have skills in other intelligences. Encouragement and evaluation should take place in an adequate way. All students should develop all the intelligences during their school time in order to be successful in the future. So we should create as many opportunities as possible to develop all these intelligences not to kill the individual talents (Gardner 1993). Whole Brain teaching helps to develop all these intelligences since it uses techniques that integrate the synthetic and imaginative brain skills with the analytical and language skills. The brain downshifts under perceived threats and learn optimally when appropriately challenged-learning occurs best in an atmosphere that is low in threat and high in challenge. Whole Brain Teaching‘s approach facilitates a relaxed atmosphere where the process of learning can take place easily. 3 IQ test (Intelligence Quotient) and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) 50 Before presenting the six first steps of the Whole Brain Teaching approach, we would like to show a picture of the brain parts and the functions which are developed in each of them because there is a scientific explanation behind these techniques. The neocortex is part of the cerebral cortex and it is involved in higher functions such as the sensory perception, generation of motor commands, spatial reasoning, conscious thought and language. The motor cortex is the term that describes regions of the cerebral cortex involved in the planning, control and execution of voluntary movements. The limbic system is a set of brain structures which support a variety of functions including emotion, behaviour, motivation, long term memory and olfaction. The limbic system is also involved in feelings of pleasure that are related to our survival. After this explanation of the parts of the brain, we will introduce the six steps of the Whole Brain Teaching Method. These steps are the ones which we have been working on with the teachers of our school placements and the main procedures which the surveys are about. 1. Class-yes How can a teacher get their students ‘attention? It is know which the steps are. First of all, the teacher enters in the class calling for his class to get quiet. Later on, he asks for their attention again, a bit louder, and finally, he starts yelling at the students who are still talking. The class has just started and the teacher is already in a bad mood. How can we avoid these situations? 51 To get the classes’ attention, the teacher must teach his students that when he says `Class! ´, they must answer `Yes!´. And they have to say it the way the teacher said it. If the teacher says `Class Class Class! ´, they would have to answer ´Yes Yes Yes! ´. They have also to match his tone and intensity. Why is the Class-Yes, in terms of structure, so effective? The neo cortex, the part of the brain behind the forehead, controls decision making. When the teacher says ´Class!´ and students respond `Yes!´, students ´neo-cortices are focused on what he is going to say next. In other words, their brain executives are ready to take directions from your brain´s executive. 2. Hands and eyes Hands and Eyes is the technique which teachers may use in the case the `Class-yes!´ is not effective any more. Whenever a teacher wants his students to pay close attention to an important point, he can say `hand and eyes!´, the students then respond `hand and eyes!´, fold their hands and stare at him. 3. Mirror Mirror is one of Whole Brain Teaching’s simplest and most powerful techniques. The teacher says “mirror” and his students respond “mirror.” They then pick up their hands ready to mimic his gestures. As students imitate his motions, their motor cortex, the brain’s most reliable memory area, is automatically engaged. The mirror technique is useful when telling a story, giving directions, describing the steps in a procedure, demonstrating a process... In general, there are three kinds of gestures that a teacher can use with mirror: - casual: these are hand motions that come naturally while speaking. - graphic: match the gestures to exactly what you are saying. - memory: these gestures are linked to core concepts and/or state standards. Every memory gesture should be unique. As a variation, the teacher can say “mirror words” and then, students respond “mirror words.” Then, he speaks slowly and matches his arm movements to what he is saying. Students repeat teachers´ words and mimic his gestures. Four brain activities are now involved, seeing (visual cortex), saying (Broca’s area), hearing (auditory cortex) and doing (motor cortex). 52 4. The scoreboard game The scoreboard game is a competition between teachers and students. The teacher draws a grid on the blackboard divided into two columns. In the top box of one, he writes the word TEACHER, in the other one the word STUDENT. During the class, the teacher will reward a mark in the Student section for good performances. However, if they do not listen to the teacher or follow his instructions, the teacher will add a mark in the Teacher´s column and he will say “Thank you very much. That was a point for me”. This becomes a game between students and teachers, and the most rebel students are penalized for their bad behaviour giving an extra point to the teacher. The purpose of this technique is to reinforce the positive behaviour of the class in a fun and dynamic way. 5. Teach-Ok This technique allows the teacher to engage his students in all four learning modes – seeing, saying, hearing and doing. Education research tells us that the most effective learning takes place when a student engages the brain ´s primary cortices – visual, auditory, language production and motor – at the same time. Furthermore, as students enjoy the experience, their limbic systems become involved. This is the portion of the brain that controls emotional engagement. In addition, learning research indicates that teachers, as a general rule, talk too long and the longer we talk, the more students we lose. In order to use the technique Teach –OK in class, the teacher must divide the class into teams of two. One student is a One, the other member is a Two. The aim of the teacher is to make students do a large amount of teaching, so every time that a small amount of information is presented by the teacher, he looks at the class, clap two times and say `Teach!´, the students clap twice and respond `OK!´. The teacher should teach students to copy his gestures and mimic the emotion in his tone of voice. To call the class back to attention, use the `Class- Yes!´. 53 6. Switch! This technique is combined with the previous one, the `Teach, OK!´. When the teacher uses the `Teach, OK!´ in class, it is easy to check that there are some students who are always listeners and others who are always takers. To avoid this, teacher must divide students into pairs and each member of the couple will have a number, 1 or 2. The teacher will decided which number teaches and which one listens to his peer. But when the teacher says `Switch!´, the roles are reversed. A key feature of this interaction is that the talker has to use gestures and the listener should mirror and imitate them. Apart from these six procedures to deal with the class management, there are also five rules we have to keep in mind. These five rules must be repeated to be in students ‘heads and to be effective. Anyway, these 5 rules can be adapted to every class and teachers can change them according to their classes’ necessities. These are the five rules: Rule One: Follow directions quickly! (the gesture: make your hand shoot forward like a fish) Rule Two: Raise your hand for permission to speak (The gesture: raise your hand, then pull it down next to your head and make a talking motion). Rule Three: Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat. (The gesture: raise your hand, and then make a little walking figure with your index and middle finger.) Rule Four: Make smart choices! (The gesture: tap one finger to your temple as you say each word. Rule Five: Keep your dear teacher happy! (The gesture: hold up each thumb and index finger out like an “L” framing your face; bob your head back and forth with each word and smile really big!). The brain learns in five ways, by seeing, saying, hearing, doing and feeling. When you teach the rules with the Whole Brain signs, your students' brains are maximally operative. They see the signs, hear the rules, say the rules and make the gestures. Reading the theoretical aspects of this method is not enough to comprehend the magnitude of this approach in the teaching process. It is necessary to watch some 54 videos about the implement of Whole Brain teaching on the Internet to reassure how successful and powerful it can be. From that moment, we wanted to research about this new methodology and check by ourselves if this could work in Spanish classrooms. METHODS Tools for the research To carry out this research project, we have used different methods such as the observation of the lessons, surveys to the students, interviews to the teachers and the exams’ results. We think that the observation of the lessons is the main tool to analyse the classroom’s attitude problems, the way teachers solve these problems and the success or failure of the new rules which were introduced. We also make the most of the teachers’ interviews to ascertain which methods they used relating to class management, if they knew this method and their opinions and reactions about it. And finally, the surveys to the students are the main tool to get to know directly and anonymously their opinion of this method after the implementation of it. That is, if they feel comfortable in class, if it has helped them to learn more and so on. There is no point in applying these rules unless they have a positive effect on the students’ results and attitudes. As it will be analysed later on, the results of the exams will show the effectiveness of Whole Brain Teaching. Investigation’s methodology. Positive and negative aspects. As future English teachers, one of our main concerns is how we could manage a good interaction with our students. Before starting this master, we were very worried about if we had enough class management skills to deal with a group of teenagers. Then, we found out the Whole Brain Teaching method, thanks to our master professor Vicky Gil. From the very beginning, this method engaged us a lot since it is a free-and-easy way of drawing students’ attention without wearing the teacher out. Moreover, it is also a different way of making students aware of how important is their behaviour to the normal development of the lessons and getting them involved in the teaching-learning 55 process. Finally, it is also a way of using English language as a vehicle to improve their behaviour and attitude. Since our school placements were different and we did not have the same groups, we decided to split the job. Our classmate Ángela has been the one who has put this method into practice by herself, Sara introduced this method in her secondary school where there are now two teachers working with this methodology and Carolina tried to introduce this method at her school placement but she was not so successful. IES Ángel Sanz Briz During the Practicum, a member of the group, Ángela Mañas, introduced some steps of Whole Brain Teaching to her students from the 2nd year of ESO. Till that moment, the class management techniques used by the current teacher were shouting at the noisy students, writing notes on the blackboard and giving reprehensible looks. As it has been mentioned before, Whole Brain Teaching consists of a series of steps that may vary depending on the age of the students. In the case of 14-year-old students, Angela considered that there were too many steps to be remembered in just a few weeks, since the real practice of this method will take the whole course and even the whole school life; so she selected three of them that seem to be more meaningful, easy to remember and shocking for the students. These steps are the Class – Yes, the Teach – Okay, and the Scoreboard. The immersion of this method was put into practice thanks to Angela’s mentor’s, María Jesús Launa – Head of the English Department, who allowed her to take control of her classes to prove if this method is useful or not. The tools she used to check it were mainly observation, surveys to the students and an interview to her mentor. The first contact of the students with this method was exactly as expected. First, they took the steps as a joke and received them with laughs. They did not answer when the teacher said “Class!” Among other things, they also thought that the scoreboard was a joke and they did not pay much attention to it until they were advised that the marks in the scoreboard would count in their final marks. From that moment, students took the new class rules seriously, responding satisfactory to the class – yes step and worrying about their results in the scoreboard. There was just a negative aspect: the Teach – Okay step did not work. The reasons of the failure of this step may be due to the students’ low level of the English language, since they were unable to explain themselves properly. Another reason could be that English lessons do not contain proper information to be retold, so this step may be more suitable for History or Science lessons. 56 The second day, most of the students remembered the new class rules and kept following them. Few of them seemed not to take the class seriously so Angela decided to use the scoreboard marking dextra credits. There were two responses to this: the first one was incredulity by the admonished students, they did not believe that the only response to their bad behaviour was just a dextra credit. The rest of the students took this sign as a bad mark for the whole group, so they scolded the classmates who committed the fault. These students felt worried and shameful for lowering the marks of the whole class, so at the end they started to be more participative, to be quieter and to behave properly, what was eventually translated into extra credits in their scoreboard and into happiness in the students’ attitude. From that day, students kept the same positive attitude towards the Whole Brain Teaching method. The noisiest students, who usually kicked up a fuss over anything, got used to it and seemed to enjoy the lessons, since they did the tasks assigned and behaved properly. Even her mentor was surprised of how positive they responded to it. But, despite its initial popularity, students eventually ended up ignoring these new rules. The reason for this was clearly observed: Angela’s mentor took control of the class and tried to continue with the new classroom’s rules, but students associated these rules to Angela and not to her, so they did not answer when she exclaimed “Class!” These was a bit frustrating, since it seemed that it worked perfectly with the students, but it also make us become aware of the strengths and weaknesses of this methodology. IES Miguel de Molinos Another member of the group, Sara Tomás, was in the IES Miguel de Molinos, and she was in charge mainly of the two classes in the last year of Bachillerato, so this methodology could not be put into practice by her. However, she introduced this approach to some teachers at school. During the first weeks she observed the English teachers, especially three of them, who were the ones in charge of the bilingual area. She observed the way they coped with the class management and how they managed to keep students in silence. The most recurrent techniques were the traditional ones: rising up the voice tone, shouting to the ones who were speaking or threatening them with several punishments. After this observation period, she had a meeting with these three teachers and she explained them the Whole Brain Teaching basis. She told them the techniques of “class-yes”, “teach-ok”, the scoreboard, “mirror” and “hands and eyes”. They had never heard about it, so at the beginning they felt curious but also sceptical. The most sceptical teacher was her tutor, probably because she was older than the others, she had more experience and she managed to maintain the silence in her class without the 63 Noelia Mayoral – History’s teacher in the bilingual programme 1. Why do you think students lose their attention in class? They are sometimes not interested in the subject and they are tired of listening and speaking in English all the time. 2. Which strategies do you use to recover their attention? Which is your method? I usually start shouting but at the end of the day I am so tired of shouting that I only stay in silence looking at them till they stop talking. 3. Have you heard about whole brain teaching? If yes, what do you think about it? Never 4. If no, do you think this is going to be successful in ESO? And in Bachillerato? And in FP? It can be very successful in the first two years of ESO. I´m thinking about starting with this method in the last years of the primary school. Ana Maria Murillo – Head of the English department and the bilingual programme 1. Why do you think students lose their attention in class? They are tired and not motivated for studying English. They cannot concentrate the whole class and it depends on the time of the day, this problem is even worse. 2. Which strategies do you use to recover their attention? Which is your method? I usually don´t need to do anything special because they know that while I am talking, they must be in silent. If they start talking, I just keep in silence waiting for their silence. 3. Have you heard about whole brain teaching? If yes, what do you think about it? Never 4. If no, do you think this is going to be successful in ESO? And in Bachillerato? And in FP? I don´t think this can be applied for Bachillerato. I see this method for children, even primary school´s children. I think it is very childish. 64 IES Pilar Lorengar Fernando Yarza – English teacher 1. Why do you think students lose their attention in class? They lose their attention because they are not interested at all in the subject or in the topic we are working on in class, because they are quite tired depending the hour or the day of the week, because the teacher and the way the teacher cope with a class. 2. Which strategies do you use to recover their attention? Which is your method? I always make them to self assess at the end of the lesson, I approach them and I tell them to pay attention and to behave properly, but I never shout at him (what many teachers do). Furthermore, I always try to relate what we are learning to their previous knowledge. 3. Have you heard about whole brain teaching? If yes, what do you think about it? No, I do not know what this method is about. 4. If no, do you think this is going to be successful in ESO? And in Bachillerato? And in FP? No, I think it is quite childish, perhaps it could be in the first year of ESO, but if they have been working with it since primary school. INTERVIEW TO TEACHERS (AFTER PRESENTING THE METHOD) IES Ángel Sanz Briz María Jesús Launa – Head of the English Department. 1. Do you think students were more focused than usually? Yes, eventually they got used to it. 2. Do you think this method is more effective than the traditional ones? Well, it is different and they like changes. 3. Which are the main advantages and disadvantages that you may have notice about this method? It is something new for students and they like surprises. At the beginning they did not pay much attention but after two lessons they started to react positively. But I think this is not a long lasting method, they lose interest or if they answer “Yes”, they go on talking afterwards. 65 4. Do you think you will apply this method in the future? I will try but I am not sure if it is going to work. IES Miguel de Molinos Angelines Martinez – Science’s teacher in the bilingual programme 1. Do you believe students were more focused than usually? Definitely yes. They lose their attention as always but it is immediately recovered. 2. Do you think this method is more effective than the traditional ones? Of course it is. At the end of the day you are tired of shouting, this is very tiring, so anything is better than shouting. 3. Which are the main advantages and disadvantages that you may have notice about this method? The advantages are that this method is very simple and easy to put into practice, and it is also very dynamic. The disadvantages are that you need to be very quick and say something immediately they respond to the class-yes, if not, they start talking again. For this reason, active teachers are needed for this method. 4. Do you think you will apply this method in the future? I am already applying it and I am very happy with the results. Noelia Mayoral – History’s teacher in the bilingual programme 1. Do you believe students were more focused than usually? It´s incredible how three simple notions can work out so well. I use the class-yes and the scoreboard, and they are highly motivated. 2. Do you think this method is more effective than the traditional ones? Everything is more effective than shouting. I´m open to anything that makes my life easier. 3. Which are the main advantages and disadvantages that you may have notice about this method? Advantages: the scoreboard. I am in love with the scoreboard, it has been a very successful tool. Children love competing with their teacher, so they are always 66 paying attention to gain points and they tell their peers off when they make them losing points. Disadvantages: I don´t think this will last forever. Maybe we have to think about 5 or 6 more different instructions to use them when the previous one doesn´t work anymore. 4. Do you think you will apply this method in the future? I am already applying the scoreboard and class-yes. Ana Maria Murillo – Head of the English department and the bilingual programme 1. Do you believe students were more focused than usually? Some of them took this methodology seriously but some others laugh at it. For this reason, I think the most mature ones may find this method absurd. 2. Do you think this method is more effective than the traditional ones? Maybe it is very innovative and kids at the beginning are expecting something new and for this reason, they are in silence. But I think this cannot last longer. 3. Which are the main advantages and disadvantages that you may have notice about this method? Advantages: as it is a new method, it can be very effective at the beginning. Disadvantages: some children can find this method very childish and this can only applied for the smallest ones. 4. Do you think you will apply this method in the future? I am happy with my students and the methodology I apply with them. 67 DISCUSSION Analysis of the results SURVEYS TO STUDENTS According to the surveys we handed in the students, we have reached the following conclusions: First of all, our expectations were mostly fulfilled. Students had a positive reaction towards this new method and, therefore, they had expressed this acceptance in these surveys. Our surveys were passed to three different classes. The first one is a 2º year ESO-class from IES Ángel Sanz Briz. This class was made up of 15 students. The second surveyed group was another 2º year ESO-class from the same centre which was made up of 15 students too. And finally, the third group was a 1º year ESO-class from IES Miguel de Molinos. In total, 36 students between 12 and 14 years old were asked about their opinions on this new approach. To the first question about the reasons why they lose their attention in class, most of students blame on the atmosphere and the timetable – 38,8% and 33,3% respectively-. Some classes are so noisy that makes impossible to pay full attention to the teacher and depending on the period where the English class is taught, students are also more or less energetic and talkative. A quarter of the surveyed state that they are not interested in the subject and for this reason, they lose their attention. And finally, a small percentage (2,7%) think that the teacher is the responsible of their “mini vacations”. After applying these rules to these three classes, almost 80% of students valued positively these new rules (77,7%). Only the 5,5% stated that they did not like this approach. The rest claimed that these new rules were of no use for them. Regarding of the enjoyment of the lessons, more than half of the students declare that they have really enjoyed more the lessons whereas 38,8% of them only sometimes enjoyed the class. However, less than 3% disagree with their mates and they did not enjoy the classes. The most important point of this project for us was to find evidences which support the idea that Whole Brain Teaching helps students to acquire the contents better and more easily. The higher percentages are found in the positive answers. More than 80% of the students state that this new method has helped them a lot or pretty much to learn better the contents. Another 17% of them declare that this method was of little help for them and only one student claim that the method was completely useless. 68 The survey also contained an open question in which they were asked whether they would to continue with these rules or not and the reason why they wanted to do so. Only 10% of students agree that they do not want to keep on this methodology because they considered it childish and useless. Another 12,5% declare that they do not mind about continuing with the rules or not. The rest of the class (nearly 80%) expresses their satisfaction with this method and they also emphasize certain aspects of this approach that highlight the success of the method introduced by the new teachers in their lessons. First of all, 15% of the students think that this method helps them to be more attentive and they behave better. The scoreboard and the credits marking have a great success among students. They all value this tool very positively. Three out of ten suggest that they learn more and at the same time, they have fun in the lessons. And lastly, working in groups provokes different reactions. 5% of students highlight that the aspect they like most of Whole Brain teaching is working cooperatively, while another student do not like it at all because he believes that it is not fair to get the same mark and make less effort. RESULTS OF THE STUDENTS’ EXAMS Another fact that supports the positive action of Whole Brain Teaching is the increase of the students’ marks. It seems that the use of these few steps to maintain class’ attention took an important role in their subsequent assessment. From the 15 students that had an exam three weeks after the implementation of this methodology, 11 improved their previous marks. The data are these: STUDENTS MARKS BEFORE WBT MARKS AFTER WBT Student A 6,4 6 Student B 4,4 8,6 Student C 2,3 3 Student D 4,4 5,2 Student E 5,3 5,1 Student F 1,75 4,5 Student G 6,1 8 Student H 8,9 7,9 Student I 7,4 7,8 Student J 4,2 7,7 69 Student K 7,8 7,2 Student L 5,5 8,7 Student M 6,3 9,2 Student N 2 3,3 Student O 6,1 7,7 As it can be seen in the chart above, the positive effect of the Whole Brain Teaching method was clear in this group. Moreover, the students’ opinion was also favorable towards it, since the great majority of them declared in the surveys that thanks to this new approach of maintaining a good behavior during the lessons, they managed to acquire the contents more easily and in a more relaxing atmosphere. INTERVIEWS TO TEACHERS Most of teachers agree that the main reason why students lose their attention in the lessons is that they have no motivation or interest in the subject or topic they are working on. They also highlight the importance of the day of the week and the time of the day when English classes take place because at the first or last period, students are too sleepy or too tired. Moreover, Fridays are also the least profitable day of the week. In addition, how students are distributed in the class is an important aspect to take into account, since students who are in the last row usually lose their attention more easily than the ones who are first-row. The strategies teachers use to catch students’ attention are very different. One of them told us that it is not necessary to shout at them as it is more effective to approach them individually. Other teachers, on the contrary, yell at their students to make them be quiet or they sometimes write on the blackboard. Some others prefer to keep in silence looking at them till they realize they must stop talking. None of our teachers have heard about the Whole Brain Teaching method but they all agree that this method will not be successful in Bachillerato or FP. They see this method especially suitable for the first years of the Secondary School. After watching some videos about the implementation of this approach in American schools and after the implementation of this method in our school placements, teachers changed their minds about it. 70 Some of them agree that this method helps students to be more focused during the lessons than usually. Another teacher points out that they lose their attention as always but it is immediately recovered. In general, all teachers agree that this method has been more effective because they avoid yelling at students all the time, so they are open to any new methodology which makes their job easier. The advantages teachers can find after applying this method are the following ones. First of all, they all emphasize the novelty of this method, so students are eager to try and include something new in their class’ routine. One teacher highlights how easy and simple is to put this method into practice and another one is really keen on the scoreboard and she sees this tool as the most effective one of this method. On the other hand, the disadvantage that most teachers identify is that it is not a long lasting method but a “shocking treatment” that works at the beginning but eventually, they end up losing interest. Some of them also believe that this is a pretty childish approach at certain stages. And another teacher points out an aspect we did not realise at the beginning, and it is the fact that Whole Brain Teaching is not suitable for non-active teachers, since lessons must be very dynamic. The future perspectives for the implementation of this methodology in our school placements are very different. At IES Ángel Sanz Briz, Ángela´s mentor tried to put it into practice but it was not successful at all since they identify the method with Ángela. At IES Miguel de Molinos, the Science and History teacher have already introduced this method in their classes and they are very happy with the results. However, Sara’s mentor is happy with her methodology and she will not change it. At IES Pilar Lorengar, Carolina’s mentor is very proud of his methodology and the way he deals with his classes and he is not willing to apply any new method. 71 CONCLUSIONS Possible future actions All teachers agreed with the idea that this method has an expiration date. This method can work for some time but there is one day that students do not respond to the instructions any more. For this reason, we think that teachers should have a list of different commands and new gestures to catch students ‘attention. For example, instead of “class-yes”, it can be used another commands such as “students-teacher”. The idea is always to surprise students with new ideas. One of the most important conclusions we have reached after this project is the fact that teachers do not know this new approach because no one has explained to them so far. There are a lot of teachers who would get involved in this new methodology if they had the chance to get to know it. For this reason we think that it would be a fantastic idea if this method could be introduced in any session in the CPR (Resources and Teachers Centres) through seminars, conferences… It is also true that there are some teachers who do not really want to learn anything new, maybe because they have their own methods to catch students ‘attention and they do not need something new or maybe because they are too sceptical to believe that this new teaching stream could work. And finally, as another possible future action, we understand that this project could be extended to the primary school and pre-school, so children would be used to these rules and methodology before starting the secondary school. This would allow children to become familiar with Whole Brain Teaching and what it implies, that is, working in groups, teaching and learning from their peers and learn the concepts in a different way. Our Personal Learning results The execution of this research has contributed to our teaching development in many aspects. First of all we have realized that another conception of teaching is possible and students are eager to learn something new, likewise they love to be surprised. They need motivation and sometimes this motivation comes from a change of attitude by teachers. But, the most important point we want to highlight is the fact that something new is possible because education is a never-ending source. 72 Moreover, we have realized that each method can be applied to the teacher who starts with it, so we do not have to imitate others but be ourselves. This has been demonstrated when other teachers try to use Whole Brain Teaching after some time, the method is not as effective as it was at the beginning. After our teaching period we can state that the respect to the teachers is the strongest point in methodology. Teachers who are respected in class manage to maintain the silence in their lessons and they do not need any extra method to catch students’ attention. However, respect cannot be confused with fear. If we want that our students respect us, we should show respect to them before and the best way to show respect to them is taking our job seriously and passing our passion for English on them. Related to this point, we would like to mention too the “Pygmalion effect”. We have all seen in our school placements the consequences of this effect. Students who are thought to be bad students, less intelligent were treated in that way and, therefore, their results were much worse to the ones who were supposed to be better. However, we have had `better´ results – more engagement, attention and affection – from these “bad” classes because, for the first time in a long time, there was a teacher who was interested in them. And we should not tolerate this behaviour because students start to believe they are not good enough and this is the first step to failure. And last but not least, we would like to emphasize the fact that not all students are bad and rude students. We must avoid misconceptions. There are fantastic students in every class and the only thing we have to do is to get to know them. We cannot let us to be influenced by the pessimistic image the media show about schools because the reality have shown us that the majority of students are very polite and respectful if we treat them in the same way. So, is there a place for whole brain teaching in the Spanish Education System? After this deep analysis of the methodology followed in our school placements, we are completely sure that there is a place for Whole Brain Teaching in our Education System and we even dare to say that it is necessary, since it is pretty important to introduce novelties in class not only for teachers but also for students. During our six weeks of practicum we have realised students need to get involved in lessons to be motivated and this new approach is a great way to achieve this aim. Furthermore, as we have mentioned during this project, we have checked that this methodology has a great impact on students and as we have demonstrated Whole Brain Teaching turned out to be a useful tool not only to maintain a good atmosphere and to reinforce a good behaviour, but also to make students focus on the matter and to help them improve their final marks, all of this thanks to the engagement this technique can provide to both, teachers and students.