To ban or not to ban?

The topic of the use of mobile and smart phones is one that often comes up in our staff room. Do we allow our learners to bring them to class? Do we ban them completely and have them leave them in their bags? Do we restrict how they use them? Perhaps our institution has a policy, but do all of the teachers apply this policy? And if not, what implications does it have for the teachers that do. I feel that recently I've been spending a lot of time trying to get my learners' attention. Their phones seem to have become an extension of their hands. Am I just too old-fashioned or is the situation getting out of control? I could go on to list more and more questions, but how about we look at some solutions before we get a headache?!

Some reasons for the overuse of phones:

• Location - if your learners have travelled abroad to study, they are in a foreign country away from their family and friends and will more than likely be anxious to keep in touch with them.
• Age - Adolescents and young adults will want to contact their friends as much as possible. They will try all of the tricks in the book to continue texting, Whatsapping, Facebooking etc
• Work - Some adult learners will have work commitments and sometimes need to make urgent phone calls or send important e-mails.
• Translation - many learners now come to class equipped with a dictionary or translator on their phone.

Options:

• Introduce a complete ban of phones. Tell them to leave them in their bags or perhaps have a box at the top of the classroom where they can leave them when they come in. (If you do this, it might be an idea to have dictionaries available for them).
• Follow school policy - Talk to your Director of Studies, Senior teacher or to other teachers in your institution. Ask if there is already a policy in place and if not, what do they do or suggest.
• Create your own policy - Talk to your students and come up with a policy that you're all happy with. Include them in the decision. Giving them some agency in this way might motivate them and encourage them to use their phones less or in a more effective way. Get creative and have the class design posters for the classroom or the school if you'd like to expand the policy beyond your classroom.
• Allow the current situation to continue, let your students do what they want while you become more frustrated and miserable!
• Incorprate phones into your lessons and demonstrate how your learners can use them to help them in their studies. There is a huge variety of apps available for Smart phones, Androids and iPhones. If learners enjoy using their phones, using apps could engage and motivate them. My favourites are Sounds: The Pronunciation App by Macmillan and My Word Book by the British Council. We can also use them in other ways, for example, for dictations, we can write the dictation down in a message or memo. We can also use our photos as inspiration for conversation. (Thanks must go to Nicky Hockly who gave me these ideas at the IATEFL LT SIG Conference here in Dublin a few weeks ago.) There are also many more possibilities.

So, in short, yes we all survived perfectly well before mobile phones, but now that they are here and part of our every day lives, perhaps we should adapt to them and allow our teaching to develop just as it has with so many other changes that have come about over the years.

Nothing like meeting your idols to pick you up when you're down!

The summer is over and usually here in Dublin, it means that us teachers have a bit of a break and a chance to recharge the batteries. However, this year, after a super busy summer, (so much so that we had to open a separate centre), we are still at full capacity. It's absolutely wonderful as our seasonal teachers have work for longer and the school is still buzzing.

 Unfortunately for me, it has been a little bit of a struggle this summer. I got completely burnt out. Since beginning my Trinity Dip this time last year (and working full time pretty much throughout it), I haven't had a holiday. I've had a few days of "staycation", but I've still been contactable and have ended up working on other projects during that time. I had the opportunity to be the Assistant Director of Studies for the summer, which I was terribly enthusiastic about at the beginning of the summer, but thanks to the storms and heavy rain we got flooded and that was the start of my slow descent into burnout.
I felt totally demotivated, my patience completely ran out and everything felt like an uphill battle. I couldn't handle being asked questions by other teachers and they expected me to be at their beck and call. I felt guilty because my other duties took up all of my time and I didn't have time to prep my lessons to the standard I'm used to. My students in class were the only thing that kept me sane and motivated me, but at times, they even began to irritate me. I needed a break, but my contract and other teachers having booked holidays didn't allow me to take holidays until the end of October.

So, I decided that outside of school, I would try to give any ELT related activities a rest and focus on something else. I read an article by Lindsay Clandfield, and I took his advice. I started to do exercise for 30 minutes every day, or most days. I tried to get outdoors as much as possible and I even tried out meditation.

Slowly, I started to feel alive again. I stopped comfort eating and slowly began to lose the 15lbs I had put on over the last year. The spring started creeping back into my step, and, as one of my students told me, my "sparkle" was coming back too!

The final boost came last week when I went to Bath for a conference with the IATEFL PronSIG. My colleague and I took the first flight out of Dublin after only 4 hours sleep and a very long week! I was concerned that I wasn't going to be able to get the most out of the day, but I was excited at the same time as I knew who was speaking at the event.

On walking into the room, I spotted Adrian Underhill, Ray Parker and Mark Hancock. I have to admit I was start struck! Adrian had been one of our guest tutors on the Oxford TEFL Trinity Dip, but we only go to talk to him through the forum. I hold him responsible for awakening my love of phonology and teaching pronunciation! Ray Parker's book that he wrote with Tim Graham provided me with great support for the transcription part of the phonology interview on the Dip. And, well, we all know Mark Hancock's wonderful book of Pronunciation Games. I was in phonological heaven!! I immediately forgot how much sleep I didn't get and had an absolutely wonderfully inspirational day.

To see these guys who are now at the pinnacle of their careers speak and demonstrate with such passion made me realise that I love what I do and that I have so much to more to learn and develop. Their enthusiasm is infectious. The turning point came when I had the opportunity to talk to Adrian. He remembered me from the Dip, we chatted and got excited about using the phonemic chart in class and he was even so kind to give me advice about my career! I bounced into work on Monday morning feeling energised and full of life. My creativity and drive has come back. Yes, it's still a challenge to have a full time position and find the time to work on my own projects, but I feel that I'm now able to manage it all better and find a balance. I've also been able to bring some projects that I'm interested in into my workplace and that has made a difference too.

So, if you feel you might be on the way towards burnout, don't be afraid to take time out. If you can take holidays, great, if your job doesn't allow you, focus on something completely different that makes you feel good or calm. Talk to a colleague, senior teacher or even your DOS. And, when you think you might be on the way back up, seek inspiration. It mightn't necessarily be in the industry, do what works for you. Remember it's only temporary, so give yourself time.

If you want more information on burnout, I recommend this article by Lindsay Clandfield.

The inspirational Adrian Underhill

  What attracted me to the Trinity Diploma in TESOL was the module on Phonology. I have to admit that I was terrified of teaching pronunciation, in fact, I didn't even know how or where to start. I was completely intimidated by it. Now, I find it probably the most rewarding element to teaching and I'm addicted!

  In our first week of the phonology module, it was recommended that we watch the video of Adrian Underhill (below) introducing the chart. I watched it as if I was actually at the workshop and took part! It was the best introduction to the phonemic chart I could ever have had. I highly encourage anyone who finds the idea of the chart daunting to watch this 60 minute workshop. My eyes were opened to a whole new world! It was so much fun and I learned so much in such a short time. It just clicked and made complete sense to me. It gave me a huge boost of confidence as I realised it wasn't as scary as I thought, and using the chart as Adrian does was incredibly engaging.

We were privileged enough to have Adrian as a tutor for that first week of the module. I think it was the highlight of the course for me! One thing that stood out for me was that he advised us not to wait to use the chart in class until we were ready, but to dive in and go on a journey with the learners. This is exactly what I did and what a journey it was! Not only were the learners discovering new things, but so was I. Every time I introduced the chart in a different class I discovered something new about myself, how I spoke and about the English language. It was truly exciting! It then inspired me to undertake action research based on how to integrate the phonemic chart into my lessons with a focus on practice and remedial work.

  The chart is now an integral part of my lessons. My students love it as they find it so helpful when they have pronunciation problems (check out Pronunciation in the bar on the right for more information). It has allowed them to be more confident and autonomous.

  Understanding the chart allows you to understand other aspects of pronunciation much more clearly too. So, watch the video, and your eyes will be opened to the wonderful world of the phonemic chart.  

  Thank you Adrian for the inspiration :)

 

A proud teacher

This week I experienced something wonderful with my advanced class that left me feeling bursting with pride. The majority of the learners are in their late teens or early twenties, there's only one learner who is in her late twenties. It's a multilingual class including Italian, Venezuelan, Spanish, Turkish, Saudi, Brazilian and Russian learners. They are all full of energy and eager to learn, but require lots of tasks with clear objectives and outcomes to avoid them becoming restless. They also love anything competitive, it's a great way to get them motivated. This week, however, I witnessed complete and utter teamwork that I have never witnessed in  a class before.

 It all started on Tuesday when we started the next unit of our course book. The lesson was based around an article on brainstorming . . yes I know, not the most riveting of topics for young adults! I decided to use the text as a stepping stone into a more engaging task. So, after reading the text and doing some lexis work, I divided the class into groups of 3 and 4. They had to imagine that they were the editors of a new school magazine. In each group, the learners nominated a facilitator as described in the article. I gave them 5 categories in which they had to brainstorm, e.g. school services, hobbies and activities and where you can practise them in Dublin.

 After brainstorming, we did some whole class feedback and shared ideas. For homework, each student had to choose one of the brainstormed ideas, so for example, festivals in Dublin, what's on in the theatres and recipes for traditional Irish dishes. They had to research their topic and then come back into class on Wednesday and tell their group about what they discovered. When I usually ask students to do this type of homework, only half of the class actually do it. However, on Wednesday, I got the most wonderful surprise . . . every single student had done their research! When I saw their enthusiasm, I decided to give them a choice: we could do the lesson I had planned or, we could actually make the magazine. Well, I was bowled over by the enthusiastic response! They all wanted to make the magazine!

Now, we were under slight pressure as some of the students were finishing their course on Friday, so if we wanted to do it, we would have to pull together and have it finished for Friday! Each learner had to finalise a title for their article that they would write for homework. Then they were divided into 3 groups. One group decided that they would be in charge of designing the cover as they were artistic, the other group decided they would write a welcome note and collate all of the article titles and arrange them into an appropriate order. The third group decided that they would create a crossword on Irish culture. The enthusiasm with which they worked was so exciting for me. They took it very seriously and consulted me when they were sure about their decisions.

When I asked them to write their articles for homework, they all announced that they didn't have computers in their homestay, which is an excuse that students often give to try and get out of doing their homework. I told them that the study centre was available for them in the morning before class. The next morning I got such a shock when my e-mail kept binging! Each student had gone to the study centre, written their article and was now sending me their articles to check. Not only had they written their articles, but they had also used so much language that we had studied over the previous few weeks. How tremendous!

Friday came and it was time to put it all together. From 10.30am I had students coming to the office to help me edit and print. At their break times between classes, they popped down to help. In class that afternoon, all 15 of us worked together to collate the pages and staple them together. When we finished, they cheered and of course, we had to take some photos of us altogether with our work of art! What an achievement in such a short space of time and they all have something that they can take home with them that they created.

I think this is a perfect example of how giving your learners agency engages them more. Giving them the choice and responsibility motivates them. It also demonstrates that adapting and deviating from the course book or syllabus can be fruitful and satisfying for both teacher and learners.

I was so proud of the enthusiasm, excitement and teamwork that went into the magazine. When people talk about teaching being rewarding, this type of experience is exactly what they're referring to. I left the school on Friday with the biggest smile on my face and welling with pride.

 

 

 

/hæv sʌm fəˈni:mɪk fʌn/

Integrating the phonemic script into your lessons can be so much fun. There are so many ways that you can do it (take a look at the Pronunciation page in the bar on the right-hand side), but here I'm going to describe some other ways that I use it, using exercises and activities that we all know and love.

1. Songs - Using a song that contains the target language of the lesson, take out words that are relevant to what you're studying, e.g. emotions, money etc. Instead of leaving the spaces blank as you usually would, put the missing word in phonemic script. Give the students a few minutes to read through the lyrics and see if they can figure out what the words are. Then they listen to check if they wrote down the right word. If they are familiar with the script, you could turn it into a competition to see who can guessed the words the quickest. If they aren't as comfortable with the script, it's an opportunity for them to start getting to know it! I encourage them to use the Pronunciation App by Macmillan too if they're struggling.
2. Back to the board - The phonemic version of this game is pretty much identical to the original game, the only difference is you write the words in script! Divide the class into 2 groups and have them sit in semi-circles facing the board. One student from each team sits with their back to the board and faces their team. The teacher writes a word on the board and the teams have to explain the word that they see. The first person to guess what the word is, wins a point for their team. Writing the words in script adds a little extra challenge!
3. Brainstorm - Give each pair a topic in phonemic script on a card or slip of paper. First they have to decipher what the topic is. When they've discovered what it is, they have to brainstorm words related to the topic. Then each pair have to read out their list of words and the others have to guess what their topic was.
4. Hangman - There has been some debate as to whether hangman has any pedagogical benefits, however, I have to say that phonemic hangman really does. The students have the opportunity to really become familiar with the sounds and the symbols. By saying a sound and having someone else write it, it's beneficial both productively and receptively. It allows them to discover sounds that they have individual problems with too. Give each pair a list of 3 or 4 words. They have to then write them in script. Then make groups of 4 or put them into different pairs and the play hangman!

These are just some of my favourites and ones that the learners have found really engaging while allowing them to gain more confidence in using the phonemic script.

Leading a workshop for the first time . . .a good learning experience.

Last week I led my first workshop for teachers in my school. I have to admit that I was very nervous, but I was comforted by the fact that I was fairly confident in the topic as I had studied it so much over the last few months.

I was asked several weeks ago if I would lead an in-service workshop. For my Developmental Research Project for the diploma, I chose to explore how to integrate the phonemic chart into my lessons. I fell in love with using the chart and phonology. In fact, I think it's the area of my teaching I developed most during the course and also, the area that I was most terrified of before I started! It was because of this that I decided to base my first workshop on using the phonemic chart.

I started to plan the workshop using a suggestion from Ducan Foord's The Developing Teacher. I went through the steps and planned what I felt would allow people to build on top of what they already knew while also including ideas that would be new, so that they would feel they were learning. I wanted to make sure the session was enjoyable, which the phonemic chart is, especially when you use some of Adrian Underhill's discovery activities! I also had to be careful of the time as the workshop was only an hour long and I didn't want to be over-ambitious or leave myself short either.

From the beginning, I found it a little difficult to find the balance between levels of experience. There were teachers with years of experience, but didn't know anything about using the chart or teaching pronunciation,  those that were more familiar with it and then those that were newly qualified. By the time my plan was ready, I felt happy enough that it was going to cater to the needs of everybody, or that everyone would go away with at least one new thing that they could use or would like to try in their lessons.

Of course, it didn't going exactly according to plan and we didn't have time to go into as much depth as I wanted. However,  I was happy that it generated discussions about the advantages of using the chart. We achieved examining the different sounds and how to read the chart as a map of the mouth. We then had the opportunity to look at some sample learner errors and, in pairs, the teachers decided how they would use the chart to correct learners in class. Finally, I gave the teachers a handout with some suggestions of further reading.


I had intended to ask the teachers to fill out a feedback form, but unfortunately I didn't get the chance to make one. However ,  some teachers approached me to give me some informal feedback. It was all more positive than I thought to my delight! One teacher said that she learnt more in 10 minutes of my workshop about the chart than she had in her entire career (she's been teaching for 15 years!) Many others have to come to me to ask me to do a follow-up workshop so that we can continue to look at more ways of integrating pronunciation.

This first workshop was a great learning experience for me. It hasn't put me off doing further workshops. I definitely recommend that everyone tries it at least once during their career.

Welcome to my new blog!

Hi there and welcome to my new ELT blog!

I've have recently completed the Trinity Diploma TESOL and I think I may be suffering from the post Dip blues! So, I've decided to start up a place where I can share ideas and thoughts about the wonderful world of ELT! It will also give me the opportunity to explore areas that I haven't had the chance to yet.

During the diploma, I discovered so many amazing things about language, language learning and teaching and I thoroughly enjoyed the various discussions that I had with my fellow dippers! This blog will hopefully allow me to continue learning and developing, and also to start some interesting discussions.

Thank you for visiting and please feel free to leave a comment on any of the posts once I get them up and running.