9789144153568

Teaching English in Secondary School

Teaching English in secondary school

A HANDBOOK OF ESSENTIALS

Joseph Siegel

Copying prohibited This book is protected by the Swedish Copyright Act. Apart from the restricted rights for teachers and students to copy material for educational purposes, as regulated by the Bonus Copyright Access agreement, any copying is prohibited. For information about this agreement, please contact your course coordinator or Bonus Copyright Access.

Should this book be published as an e-book, the e-book is protected against copying.

Anyone who violates the Copyright Act may be prosecuted by a public prosecutor and sentenced either to a fine or to imprisonment for up to 2 years and may be liable to pay compensation to the author or to the rightsholder.

Studentlitteratur publishes digitally as well as in print formats.

Studentlitteratur’s printed matter is sustainably produced, as regards both paper and the printing process.

Art. No 44433 ISBN 978-91-44-15356-8 First edition 1:1 © The author and Studentlitteratur 2022 studentlitteratur.se Studentlitteratur AB, Lund Design: Henrik Hast Layout: Team Media Sweden AB Cover design: Francisco Ortega Cover illustration: Shutterstock.com Printed by Eurographic Group, 2022

Contents

Foreword 11 List of important abbreviations 15

1. Essential Terms and Background for L2 Teaching 17 A brief look at then and now 18 Essential Terms and Concepts 20 Views of language development 21 Communicative Competence 26 A Loose Chronology of Methods 32 Grammar-Translation 34 The Direct Method 35 Situational Language Teaching 36 Organizing around Functions 38 Audio-Lingualism 39 Leading to CLT 41

2. Communicative Language Teaching 45 An Encompassing approach 48 More on Communicative Competence 53 Many faces of CLT 55 Changing roles 62 Notional-Functional Organization 66 Weak and Strong CLT 67

Criticisms of CLT 67 CLT in Sweden 69 CLT and proficiency level 69 CLT by grade level 71

3. Examining Steering Documents: From CLT to CEFR to Skolverket 75 Essential background on curriculum documents 75 Competency-based teaching 78 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) 79 CEFR and Sweden’s Curricula for English 81 Revisions to Sweden’s Curriculum Documents for English 81 For secondary school (LGR22) 84 For upper secondary school (LGY21) 88 Supporting documents 92 What’s missing and what’s assumed 93

4. Textbook and Materials Analysis 99 Materials: What are the options? 99 Important Principles of Materials Development and Analysis 102 Textbook for Grades 7–9: Sample evaluations 111 Digital Textbooks for Upper Secondary School: Sample evaluations 114 Foundations for development 122 Authentic materials 124 Exploiting AM 126 Textbooks or AM? 127

5. Three Levels of Planning 133 Planning the lesson 134 Planning the course unit 140 Planning the course or term 143 Basic Planning Mistakes 146

6. L2 Learner Psychology, Autonomy & Strategies 149 Language Learning Psychology 150 Self-concept 153 Self-efficacy 154 Locus of control 154 Extroverted – Introverted 155 Reflective – Impulsive 155 Field Independence – Field Sensitivity 156 Ambiguity tolerance 156 Motivation 156 Anxiety 157 Willingness to communicate 158 Words of caution 158 Learner Autonomy 159 Language Learning Strategies 164 Direct and Indirect Strategies 166 Metacognitive, Cognitive and Socio-Affective Strategies 167 Communication strategies 168 Compensatory strategies 169 Decades of Development 169 Teaching Language Learning Strategies 170

7. Listening 175 Listening: Key terms and concepts 176 Listening: What to teach 178 Listening: Models and activities 182 Listening: Links to CLT 188 Listening: Final thoughts 189

8. Speaking 193 Speaking: Key terms and concepts 194 Speaking: What to teach 199 Speaking: Models and activities 202 Speaking: Links to CLT 210 Speaking: Final thoughts 210

9. Reading 213 Reading: Key terms and concepts 216 Reading: What to teach 222 Reading: Models and activities 226 Reading: Links to CLT 231 Reading: Final thoughts 233

10. Writing 235 Writing: Key terms and concepts 237 Writing: What to teach 241 Writing: Models and activities 246 Writing: Links to CLT 253 Writing: Final thoughts 255

11. Lexis and Grammar 259 Lexis and Grammar: Key terms and concepts 261 Lexis and Grammar: What to teach 271 Lexis and Grammar: Considerations for teaching 274 Lexis and Grammar: Links to CLT 280 Lexis and Grammar: Final thoughts 280

12. Teaching Mixed Ability Classes 283 Some Background on MA Classrooms 285 Defining the MA classroom: What to look for 287 The MA Classroom: In theory and practice 290 MA classes in practice 293 An Increasing Gap: Moving towards Widely Mixed Abilities 295 An illustrative case of teacher reflection 298 MA and WMA: Suggestions for teaching 303 MA and WMA: Final thoughts 306

13. Investigating teaching and learning 309 The research process: A basic outline 310 Finding and narrowing topics 311 Examples of researchable topics 318 Methodological approaches and related decisions 323 Data collection 328 Writing a basic report 335 Final thoughts 338 References 341 Index 355

Foreword

Most of us are already English consumers and users. We might watch TV programs and movies in English, use English when on vacation, read English books and newspapers, interact via social media in English, and so on. Without thinking too much, one likely realizes how much exposure to, use of, and inter­ action with English occurs frequently in daily life. Sometimes it can almost be taken for granted by proficient consumers and users of the language. The purpose of this book is to go beyond being consumers and users and consider what it means to be an English teacher.

The book is intended as an introduction to second language (L2) teaching for those new to the field and as a reference book for practicing teachers. The content covers a broad range of essential topics with a specific focus on secondary and upper secondary school L2 English in the Swedish context (although it is applicable to the teaching of all L2s and in most contexts).

Teaching L2 English at these grade levels can be challenging for a number of reasons. Not only are students dealing with adolescence in terms of cognitive and emotional development; they often have varying experiences with L2 English and foreign languages in general. In other words, many students in Swedish schools are multi-lingual, having studied L2 English and other foreign languages in school. Pinter (2016) highlights the general developments teenagers go through with specific focus on what 11

12 � Foreword

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

those changes can mean for L2 development. Because of these developmental transitions, teachers face a number of challenges in the L2 classroom, including choosing materials, building and maintaining motivation, accommodating groups comprised of varying abilities, and successfully incorporating the required curriculum in their classes.

My intention with this book is to support all L2 ­teachers, both new and seasoned, in dealing with these and other ­challenges.

To do so, the book provides a summary of fundamental concepts in the field of L2 teaching and learning and aims to stimulate interest in the abundance of relevant aspects and decisions that contribute to being successful and confident teachers of successful and confident learners.

Readers should note that the book itself is not compre­ hensive but is meant to be a starting point for new teachers and a refresher for practicing teachers who may want to stay up-todate with happenings in both pedagogic and research literature in the field. Each chapter provides an overview of key concepts, issues, and terms related to the respective topic, meant to stimulate curiosity about how L2 teaching and learning can be framed, organized, and accomplished.

The chapters draw largely on influential works in the field as well as my experiences as an L2 learner, teacher, researcher, and teacher educator. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with L2 teachers and/or students on six different continents (I’ll leave you to guess which one I haven’t worked on…yet!). Working with such a diverse group of engaging colleagues and learners has helped solidify my curiosity about and passion for the fields of L2 teaching and learning and applied linguistics.

Activities at the end of each chapter can be used in teacher education classes, assigned as homework, and/or form the basis of professional development programs for practicing teachers.

For teacher education courses, this book covers topics at both the basic and advanced levels, and these chapters can be covered

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

in any order, although the earlier chapters are more theoretical in nature while the middle and later chapters are more practical.

In addition, the final chapter provides explicit advice and support for conducting research within language education and applied linguistics and writing degree project essays and research reports.

As such, APA referencing, generally standard in applied linguistic and L2 educational work, is used in order to set a model for work generated by student-teachers within these traditions.

I hope those students who use this book on teacher training courses can then keep it on hand as they enter the classroom, knowing they can flip to a certain chapter to remind them of key concepts and teaching options. Experienced teachers can also keep it on the shelf, using it to brush up on previously-learned concepts, to find new ways of teaching, and to explore the ­various sub-topics and references to pedagogic and research literature that are included throughout.

A few notes about the content. Regarding terminology, I’ve used “secondary school” to refer to ‘högstadium’ (i.e., grades 7–9 in the Swedish system). “Upper secondary school” refers to ‘gymnasium’ (i.e., English 5, 6 and 7). The book is aimed mainly at classroom teaching with classroom research also in focus, but to a lesser extent, in the final chapter. This extensive focus on pedagogy means that issues of assessment, evaluation, and testing are not directly addressed. Assessment for learning and assessment of learning are indeed important topics but are beyond the pedagogic purview of this book.

Special thanks to my fellow L2 learners and teachers, to those who have taught me and who I have taught, to those who have supported and participated in various research projects, to those who have given me confidence and inspired me, and most importantly to Aki, Ken and Hal. Joseph Siegel

Foreword � 13

Three Levels of Planning

5.

Lesson planning can be viewed from three distinct but interrelated levels: 1) individual lessons that typically combine into 2) units of various lengths, which make up 3) a course, term or semester. According to Purgason (2014), teachers need to acknowledge multiple factors when planning: methodology, sequencing, materials, context, skills, and philosophy of teaching and learning (p. 362–363). This list includes both concrete practical decisions and more abstract beliefs systems, making it challenging to plan based on one’s instincts but still within a realistic framework and context. Teachers need to be able to plan meaningful lessons on a regular basis that incorporate activities and materials to engage students and correspond to Skolverket steering documents. At the same time, they need to have an overview of how each single lesson fits in and builds on what has come before while also recognizing what lies ahead. In other words, when it comes to lesson planning, we need to both see the whole forest and the individual trees.

Setting goals and objectives is an essential part of planning.

Both of these terms are applicable to varying degrees at the lesson, unit, and course levels. Brown and Lee (2015) emphasize that goals are typically broader overall course aims while objectives are often situated more narrowly within the context of a single lesson or activity (p. 187). Likewise, Hedge (2000) points out that goals are more general whereas objectives are more specific.

133

Course / Term (with general aims/goals)

Unit 1 (with broad objectives)

Lesson 1a*

Lesson 1b*

Unit 2 (with broad objectives)

Lesson 2a*

Lesson 2b*

Lesson 2c*

*Note: Each individual lesson includes specific objectives that are articulated and distinct from other lessons. All objectives contribute to the level of planning above them.

This distinction is also evident on Skolverket’s steering docu­ ments, which include both overall aims (i.e., goals) and more specific skill- and content-based objectives (i.e., the Content of Communication, Reception, and Production sub-sections).

This chapter provides basic and general advice for planning at each of these three levels (see Figure 5.1) and supplies activities to engage readers with the practical decisions and potential effects they may have. Think of lesson planning like a puzzle in which the pieces can fit together in multiple different ways, though some combinations may be more successful with or preferred for certain groups of learners (e.g., age, proficiency level, specific objectives, etc.). The important thing is to be aware of different pedagogic options and the potential effects those options might have.

Planning the lesson When planning individual lessons, it is important to first identify various influencing factors. These include the proficiency level and age of learners, the types of materials and resources available (e.g., textbooks, authentic materials, internet access, 134 � 5. Three Levels of Planning

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

Figure 5.1 Three levels of planning and aim/goal → objective relationship.

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

classroom space, etc.), and the planning and prep time allocated to the teacher. The methodology (e.g., CLT, TBLT, CLIL, etc.) will undoubtedly influence and become evident in the lesson planning.

Clear and specific objectives are also necessary to articulate for each lesson. Two types of lesson objective are highlighted by Brown and Lee (2015): terminal and enabling. The former refers to final lesson outcomes that the teacher will evaluate at the end of the lesson, while the latter are “interim steps within a lesson that build upon each other and ultimately lead to a terminal objective” (p. 199). Apart from the more practical elements that affect any individual lesson, choice and identification of specific learning outcomes relates back to Competency-Based Instruction, CEFR, and Skolverket’s curriculum. Teachers should identify the objectives for the day’s lesson and be able to point directly from the content of the lesson to a curriculum aim and/ or objective.

Lesson objectives should be stated clearly and ideally exempli­ fied in a planning document. Consider the difference between “Students will work on their reading” to “Students will develop reading strategies of skim reading for gist and guessing new words from context”. The former objective is so broad that it encompasses literally anything to do with reading. One could simply repeat that objective for every single lesson where reading was involved without ever specifying or introducing anything new or novel. The second formulation, however, provides clearer direction related to the content. Students know what they are specifically practicing. This type of specification can help in material selection; in this case, texts that include headings, clear topic sentences, and possibly pictures or words in bold would help learners in determining gist (e.g., as opposed to reading for details) and sentences with lower frequency words presented with sufficient contextual support and clues to enable guessing.

I encourage teachers to make the goals and objectives clear 5. Three Levels of Planning � 135

136 � 5. Three Levels of Planning

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

enough and to provide sufficient examples so that another teacher could pick up the lesson plan and understand exactly what to teach. In some cases, such as with grammatical structures or written production, goal setting can often be intuitively clearer than with receptive skills of listening and reading. Always be as concrete and specific as possible. If “improving vocabulary” is a goal, specify the type of words to be learned, how they are to be learned (e.g., strategies) and/or the elements of those words (spelling, semantic meaning, connotations, register, etc.; more on vocabulary teaching in Chapter 11).

Once objectives have been determined, teachers can turn their attention to materials selection. Often times, a decision between textbook or AM (or a combination of both) will be apparent. If a textbook is available, teachers might consider whether they will cover the materials and activities in the order presented in the textbook or with an alternative sequence. Moreover, depending on the students’ proficiency levels, the difficulty of some texts and/or activities and related expectations may need to be raised or lowered. Another option could be to take the theme of the unit or page and apply a TBLT angle that allows for more flexible and less prescribed language use (see Chapter 2 for more on TBLT). If AM are used, as described in the previous chapter, one or more teaching point(s) must be identified.

The body of the lesson will typically feature warming up / priming activities, scaffolded main activities, and exercises that are student-centered and offer increasing student independence.

Early in the lesson, the teacher’s role is often to demonstrate language use and/or provide access to and support in understanding model texts. In Text-Based Instruction, for example, the lesson begins with text deconstruction and comprehension activities scaffolded by the teacher, which then lead to individualized construction of new texts (Richards & Rodgers, 2014, p. 208–209).

Main activities should see plenty of practice opportunities with gradually retracted teacher support. This might mean immediate

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

corrective feedback or advice early on, but later pairs or groups of students might work for longer periods (5–15 minutes) on their own before the teacher gives formative feedback.

At a broad level, Richards and Rodgers (2014) present a threetiered system for planning language teaching. The authors distinguish between approach, method, and technique. Approach is the broadest and most abstract of these levels. It relates to theories about the nature of language itself as well as theories of language learning. In other words, it involves philosophy and beliefs.

Method relates to the design of a course and to its organization.

For example, the identification and selection of certain aspects of language to focus on (e.g., certain language skills, vocabulary, pronunciation, pragmatics, etc.) and the sequencing and design of teaching relate to method. It includes tangible artifacts such as syllabi, textbooks, and teaching ­schedules. The level that relates directly to what happens in the classroom is technique, which includes the practice activities, tasks, interactional patterns, feedback, and other elements that appear explicitly in lesson plans.

Technique is what we expect to see on a moment-by-­moment or step-by-step lesson plan. This plan would, in many cases, be informed by and reflect elements of the broader concepts of method and approach. Richards and Rodgers (2014) use this threetiered system to describe various types of language teaching (e.g., CLT, TBLT) and demonstrate how each is distinct from others.

Basic planning models can help beginning teachers to understand how to articulate, describe and order parts of the lesson.

One such model is PPP (Presentation-Practice-Production), which was discussed earlier in Chapter 1. Another straight­ forward and practical model is expressed by Hunter (2004) and consists of the following six main stages: 1) Hook/Attention getting activity; 2) Purpose of the lesson; 3) Input; 4) Modelling; 5) Guided practice with teacher input; 6) Independent practice.

Lessons that focus on the receptive skills of listening or reading might follow a “pre-, while-, and post-” format in which the 5. Three Levels of Planning � 137

138 � 5. Three Levels of Planning

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

pre-listening/reading often involves topic introduction, brainstorming key words, making predictions, pre-teaching vocabu­ lary, and personally relating to the topic. During the “while” phrase, students might have specific information to locate and/ or tasks to complete (e.g., identify word choices that show the writer’s viewpoint or answer comprehension questions). At the “post” phase, students might give their reaction to the text, recall and summarize the contents, or discuss.

The act of planning individual lessons can be very valuable for pre-service teachers. Scrivener (2011) points out that writing such lesson plans helps future teachers develop the “planning as thinking skill” and provides evidence for teacher educators that demonstrates student-teachers’ thought processes so they can provide additional support (p. 132). He describes the formal lesson plan as consisting of background and contextual information about the specific class (e.g., aims, materials, etc.); language items and/or skills to be in focus; and a step-by-step description of procedures.

Ur (2012) provides a list of practical advice that can help make lessons run smoothly. Among her suggestions are: be careful with locating more challenging activities to ensure students have mental energy to engage with them; consider the location of ­quieter, settling activities and more stimulating, active, and lively ones; address the entire class as a group at both the ­beginning and end of the period; end on a positive note; and have contingency plans (p. 22–23). All of these factors can be considered when conceiving and writing lesson plans.

Some tangible outcome for the lesson should also be articu­ lated so that the teacher can assess the extent to which each student developed within that single lesson. That is, the teacher should be able to determine if a student has or has not met the stated goal. If the objectives are clearly expressed, as argued for above, then assessing the outcome should be relatively straightforward. Avoid vague language when describing outcomes. If

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

the goal was for students to use a variety of expressions to state their opinions (e.g., “I think”, “If you ask me”, “The way I see it”), then teachers could observe students in pair work stating their views on a variety of topics.

Tips include using numbers in assessment (e.g., use a certain type of phrase at minimum five times in writing); speci­ fying how long a piece of production must be (e.g., speak for two minutes/­say at least four related sentences about a hobby); ­linking a text and skill (e.g., respond to a listening/reading text about climate change; answer detail questions in relation to written texts on conspiracy theories). Depending on the outcome of this brief, informal assessment, the teacher may adjust the following ­lesson(s) to incorporate necessary review.

Activity 5.1 Since all lesson planning involves choices, consider the following “puzzle pieces”. Imagine all of these activities will be used in a single lesson. In what order would you sequence them? What are your justifications for your decisions? Create your order and compare with colleagues. What similarities and differences does your comparison show? Are there certain conditions (hypotheticals) that would prompt you to make adjustments to your order?

A) Check unknown words B) Write a similar story/text C) Listen to a story/text D) Listen and repeat E) Discuss what you heard in pairs F) Read each others’ stories/texts G) Answer comprehension questions about the story/text Your lesson sequence: _____, _____, _____, _____, _____, _____, _____

5. Three Levels of Planning � 139

Teachers rarely teach a single, isolated lesson. That would likely be very ineffective to achieve goals of L2 development. Single lessons should always be planned and viewed with respect to preceding and upcoming learning; in other words, they should fit into a coherent course unit. A course unit usually consists of multiple lessons that either focus on a single topic or theme engaged via multiple language skills, on single language skill (e.g., listening or speaking) involving various topics, or perhaps on a combination of reciprocal skills (e.g., a listening/speaking unit). For those who use textbooks and are guided by a Table of Contents, unit structure and sequencing might be determined largely by the materials writers (though of course teachers might decide to vary a recommended sequence). In my experience, a course unit typically includes four or more lessons taught in a sequence that may cover a time span of one week or more. Timeframes will be affected by practical factors, such as the frequency of class meetings, the length of class periods, the school calendar, and the pace of student uptake.

It is important that course units themselves are logically planned and sequenced. That is, units that come earlier in a term should both build on students’ previous learning and also be graded so that each unit provides something that students can “take away” and use in subsequent units. There should be a clear logic behind the skill and language development in one unit and the next. Such continuity can be motivating for students since they know why they are working in the present. In addition, articulating this type of unit-to-unit connection can help administrators, parents, and other teachers understand the justification for teaching a particular unit at a particular time.

Randomness is the enemy in planning. We want to have justifications for everything.

140 � 5. Three Levels of Planning

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

Planning the course unit

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

Since a coherent course unit consists of multiple individual lesson plans, there is ample room to recycle previously covered vocabulary, grammatical structures, and themes. Further, themes and language skills can be extended to different text types, genres, and audiences even as the material covered relates to the unit objectives. Drawing on Tomlinson’s (2010) ideas presented in Chapter 4, the time dedicated to a particular unit should allow for opportunities to employ multiple language skills as well as linguistic, cognitive and affective engagement.

In terms of creating course units, Hedge (2000, p. 347–350) presents a number of organizational principles, some of which are likely more applicable to grades 7–9 and others to English 5, 6 and 7. These include using a situation, a topic or an event around which language (functions, structures, lexis), language skills, discourse aspects, and sociolinguistic factors can revolve.

In an “events-based sequence”, Hedge uses a trip to the Tower of London to illustrate a step-by-step procedure that includes real world aspects, including: reading and discussing a poster about the Tower; inviting a friend to go; deciding how to get there by public transport; visiting the Tower and listening to a guided tour; and writing a letter about the experience. Relevant language learning activities, structures, registers, vocabulary, and so on can be added to each of these stages. While this particular example might best be used in grades 7–9, the sophistication of either the stages themselves or the linguistic expectations could be increased to challenge higher proficiency or older learners. Employing this type of design, each individual lesson in the course unit could contain or cover one or more of the discrete “events”. Discussion, practice, pair work, structural foci, vocabulary development, role play, feedback from the teacher, connection to earlier and upcoming parts of the sequence, and so on can be applied for each lesson.

5. Three Levels of Planning � 141

Activity 5.2

The topic-based organizational principle is illustrated with “Holidays” as the core theme, around which different language skills and systematic aspects are planned. Hedge (2000, p. 348) lists the four main language skills and provides several textual examples of each; for instance, under the heading “Reading”, posters, travel brochures, and weather reports would be relevant.

Speaking involves dialogues about plans and events, practical transactional encounters such as between a potential customer and travel agent, and narratives based on travel photos. Several functions are specified, including talking about future plans, making suggestions, and reporting past events. Language structures related to those functions are articulated, such as “I think we’ll” (talking about the future), “Why don’t you…” (making suggestions), and “We went to” (talking about past events). This level of specificity clarifies the link between function and form.

Vocabulary for describing locations, weather, and experiences is also included.

Assuming a teacher has some say in which organizational principle they adopt (whether it is one Hedge describes or something else…remember, avoid randomness), their choice may give an indication of the teacher’s view of language, communication, and language learning. Does the teacher take grammatical structure as the main principle for organizing and sequencing lessons and units? Then they likely place great value on accuracy 142 � 5. Three Levels of Planning

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

Using Hedge’s “events-based sequence”, choose a different event.

Outline the events and corresponding language learning activities and teaching points, being as specific as possible. Aim to keep the “event” to one day at most (in order to maximize and exploit the language learning opportunities that present themselves within a relatively short time period).

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

and take a structured view of language. If units are organized around language functions, then the teacher perhaps has a more practical perspective on language and its usability for “getting things done”.

As Hedge (2000, p. 338) points out, teacher freedom in terms of planning can be different depending on contextual factors.

Teachers who follow a prescribed textbook, especially if this is imposed by superiors, may have less freedom in comparison to those who source their own materials and create their own schedules. On one hand, those with less freedom may also have more structure and need to devote less time and energy to ­planning in comparison to those who need to review many websites, online materials, and so on and then develop activities and tasks in relation to those materials. On the other hand, too much freedom can lead to lessons that do not always fit in to a unified structure. The concept of teacher freedom in planning relates to Skolverket’s syllabi, as the curriculum documents provide information on what to teach but do not provide information on sequencing, time periods, frequency, and other practical issues that might help teachers structure their units. This could be a way to show distinctions between national and localized levels of education (Lundahl, 2021, p. 23–26).

Planning the course or term Ideally, each lesson fits within a unit, and units combine in a logical and progressive way to form a course of study or a term.

These are longer periods that typically include several units and cover something like an academic quarter or semester (i.e., roughly 3–5 months). During this period, the general aims and goals of the course should be met by gradually accumulating and developing the narrower objectives specified for individual lessons. It is important that teachers consider the sequencing of course units to ensure that there is a logical build up and 5. Three Levels of Planning � 143

Chapter 5 Activities

Activity 5.1

Joseph Siegel is associate professor (docent) in English at Stockholm University and Örebro University. His publications cover a range of pedagogic topics in second language (L2) education and applied linguistics.

Since all lesson planning involves choices, consider the following “puzzle pieces”. Imagine all of these activities will be used in a single lesson. In what order would you sequence them? What are your justifications for your decisions? Create your order and compare with colleagues. What similarities and differences does your comparison show? Are there certain conditions (hypotheticals) that would prompt you to make adjustments to your order?

A HANDBOOK OF ESSENTIALS A) Check unknown words B) Write a similar story/text C) Listen to a story/text D) Listen and repeat E) Discuss what you heard in Teaching L2 English in secondary and upper secondary school pairs F) Read each others’ stories/texts G) Answer comprehencan be challenging for a number of reasons. Not only are students sion questions about the story/text

going through adolesence; they often have varying experiences with L2 English and need support with different parts of it. This Your lesson sequence: book provides a summary of fundamental concepts in the field of L2 teaching and learning.

The aim_____, is to stimulate _____, _____, _____, _____, _____, _____ interest in the various aspects and decisions that contribute to being successful and confident teachers of successful and confident learners.

Activity The content5.2 covers a broad range of essential topics, including Communicative Language sequence”, Teaching,choose L2 materials analysis, Using Hedge’s “events-based a different event. and language learning psychology as well as the four main language Outline the events and corresponding language learning activi­ skills, listening, speaking, reading and chapter provides an ties and teaching points, being aswriting. specific Each as possible.

Aim to overview of key concepts, issues, and terms related to the respective keep the “event” to one day at most (in order to maximize and topic, to stimulate curiosity about how L2 teaching exploitmeant the language learning opportunities that present them-and learning can be framed, organized, and accomplished. selves within a relatively short time period).

© T H E AU T H O R A N D S T U D E N T L I T T E R A T U R

Teaching English in Secondary School

Teaching English in Secondary School is intended as an introduction to L2 teaching for those new to the field and as a reference book for practicing teachers.

Art.nr 44433

148 � 5. Three Levels of Planning

studentlitteratur.se