Teaching and learning English: Utdrag

Teaching and ­Learning English

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Henrik Bøhn, Magne Dypedahl and Gro-Anita Myklevold (Eds.)

Teaching and ­Learning English

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© CAPPELEN DAMM AS, Oslo, 2018 ISBN 978-82-02-54761-5 1. utgave, 1. opplag 2018 Materialet i denne publikasjonen er omfattet av åndsverklovens bestemmelser.

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Omslagsdesign: Marianne Zaitzow, Affair AS Sats: Bøk Oslo AS Trykk og innbinding: AiT Bjerch AS, 2018 www.cda.no akademisk@cappelendamm.no

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Table of Contents Preface....................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 1 A Brief History of English Teaching and Learning in Norway ...................... 18 Aud Marit Simensen English didactics: An academic discipline .......................................................... 18 The making of a discipline: Before 1950 .............................................................. 21 Towards a new reform: Up to the mid-1970s ..................................................... 25 New winds blowing: Towards a new millennium ............................................... 28 At the start of the new millennium ...................................................................... 32 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 34 References ................................................................................................................. 35 Chapter 2 National Curricula and Inter­national Perspectives ........................................ 38 Heike Speitz The subject curriculum and its sources of influence ........................................ 38 Steering documents in general education .......................................................... 39 Changing times and changing curricula .............................................................. 40 The status of English ............................................................................................... 41 The Knowledge Promotion (LK06) ......................................................................... 42 The Council of Europe ............................................................................................. 44 The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) ............ 45 The European Language Portfolio (ELP) ................................................................. 47 International trends ................................................................................................. 48 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 48 References ................................................................................................................. 49

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table of contents

Chapter 3 Teaching Oral Skills: ­Speaking and Listening .................................................. 51 Theresé Tishakov Oral skills ................................................................................................................... 51 Language and context ............................................................................................. 52 LK06: Communication as the goal ....................................................................... 55 Oral communication ............................................................................................... 56 Speaking and listening to learn ............................................................................. 61 In the classroom ....................................................................................................... 62 Process speaking ..................................................................................................... 65 Classroom activities ................................................................................................ 66 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 71 References ................................................................................................................. 72 Chapter 4 Writing in English ................................................................................................... 73 Ragnhild Elisabeth Lund and Maria Casado Villanueva Why write in English? ............................................................................................. 73 What does the curriculum in LK06 say? ............................................................ 74 Different types of writing ....................................................................................... 75 How to motivate for writing? ................................................................................ 77 How to help learners get started? ........................................................................ 78 Scaffolding learners’ writing .................................................................................. 79 Ideas to practise different text types and strategies ......................................... 82 Responding to texts ................................................................................................. 88 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 89 References ................................................................................................................. 90 Chapter 5 Collaborative Writing with Online Tools ........................................................... 92 Hilde Brox Why write collaboratively? .................................................................................... 92 Collaborative writing with digital tools ................................................................ 93 Real-time editors ..................................................................................................... 96 Wikis ......................................................................................................................... 97 Wiki storyline .......................................................................................................... 99 Wikipedia .................................................................................................................. 101 Challenges and benefits ........................................................................................ 102

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Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 103 References ................................................................................................................. 105 Chapter 6 Reading Skills and ­Strategies .............................................................................. 106 Theresé Tishakov Literacy and reading ................................................................................................ 106 Reading in the English Subject Curriculum (LK06) .............................................. 108 Genre approach to reading .................................................................................... 109 Helping the students become strategic readers ................................................ 113 Effective reading strategies .................................................................................... 114 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 118 References ................................................................................................................. 119 Chapter 7 Reading Literature .................................................................................................. 120 Christian Carlsen Literature in the English Subject Curriculum (LK06) ........................................... 120 Literature and students’ reading skills ................................................................. 123 Reading and working with literature .................................................................... 124 Youth literature ........................................................................................................ 127 Recommended books ............................................................................................. 131 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 135 References ................................................................................................................. 136 Chapter 8 Working with Literature: Two Case Studies ..................................................... 139 Gro-Anita Myklevold Developing language awareness and cultural awareness ................................ 139 Reading Revolting Rhymes and Funny in Farsi: What, how and why? .............. 140 How can teachers use Revolting Rhymes? ........................................................... 141 Language learning ................................................................................................... 142 Oral communication ............................................................................................... 144 Written communication ......................................................................................... 144 Culture, society and literature ............................................................................... 146 How can Funny in Farsi be used in the classroom? ............................................ 148 Language learning ................................................................................................... 148 Oral communication ............................................................................................... 151

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table of contents

Culture, society and literature ............................................................................... 152 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 156 References ................................................................................................................. 157 Chapter 9 Intercultural Competence and Culture Pedagogy ........................................... 158 Magne Dypedahl and Henrik Bøhn What is intercultural competence? ...................................................................... 158 Language education and intercultural competence .......................................... 160 The use of models for the development of intercultural competence ........... 161 The intercultural learning cycle ............................................................................. 162 How to implement the intercultural dimension in the English language classroom .................................................................................................................. 167 Culture pedagogy .................................................................................................... 170 Assessment of intercultural competence ........................................................... 172 Resources for being an interculturally competent teacher .............................. 174 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 174 References ................................................................................................................. 175 Chapter 10 Vocabulary Learning .............................................................................................. 178 Camilla Bjørke What is vocabulary? ............................................................................................... 178 Vocabulary in language learning research .......................................................... 180 What does it mean to know a word? ................................................................... 181 Which words should be learnt? ............................................................................ 183 Transparent words ................................................................................................... 185 Cognates ................................................................................................................... 186 How are words learnt? ........................................................................................... 188 Word-learning strategies ....................................................................................... 189 A classification of word-learning strategies ....................................................... 190 How can word-learning be arranged in the classroom? ................................... 191 Vocabulary training on the internet ..................................................................... 195 The explicit teaching of strategies ........................................................................ 195 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 196 References ................................................................................................................. 197

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Chapter 11 Working with Grammar ......................................................................................... 199 Magne Dypedahl Why focus explicitly on grammar? ...................................................................... 199 What is grammar? .................................................................................................. 201 What part of grammar? ......................................................................................... 203 Discovery-based learning and instruction .......................................................... 204 Grammar in context ................................................................................................ 207 An organic approach ............................................................................................... 211 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 211 References ................................................................................................................. 212 Chapter 12 Teaching Pronunciation ......................................................................................... 215 Eivind Nessa Torgersen The place of pronunciation in English language teaching and learning ........ 215 Fluency and accuracy in the English classroom ................................................. 217 The English Subject Curriculum (LK06): “Patterns” of pronunciation .............. 217 Is there one standard for how English should be pronounced? ...................... 219 English as a lingua franca ....................................................................................... 221 What should be the goal for teaching pronunciation? ..................................... 221 Comprehensibility and new contrasts ................................................................. 224 Pronunciation activities in the English language classroom ............................ 226 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 228 References ................................................................................................................. 229 Chapter 13 General Perspectives on Assessment ............................................................... 231 Henrik Bøhn Assessment – a basic aspect of teaching and learning .................................... 231 Ipsative assessment ................................................................................................ 232 Norm-referenced assessment ............................................................................... 233 Criterion-referenced assessment ......................................................................... 234 Final assessment (Sluttvurdering) ........................................................................ 234 Continuous assessment (Undervegsvurdering) ................................................ 239 Gathering information about the students’ level of achievement .................. 243 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 245 References ................................................................................................................. 246

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table of contents

Chapter 14 Formative Assessment in English ...................................................................... 248 Tony Burner What is formative assessment? ........................................................................... 248 Self-assessment ....................................................................................................... 250 Formative feedback ................................................................................................. 253 Process writing ......................................................................................................... 255 Peer assessment ...................................................................................................... 258 Portfolio assessment ............................................................................................... 260 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 262 References ................................................................................................................. 263 Chapter 15 Developing Language Awareness ....................................................................... 266 Helene Hauge and Anja Angelsen What is language awareness? ............................................................................... 266 Language awareness and the English Subject Curriculum (LK06) ................... 268 Learning languages .................................................................................................. 269 Second language acquisition ................................................................................. 270 Individual differences in language learning ........................................................ 272 Domains of language awareness .......................................................................... 274 Teaching (about) language awareness ................................................................ 277 Activities to develop language awareness .......................................................... 277 Morphology and word learning ............................................................................. 278 Word order ................................................................................................................ 279 Error identification ................................................................................................... 279 Children’s books ....................................................................................................... 280 Dictionaries ............................................................................................................... 281 Automatic translation tools ................................................................................... 281 Text analysis ............................................................................................................. 283 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 283 References ................................................................................................................. 285

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table of contents

Chapter 16 Norms and Variation in English Language Teaching : Classroom Implications ......................................................................................... 286 Henrik Bøhn and Thomas Hansen The question of target language and target culture in ELT .............................. 286 From British English to English as a universal language ................................... 288 Criticism against the native speaker norm ......................................................... 290 Alternatives to the native speaker norm: English as a lingua franca ............. 292 Standards, speaker models and the English Subject Curriculum (LK06) ........ 296 Possible ways of dealing with the question of language standards in ELT .... 296 Suggested guidelines for dealing with oral skills ............................................... 297 Suggested guidelines for dealing with written skills ......................................... 299 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 300 References ................................................................................................................. 301 Chapter 17 Plurilingual Learning and Teaching .................................................................... 303 Åsta Haukås and Heike Speitz What is plurilingualism? .......................................................................................... 303 The value of plurilingualism ................................................................................... 306 The English Subject Curriculum and plurilingualism ............................................ 307 What is a plurilingual pedagogical approach? ................................................... 309 Examples of plurilingual teaching and learning ................................................. 310 Plurilingual awareness and the European Language Portfolio (ELP) ................. 312 Fostering writing skills across languages ............................................................ 313 Third language learners in the L2 English classroom ........................................ 315 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 316 References ................................................................................................................. 318 Chapter 18 Corpora in English Language Teaching .............................................................. 322 Hilde Hasselgård Finding out how language is used ......................................................................... 322 What is a corpus? .................................................................................................... 323 Concordance ............................................................................................................ 325 Frequency .................................................................................................................. 326 Variation .................................................................................................................... 327

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How can we use corpora in English language teaching? .................................. 328 Indirect applications of corpora ............................................................................ 328 Direct applications of corpora: Teachers and learners as corpus users ........ 331 The internet as corpus? .......................................................................................... 334 Free online corpus resources ................................................................................. 338 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 340 References ................................................................................................................. 342 Chapter 19 Teachers’ Beliefs about Language Instruction ................................................ 343 Åsta Haukås What is meant by teachers’ beliefs? ...................................................................... 343 Teacher students’ (resistant) beliefs about language teaching ...................... 345 What language teachers think, and what they do ............................................. 347 Becoming conscious of one’s own beliefs ........................................................... 350 A student examines her own beliefs .................................................................... 351 New challenges create new beliefs ...................................................................... 353 Concluding remarks ................................................................................................ 356 References ................................................................................................................. 357 Contributors ............................................................................................................. 358 Index .......................................................................................................................... 359

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Preface Teaching and Learning English is an entirely new book, but it owes a lot to its predecessor, FremmedsprĂĽksdidaktikk, which was published in 2014.

The latter book was very well received, but since it addressed both English teachers and teachers of other foreign languages, some compromises had to be made with regard to its content. This resulted in many comments from students and teachers, who expressed a wish for a book with a major emphasis on English teaching and learning.

Thus, Teaching and Learning English is an anthology that targets future and present teachers of English only, whereas a completely revised second edition of FremmedsprĂĽksdidaktikk (2018) now focuses on other foreign languages. This separation into two different books does not mean that the development of the books has followed separate paths. Many of the authors have been involved in both projects, and both publications share many common characteristics with regard to structure and content. Most importantly, however, it has been a great advantage for both projects to draw on the expertise of contributors all across the board.

Teaching and Learning English includes contributions from 18 scholars representing eight different institutions of higher education. It comprises 19 chapters that cover central topics for present and future teachers. All the chapters are structured in the same way. Each chapter begins with a brief overview of the content and ends with concluding remarks and reflection questions. Obviously, the reflection questions relate to the content of each chapter, but they are also there to encourage readers to reflect on how they can use their knowledge to increase students’ learning outcomes. These questions are in accordance with one of the main aims of this anthology, namely to underscore the close relationship between theory and practice.

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preface

Each chapter in the book centers on a central theme within the field of English didactics. However, it should be noted that the book represents a holistic approach to language learning. The chapters and themes are closely intertwined. Even if there is focus on a specific topic or competence in one chapter, it does not exclude the relevance or importance of other topics or competences. In addition, some topics are covered by more than one chapter. This applies to reading literature and assessment, which have been assigned two chapters each. In all chapters, whenever relevant, the topics are illustrated with practical examples. However, the balance between theory and practical examples can vary from chapter to chapter. Generally, the reason for this is that the theory behind some themes is assumed to be better known than others. It should also be noted that a general overall style is kept throughout the book. Despite this, the authors have been left free to use whichever variety of standard English that they prefer. In the following, each of the 19 chapters is introduced briefly.

Chapter 1 is written by one of the most distinguished scholars in the field of English didactics in Norway, Aud Marit Simensen. She gives a historical overview of the development of English as a school subject and of English teaching in Norway. Simensen depicts how the various subject curricula reflect different times and schools of thought and shows how teaching methodology has changed over time. In chapter 2, Heike Speitz then gives an overview of the steering documents that guide general education in Norway. In addition to focusing on features of the English Subject Curriculum (LK06), she describes European influences on the development of language curricula, not least from the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

The next chapters concentrate on the basic skills of language learning.

Speaking and listening are the topics in chapter 3. Here, Theresé T ­ ishakov discusses the importance of oral skills in cognitive learning and gives examples of how teachers can introduce a variety of scaffolded listening and speaking tasks to support students’ oral communication in the classroom.

In chapter 4, Ragnhild Lund and Maria Casado Villanueva explain why writing has a central position in foreign language learning and describe how teachers can assist their students in developing better writing skills.

They give many examples of how teachers can work with these skills and 14

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preface

not least discuss why learners of English should write. Writing can also be a social activity, and in chapter 5 Hilde Brox explains how online tools can be used for collaborative writing. She addresses two tools in particular, namely real-time editors and wikis. In chapter 6, the topic is reading.

Theresé Tishakov presents reading skills as a key component of literacy, and she argues that the teaching of reading strategies can aid reading and overall language proficiency. She also discusses how genre pedagogy can be used as an approach to the teaching of reading skills.

The three next chapters are to a larger extent related to the main subject area of culture, society and literature in the English Subject Curriculum. In chapter 7, Christian Carlsen looks at why and how literature can be used in English teaching, not least how digital storytelling can be used. He outlines some principles for using literature effectively in the classroom and presents recent trends within youth fiction. In chapter 8, Gro-Anita Myklevold analyzes the humoristic books Revolting Rhymes (1982) by Roald Dahl and Funny in Farsi (2003) by Firoozeh Dumas as two case studies of how teachers can work with literature. These works of fiction are used to illustrate how literature can be used successfully in the English language classroom, developing learners’ oral and written proficiency, language awareness, and intercultural competence.

Intercultural competence is also the topic of chapter 9. In this chapter, Magne Dypedahl and Henrik Bøhn show how intercultural competence is an important part of a language user’s competence and consider which implications the focus on intercultural competence has for cultural pedagogy in modern English teaching. They argue that a model of intercultural competence, focusing on specific knowledge, skills and attitudes, may be a very good starting point for developing students’ intercultural competence in language education.

In language education, vocabulary acquisition is essential, and in chapter 10, Camilla Bjørke focuses on vocabulary learning strategies. She shows how general knowledge about language and language learning can be of help in learning a new language. Knowledge of grammar is also important for language learning, particularly in terms of comprehension and meaningmaking. In chapter 11, Magne Dypedahl argues that explicit focus on grammatical form and meaning can be central to the concept of communicative 15

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preface

competence. He describes a holistic approach to grammar, focusing on text grammar and making grammar an integral part of other learner activities.

Pronunciation is a central aspect of oral skills, and chapter 12 is devoted to this topic. Here, Eivind Nessa Torgersen discusses the place of pronunciation in modern English language teaching. He looks at how pronunciation has historically been treated in the English classroom and shows how this issue is currently being dealt with in contemporary teaching materials.

He also discusses the question of a pronunciation standard and which phonological features it may be worth concentrating on in the teaching and learning of English.

When teaching and learning English, an all-important issue is assessment. This topic is discussed in two chapters that are closely related: chapters 13 and 14. In chapter 13, Henrik Bøhn provides a general introduction to the issue of language assessment and examines the why, what, and how of assessment in English education. More specifically, he outlines different types of assessment, why and how these could and should be used, and discusses important questions such as validity and reliability. In chapter 14, Tony Burner takes a closer look at formative assessment and its central place in English language teaching in Norway. He describes different types of formative assessment and outlines some of the requirements for making formative assessment an effective tool in the promotion of language learning. Process writing and portfolio assessment are used as examples of how formative assessment can be used successfully in the English language classroom.

Learning English can also be used to reflect on language learning in general and help learners to become more efficient language learners. In chapter 15, Helene Hauge and Anja Angelsen discuss language awareness and how learners can work to develop their understanding of languages along with other language skills. Chapter 16 then treats the issue of speaking standards in English education. In this chapter, Henrik Bøhn and Thomas Hansen show how the focus has shifted from the native speaker as a model for teaching and assessment in earlier days towards an emphasis on intelligi­ bility and communication in contemporary English learning and teaching.

Against this background they discuss the implications that this shift has had for language teaching and learning.

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preface

In chapter 17, the topic is a central feature of European language policy, namely plurilingualism. Åsta Haukås and Heike Speitz here present and discuss plurilingualism as a central component of language learning and teaching. They also provide examples of plurilingual teaching and learning, and show how the students’ previous linguistic resources can be of great help in learning new languages. In chapter 18, Hilde Hasselgård discusses the use of corpora in teaching and learning English. She explains what a corpus is and what answers a corpus can provide about language use that are different from search engines and other tools. She gives many examples of various possibilities for making use of corpora in language learning.

Lifelong learning is a key to being a good teacher. Graduating as a teacher is only a milestone, not the end of an educational road. One aspect of this is to continue to gain new knowledge and improve one’s own skills. Equally important, there is need for reflection on the teacher’s role and on how teachers can help learners enhance their learning. In the last chapter of the book, chapter 19, Åsta Haukås writes about how teachers can become more aware of their own beliefs by opening up to new knowledge and challenging themselves in various ways.

In sum, these chapters give a good overview of topics that are central to teachers of English. Readers are encouraged to draw on as many sources as possible, but this book can serve as an excellent starting point for discussions and further development of the teaching and learning of English in Norway, not least among future and present teachers.

Henrik Bøhn Magne Dypedahl Gro-Anita Myklevold

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Chapter 1

A Brief History of English Teaching and Learning in Norway Aud Marit Simensen

The aims of teaching and learning English have changed over the years. In order to understand the present-day situation, English teachers can bene­ fit greatly from knowing about the history of English teaching, or “English didactics” as it is frequently referred to. In this chapter, one of the pioneers of modern English didactics in Norway, Aud Marit Simensen, shares her invaluable insights into this field of study. She outlines the development of the field over time and describes how the various subject curricula reflect different times and schools of thought.

English didactics: An academic discipline In this chapter, the term English didactics is used to refer to the teaching and learning of English as a field of study in Norway. Didactics can be understood as the practice of planning, carrying out, evaluating and improving teaching. It is intimately linked to the learning of English. In English-speaking countries, the term has been less widely used, since for many years it was seen as carrying a flavor of moral instruction. In continental Europe, on the other hand, it is much more common, and in Norway terms such as didaktikk, fagdidaktikk, English didactics and even English subject didactics, are commonplace in higher education.

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a brief history of english teaching and learning in norway

English didactics is an applied discipline. Like most applied disciplines, its purpose is to deal with practical questions, and it may look for relevant knowledge and experience in several branches of learning. This field is concerned with issues related to the teaching and learning of English as a foreign or second language. The acronym TEFL is normally used to refer to language courses for learners of English in a country where English is not commonly spoken. TESOL on the other hand is normally used to refer to language courses for learners of English of different language backgrounds and taught in an English-speaking country.

As an academic discipline, English didactics goes back to around 1900, with textbooks for the education of English teachers and language planners often attracting an international audience. Among the first and most widespread textbooks in the discipline were the books The Principles of Language Study by Harold E. Palmer (1922) and How to Teach a Foreign Language by Otto Jespersen (1904, with a first edition in Danish dated 1901).

One current way of understanding the discipline English didactics is to say that it consists of answers to the questions what, how and why. Planning a course in English means making many decisions about what and how.

These decisions should be made on the basis of answers to why-questions: What?

• What should the objectives of a course in English as a foreign language be?

• What should the content be?

How? • How should content (for example types of teaching materials, progression and types of learning activities) be dealt with?

• How should teaching be organized?

• How should the students’ progression be evaluated (for example types of assessment, tests and evaluation criteria)?

Why? Why should English be taught in compulsory education?

Why these objectives, this content, these teaching materials and so on?

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chapter 2

International trends Internationally, and especially in Europe, there are two clear trends in language learning and education. The first one is the introduction of foreign language learning at an earlier age, meaning that students start learning foreign languages at a younger age than what was previously the case. In Norway, an earlier start to modern foreign languages other than English has been piloted in two large-scale national projects (Speitz, 2012; Mordal, Lindemann & Aaslid, 2013). The second trend could be called a paradigm shift or a “turn” towards plurilingualism in education. Plurilingualism and plurilingual education are widely supported in language research and education (see chapter 17). Plurilingualism is a topic in the new, five-year teacher education program (GLU 5–10) in Norway. Similarly, at several universities and university colleges, PPU (the one-year post-graduate teacher training program) is taught in mixed groups for English and other languages. The introduction of plurilingual topics into these programs reflects the emphasis placed on this issue in international language education.

Concluding remarks This chapter has given a general introduction to steering documents and subject curricula. In the first part of the chapter, the role of English as a subject and the subject curricula in LK06 were discussed. In the next section, the most influential international documents in recent curricula development, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and the European Language Portfolio (ELP), were described.

Finally, this chapter has presented two international trends in language learning and education, namely the introduction of foreign language learning at an earlier age and a paradigm shift towards plurilingualism in education.

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national curricula and inter­n ational perspectives

Reflection questions 1. Which texts and documents do you think will be of importance for your own teaching of English: the national curriculum, the ELP, textbooks, digital resources, or others? Why, and how?

2. Why may it be important for English teachers to be familiar with subject curricula for other languages?

3. Reflect on how English can be taught with a plurilingual approach.

4. The development of local curricula has been in focus since the introduction of LK06. Reflect on possible reasons for this, considering Goodlad’s curriculum dimensions.

5. LK06 is a framework curriculum, which does not include any regulations on teaching methods or on how to reach competence aims. What advantages and challenges does this type of curriculum imply for you as a teacher?

References Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (2001). Strasbourg, France: Council of Europe.

Retrieved from http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_EN.pdf Council of Europe. (2007). European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL). Retrieved from https://www.ecml.at/Portals/1/documents/resourcecentre/EPOSTL-EN.pdf Council of Europe. (2015). Plurilingual and Intercultural Education. Guide for the Development and Implementation of Curricula. Language Policy Division.

Strasbourg.

Council of Europe. (n.d.). European Language Portfolio (ELP) (6–12). Retrieved from http://www.fremmedspraksenteret.no/elp Council of Europe. (n.d.). European Language Portfolio (ELP) (13–18). Retrieved from http://www.fremmedspraksenteret.no/elp Goodlad, J. I., & Associates. (1979) Curriculum Inquiry. The Study of Curriculum Practice. McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Gulbrandsen, K. (2009). Det europeiske rammeverket og læreplanen for fremmedspråk. Språk og språkundervisning, 4, 26–28.

Gundem, B. B. (2008). Perspektiv på læreplanen. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget.

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chapter 3

Speaking activity again

Pre-speaking: Planning content/ forms/format

Feedback/ Reflections

Practice

Speaking activity

Figure 3.2. Process speaking cycle.

Classroom activities The classroom activities described below take into consideration how teachers can provide scaffolding for speaking or listening activities through linking them to another activity or experience, or by allowing students the opportunity to practice, repeat or rehearse their speaking or listening.

The overall idea is to provide students with words and language structures to use or anticipate when speaking or listening, allowing all to have the opportunity to participate or practice.

What to speak about From writing to speaking: • Allow students a few minutes to write down their ideas and thoughts about a topic, before asking them to speak. This can be done with a five-minute quick writing session (also called rush writing), where the 66

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writing in english

the resources they need to do the task. Before the writing session, students can work with relevant vocabulary, language structures and text type conventions in addition to knowledge about the topic they are going to write about.

Many teachers start with brainstorming in order to generate ideas and help students think of a topic they would like to write about. The next step can be mind mapping, which can help the students organize their thinking, for example when it comes to arguing for and against an issue or putting their points in a logical order. But even from here, it can be difficult to actually start writing. Woody Allen is said to have formulated a very valid point like this: “The hardest part of writing is going from nothing to something”.

A useful strategy here is to let the learners quick write (also referred to as rush write). This means that the learners get a few minutes to write everything they know about a topic or everything related to the topic that comes into their heads, just to get something down on paper.

Graphic organizers can also be a useful tool in the pre-writing process.

A graphic organizer is a visual display that can guide the students’ thinking as they start to build up their text. If they are asked to compare a book and the film of the book, for example, a simple Venn diagram can help them sort the similarities and the differences between the two:

Book

Film Similarities

Figure 4.1. An example of a simple Venn diagram.

Scaffolding learners’ writing Similarly, graphic organizers can help students classify arguments and organize ideas in order of importance. They can also reflect visually the overall structure of a text or a paragraph. A hamburger is often used as a metaphor here. The idea is that a hamburger bun is not a hamburger unless it is filled with meat, lettuce, tomato, onion and perhaps a pickle. In the 79

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Chapter 5

Collaborative Writing with Online Tools Hilde Brox

Writing is often thought of as a solitary activity, confined to the interaction between the individual writer and his pen or keyboard. However, there are good reasons for making writing a social activity in the English classroom, and digital technologies have opened up a range of new possibilities for collaborative writing. In this chapter, Hilde Brox explains the use of two such technologies that are readily available for English teachers: real-time editors and wikis. Although they work in very different ways, both technologies can contribute to more student-centred, active classrooms in which learners engage in new ways to create a variety of text types.

Why write collaboratively?

Collaborative writing simply means two or more people working together to produce a common text. In professional life, the majority of all texts written involve several people (see Ede & Lunsford, 1990). In schools, writing together with someone else is much less practised. Fortunately, many teachers have begun to appreciate that collaborative writing provides relevant professional life skills for students and opens up several new opportunities for learning.

There are many ways to collaborate and many degrees of collaboration.

At the low end of the scale, collaboration may be in the form of writers 92

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