PLANNING AN INDIVIDUAL LESSON

 

Н.А. Алмаева,

учитель английского языка,  МОУ СОШ № 3,

г. Хвалынск Саратовская область

 

PLANNING AN INDIVIDUAL LESSON

 

Comparing PPP and TBL

      I think the two approaches PPP and TBL are very useful to develop the target language and to motivate students.

The approach  PPP (Presentation-Practice-Production). When learning the grammar 'Gerunds and infinitives' the teacher establishes a context, model target structures. Then students practise the target language focusing on grammatical accuracy. This can be through drills, worksheets, games. At the end of the lesson the teacher assesses students’ learning by their independent use of target language.

But I feel more comfortable using the second approach TBL – (for example "Creating an utopian society". Students are divided in groups. I think collaborative work gives shy students more confidence to discuss the task as the teacher creates positive, friendly atmosphere. So students show their creativity and curiosity when presenting the utopian society.

Also, I’d like to tell you about the topic "The world's best friend is you". We discuss the environment in the native place, the environmental problems and their solutions  using the approach TBL. The task is 'to create a perfect place where we could live' (it might be even another planet in the Universe) using worksheets with necessary vocabulary, grammatical structures on this topic. i am convinced such lesson will be successful and fruitful.

Different stages of lesson plans

I think the lesson stages would be in the following order:

Warmer - it is a short activity starting the lesson to involve students in the 'mood' and to engage them with the language: vocabulary games, for example, "Let's rhyme the words" (dream-cream; not-got; name-game etc), a brief mingle activity with questions 'Did you have a good time in the country?' 'Where did you go at the weekend?'

Lead-in - it precedes the main input part of the lesson to help to reinforce students' interest, set the scene, establish the context. It can be a short discussion, brainstorming around a topic.

Presentation - Students are given a model illustrating the target language in context through flashcards, text, video, audio recordings, games and so on.

Controlled practice - Students practise the target language and focus on grammatical accuracy and pronunciation. It can be drills, sentence completion, information gap by teacher's monitoring.

Free practice/production - Students practise the language focusing on fluency. The activities are role plays, discussions, projects. The teacher's role is to monitor as learners experiment with the new language.

Feedback - The teacher gives comments on performance and suggestions as to where students can improve, praises what was done well and may represent useful examples to reinforce the target language.

Concept checking questions

I use some teaching techniques to check that students understand a language point:

1) distinguish the defining elements of the concept;

2) create a statement for each defining element using simple, concise language;

3) based on the statement, ask students a yes/no or either/or questions to check their comprehension of key concept elements.

Assignment: Concept checking

Look at the grammar and vocabulary items below and write concept check questions for each item:

1. I went to London.	·        Did I go to London? ·        Where did I go? ·        Am I in London now?
2. Would you mind if I opened the window?	·        Is the window open? ·        Is it happening in the present? ·        When is it happening?
3. She must have gone out.	·        Is she here now? ·        Where is she?
4. He should have set his alarm.	·        Did he set his alarm? ·        Are we talking about the past, present or future? ·        What might have happened as a result of his action?
5. I used to swim a lot.	·        Is it happening in the past or in the present? ·        Did I swim before? ·        Do I swim now?
6. You don’t have to smoke outside.	·        Can I smoke outside? ·        Where do I have to smoke? ·        Can I smoke inside if I want to? ·        Do I have a chance?
7. You mustn’t smoke inside.	·        Are we talking about the rule or the suggestion? ·        Can I smoke inside? ·        Why mustn’t I smoke inside?
8. A stranger/a foreigner	·        Can anyone tell me what a stranger is? ·        Can anyone tell me what a foreigner is? ·        Are a stranger and a foreigner the same thing?