среда, 22 мая 2019 г.
English camp:Dynamic Activities for Song in the EFL Classroom
Study Guide: Beyond the Gapfill: Dynamic
Activities for Song in the EFL Classroom
Article by Nico Lorenzutti
Study
Guide by Lara Ravitch
From the article:
Lorenzutti,
N. (2014). Beyond the Gapfill: Dynamic Activities for Song in the EFL Classroom.
English Teaching Forum, 52(1), 14-21.
Retrieved from https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/52_1_4_lorenzutti.pdf
Overview
Teaching English through songs is popular because it is fun
for students. It also provides a rich context for language. Another advantage
is the cultural connection it creates. However, teachers often do boring
activities with music. The most common activity is the gap fill. Students
listen to the music and fill in gaps in the text. Then, they listen again to
check their answers. However, this is definitely not the only activity that
students can do with music. This article describes some other activities to try
in the language classroom.
A Basic
Framework for Incorporating Songs
There are three stages for listening activities. Of course,
these stages should also be used for listening to songs.
1.
Pre-listening.
Students build their background knowledge.
2.
While
listening. Students listen to the song and complete a task at the same time.
3.
Post-listening.
Students analyze vocabulary and intended meaning.
This article focuses on activities for the “While listening”
stage.
The Double Gap
Fill
To make the gap fill more useful, start filling in gaps in
lyrics after the pre-listening stage. Students can use grammatical knowledge,
lexical knowledge and their new content knowledge to make guesses about the missing
words. This is helpful because students do not have to focus on listening at
this stage. They can focus on structure and meaning.
Seven Dynamic
Song Activities
Activity 1: Song Pictures
This activity is for novice to intermediate learners. They
draw pictures of the words they hear. This activity practices new vocabulary.
It also helps students understand English stress patterns. Because content
words are stressed, they will hear those words the best. After playing the song
several times, the students trade papers and try to identify each other’s
drawings.
Activity 2: Re-Order It
This activity is for novice to intermediate learners.
Students practice listening for key words and main ideas.
Choose 8-14 words from a song. Put them in a grid. (See
example below.) Before students listen to the song, say the words out loud and
have the students repeat them. This step prepares their ears for picking out
the words in the song. Then play the song. Students number the words in the
order in which they hear them. After the first listening, students compare with
a partner; then the song is played again so that they may check their answers.
Activity 3: Matching Meanings
This activity is for
reviewing or extending vocabulary. It can also help with guessing words and
explaining what you mean when you don’t know a word.
Level: Novice high to
advanced
Select 8 to 15 words and
write definitions in the order the words are heard in the song. (See
Figure 4 below.)
Divide the class into pairs
or teams. Hand out the sheet with the definitions, or write the chart on the
board. Have students guess each word from the definition and write their
answers in the Guess column. Elicit guesses from the class and write them on
the board. Play the song and have students write down the correct words in the
Actual Word column as they hear them. Have students check with their partner or
group. Play the song again. Distribute the lyrics and ask students to find any
words they did not catch.
Activity 4: Changing the Text
This activity can be used for
many things. To practice grammar, the students can change verb tense. To
practice pronunciation, they can change letters.
First, go over background
information. Then, put students in pairs and give them a handout of the lyrics
(see Figure 5). Tell students that one word in each line is incorrect; it has
been replaced with a word that rhymes with or sounds similar to the correct
word. Have students look at an example: “Excavating for a wine.” Then ask them
to look at the key words: excavating and wine. Do these words go together?
Excavating means “dig-ging.” The singer is a miner; where do miners work? Finally,
ask students to read the remaining lyrics and underline the words they think
are incorrect. This step allows them to go over the lyrics once with a partner
and, before the listening, create a roadmap for themselves of words they will
focus on and change.
Activity 5: Song Strip
Connections
This activity can be used to
raise awareness of coherence. It is also useful (depending on the song or text
used) for noticing complex sentence structures such as conditionals and
relative clauses.
Select a song and divide each
line into two parts or clauses. Make cards using colored paper: the first half
of each line will be on one type of colored paper (white), and the second half
will be on another (blue).
Students work in small
groups. Pass out the first half of the lyric cards (white) only. Have students
spread them out on the table. Play the song. Students listen and arrange the
cards in a column so that the lyrics are in order. Play the song again so that
students can check their work. Then, distribute the blue cards to each group. Students
complete each sentence with the correct ending. Once they have constructed the
song this way, play and check. Then ask them to analyze the lyrics in groups.
Finally, they report to the class on what they think the song is about.
Activity 6: Song Cards –
Take-Sort-Write
This song activity can be
used for vocabulary or sentence stress. Choose 12–20 vocabulary words or
phrases and write each one on an individual card. Arrange students in groups of
four to six and spread the cards face-up on a table or desk. Students say the
words out loud one by one. This step prepares their ears for catching the
selected words during the first listening. It also allows them to become
familiar with the position of the words on the table. Then play the song.
Students compete to grab and keep the word cards they hear. The student or team
with the most cards by the end of the song wins. For a non-competitive game,
provide several sets of cards for each group.
Activity 7: Pair Watching
This activity helps to
prepare students for writing.
Find a music video that tells
a good visual story. Videos with a lot of inter-esting action work best. Divide
students (A and B) into pairs. Seat students in two rows, facing each other;
Partner A has his or her back to the screen. Have Partner B watch 15–20 seconds
of the video. Press pause, and have Partner B describe what he or she saw to
Partner A. Switch and repeat until the video is finished.
суббота, 11 мая 2019 г.
English camps.
An Overview of Language Camps as a Global Industry
By Lara
Ravitch
Growth
in Language Camps
In recent years, the number of language
summer camps has grown in many countries. China, which did not have a culture
of youth summer camps, is creating one at a rapid pace. Many of these camps
have a language focus. South Korea has created a number of English Villages.
These are model towns that allow campers to practice interacting in the
language (Jeon, 2012). The United States has little need for English camps for
its residents. However, the government has funded foreign language camps to
make up for minimal offerings in schools (Startalk, 2019). At the same time,
English-speaking countries have created camps for international campers who
visit for a short time to boost their language skills (Jingyi and Mengfeng,
2017). Russia is not an exception to this trend. There was a strong culture of
youth camping built in the Soviet era. This culture meant that families quickly
became interested in camps as a place for learning English. A quick look at any
camp search web page shows that these number in the hundreds, if not thousands.
Why
Learn Language at Camp?
There
are many reasons for the popularity of language learning camps. Some of these
have to do with the general benefits of the camp experience, while others are
specific to language learning.
Benefits of Camp
According
to the American Camp Association (ACA, 2019), there are many benefits to
attending camp. This is true for any kind of camp, not only language camps. In particular, camp can help children in the
areas of self-identity, self-worth, leadership,
and self-respect. Camp can provide a safe environment that nurtures children
and youth. It allows them to improve their social skills with support from caring
adults. Campers also have the opportunity to meet peers who may be different
from their classmates in their school or local neighborhood. It also inspires a
respect and love for the natural world. Children can leave their screens and
relax in nature. Finally, camp helps students to stay healthy by providing them
with physical activity and outdoor experiences.
For
families who also want their children to study language, being able to combine
these experiences is quite valuable. They appreciate a different choice than
keeping their child at home to attend extra language classes in the city.
Opportunities for Immersion
Because
camps are isolated environments, they are ideal for using an immersion
approach. Immersion learning means that the target language is used all the
time, not just in language class. Immersive learning has a number of benefits
for language acquisition, such as strong reading and listening skills (Cummins,
1998) and the potential for increased cognitive ability (Lazaruk, 2007). Some
families do not have access to an immersion school or cannot travel abroad for
extended periods. For them, a language camp that uses immersion learning can be
a realistic way to access these advantages.
Experiential Education
Summer
camps are ideal for experiential education. Experiential learning is based on
active and reflective learning. In the
experiential language learning, students acquire language through the
experience of working together, rather than looking at pieces of the target
language (Knutson, 2003). Rather than sitting in classrooms studying the
language itself, campers can be using the language while boating, walking in
the woods, throwing water balloons, or building a campfire. Experiential
education has several benefits, including facilitating personal growth, helping
learners adapt to social change, accounting for differences in learning
ability, and responding to learner needs and teaching considerations (Kohonen,
2006). These unique features allow experiential language learning to provide
many best practices in language instruction. For example, there are many
opportunities for comprehensible input. Learners also have many chances
throughout the day for reflection. Learner speech is meaningful, and they get immediate
feedback through interaction.
Language
Camp Models
There are many ways to design language camps.
Some explicitly simulate life in an English-speaking country. Others teach
language during intensive class blocks but do not explicitly include it during
the rest of the day. Some keep campers divided strictly by language
proficiency. Others divide by age and then loosely into more or less advanced
groups. Some spend time focused on particular kinds of activities, such as
extreme sports or performing arts.
It is clear that language camps have become
an important part of the landscape for language learning for many reasons.
Whatever form they take, they provide unique advantages and challenges for both
learners and staff and an exciting adventure for all participants.
References
American Camp Association. (2019). Benefits of camp. Retrieved from https://www.acacamps.org/campers-families/because-camp/benefits-camp
American Camp Association. (2019). The long-lasting benefits of camp.
Retrieved from https://www.acacamps.org/resource-library/parents/long-lasting-benefits-camp
Cummins, J. (1998). Immersion education for the millennium: What we have
learned from 30 years of research on second language immersion. In M. R. Childs
& R. M. Bostwick (Eds.) Learning through two languages: Research and
practice. Second Katoh Gakuen International Symposium on Immersion and
Bilingual Education. (pp. 34-47). Katoh Gakuen, Japan.
Jeon, M. (2012). English immersion and educational inequality in South
Korea. Journal of Multilingual and
Multicultural Development, 33(4), 395-408
Jingyi, S., and Menfeng, Z. (2017). Summer camps: A dilemma for Chinese
parents. The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world/china-watch/society/overseas-summer-camps-for-chinese-children/
Kohonen, V. (2006). Experiential
language learning: Second language learning as cooperative learner education. In
P. Aramayo Prudencio, and M. A. L. Armenta Ortiz (Eds.), Foreign language English anthology (pp. 45-64). Mexico City: Secretary
of Public Education.
Knutson, S. (2003). Experiential learning in second-language classroom. TESL Canada Journal, 20(2), 52-64
Lazaruk, W. (2007). Linguistic, academic, and cognitive benefits of
French immersion. The Canadian Modern
Language Review, 63(5), 605-627.
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