ERIC EJ923451: How to Make Upper-Level University English Classes More Interactive

2009·0.25 MB·English

by  ERIC

Irina Lytovchenko
How to Make Upper-Level
University English Classes
More Interactive
Upper-level English classes active, thus increasing student engage-
often pose special problems ment and comprehension. This article
for teachers. At some univer- describes how I implemented task-
sities, upper-level students learn Eng- based teaching to improve language
lish by using the technical language of learning in an upper-level ESP class for
their degree program, such as medi- engineering students.
cine, business, information technology,
Task-based teaching and
or some other field. Known as English
oral communication practice
for Specific Purposes (ESP), this type
Before I learned about task-based
of English instruction integrates the
teaching, two main problems in class
specialized subject matter of the field
were to find more time for students to
into the classroom. ESP requires the
communicate and to motivate them to
acquisition of highly specialized ter-
talk. If activities are primarily focused
minology and the ability to explain
on drilling and studying grammatical
formal processes as students prepare
forms, it is difficult for students to
for the high-level competence they will
communicate since the language situ-
have to demonstrate in their chosen
ation they are put in is rather unnatu-
careers. Because this advanced material
ral, and their roles do not demand
is often difficult and challenging, stu-
the use of authentic language. They
dents can easily fall behind or become
therefore treat language learning as
nonresponsive. It is therefore impera- routine and simply go through the
tive for teachers to use methods that motions. Task-based learning produc-
make upper-level classes effective and es the opposite effect, as is evident by
communicative. One good solution is the definition of task given by Willis
task-based teaching, which links pair (1996, 36): “a goal-oriented com-
and group work with relevant activities municative activity with a specific
to make language lessons more inter- outcome, where the emphasis is on
24 2009 Number 2 | E n g l i s h TE a c h i n g F o r u m
exchanging meanings, not producing spe- time during those five minutes than during
cific language forms.” Tasks based on relevant the rest of the lesson” (Byrne 1988, 31).
student interests and aspirations increase the
meaningful use of language, and when tasks Organizing group work
are focused on meaning, learners have better A fundamental consideration is how to
“opportunities in the classroom to use the arrange the students to perform a task in pairs
language for genuine communication” (Willis and groups, and teachers must find solutions
and Willis 2007, 4). to problems such as cramped classrooms
Task-based activities set up social situa- and having to pair up students of different
tions so that students can have meaningful language levels. Although a classroom with
discussions with one another. When students moveable tables and chairs is ideal, many
use English to cooperate and interact with classrooms have rows of desks that are perma-
each other, classes are more effective. Accord- nently attached to the floor. In this case, one
ing to Brown (1994), interactive classes have solution is to ask the students in one row to
the following beneficial features: turn around and talk to the students sitting
in the row behind them. In this way, they
• There is a large amount of pair and
can face each other during their conversation,
group work.
which I believe is better than talking to the
• Students engage in spontaneous and
student sitting next to them. This method also
authentic conversations.
works when dividing students up into groups
• Students write for actual audiences and
purposes, not artificial ones. of four: two students who sit next to each
• Tasks prepare students for the real other can turn around and work with the two
world outside of the classroom. students sitting behind them. Sometimes I ask
my students to leave their desks and find part-
Group and pair work ners themselves. However, if it takes them too
Group and pair work are indispensible to much time to decide, I pair them up myself or
task-based teaching. This type of classroom number off the students and assign each pair a
arrangement creates a completely different place in the classroom.
atmosphere from that of a traditional teacher- Some teachers avoid doing group and pair
centered class; instead of strictly controlling work in class because it is noisy. But how is
the students, the teacher coordinates their it possible to learn a language silently? If my
work. According to Brown (1994), group students are noisy but they are speaking Eng-
work creates a favorable climate for commu- lish, I feel satisfied. In some cases, when there
nication by relieving students of the anxiety is too much noise in the classroom, I use a
of having to talk in front of the whole class. simple but efficient technique with stoplight
Brown reports miraculous changes in stu- cards described by Jacobs and Hall (2002,
dents who had been too shy to talk until 55): “A green card goes on the desk of groups
they worked in groups. In addition, group if they are working together quietly. A yellow
work makes students more responsible and card indicates they need to quiet down a bit.
autonomous—they have equal responsibility When a red card is put on their desk, the
for performing a task and find it “difficult to group should become completely silent, and
‘hide’ in a small group” (Brown 1994, 174). all should silently count to ten before starting
Group and pair work also increase the work again.” With time, as students regularly
speaking time for each student in a class. practice group and pair work, they learn to
According to Byrne (1988, 31), “unless you work more quietly.
have a very small class, you will never be able
A series of language learning tasks
to give your students enough oral practice
through whole class work.” For example, if I first encountered the amazing possi-
you have 30 students and 30 minutes of oral bilities of interactive techniques for preparing
work, each student will at most have only one students for real-world language use when
minute to talk; “on the other hand, if you I discovered the following six tasks catego-
divide your students into pairs for just five rized by Willis (1996) that form a chain in
minutes, each student will get more talking advanced order of complexity:
E n g l i s h TE a c h i n g F o r u m | Number 2 2009 25
1. Listing. Students work individually or had not been able to find anyone in the street
in groups to gather facts about a topic who could speak English. My student said
by brainstorming, researching, and that the communication in groups and pairs
interviewing. This provides plentiful in class helped him in that situation, even
data and activates their background though we had never practiced giving direc-
knowledge and experience of the topic. tions in our lessons.
2. Ordering and sorting. Students sequence
or rank the facts, vocabulary, or ideas Task-based teaching in action
about a topic in a meaningful order. Using Willis’s (1996) series of tasks is
3. Comparing and contrasting. Students convenient and practical because implement-
point out the similarities and differ- ing them does not take much time or require
ences in the information they have many resources. When implemented together
gathered. they form a task chain of increasing complex-
4. Problem-solving. Students create and ity that is an excellent method for creating
evaluate a hypothesis related to a prob- communicative activities for any topic. How-
lem and analyze possible solutions. ever, this does not mean that teachers have to
5. Sharing personal experiences. Students use them all for every topic, or even use them
engage in conversations and discus- in the given order. It is possible to use only
sions about topics that have personal one or two if a teacher is short on time or has
relevance. difficulties developing six tasks for the same
6. Creative tasks and projects. Students project. In addition, as was my case, the type
collaborate to produce a written, oral, of project may require switching the order of
or multimedia project that summarizes the six tasks.
the important things they have learned I adapted the tasks for a project based on
from task-based work. a reading passage from an ESP textbook titled
These techniques are especially valuable The Language of Mechanical Engineering in
for organizing group or pair work, and they English (Hall 1977). The project was made
can be based on almost any text, adapted to relevant and interesting by focusing on the
almost any topic, and used in any class. While environmental problems caused by engineered
performing these tasks, students engage in devices used in our everyday lives and the
spontaneous discussions, solve problems, and students’ reasons for choosing engineering as
prepare presentations. These activities help a career. Combining these relevant topics with
students communicate freely and overcome task-based teaching is a way to “involve learn-
the psychological barrier to communication ers in different types of extended discourse. It
that so often occurs in a classroom setting. provides an arena for informal spontaneous
While it is difficult for teachers to reproduce interaction” (Willis and Willis 2007, 136).
in a classroom all the situations in which Although task-based teaching exposes stu-
students may need to use English in real life, dents to all four skills, I made sure to supple-
these kinds of tasks will help students be bet- ment all the tasks with meaningful writing
ter prepared to undertake real-life challenges. that was used to inform the class. According
They will train learners to use language spon- to Willis and Willis (2007), writing comple-
taneously outside the classroom, and allow ments oral activities and provides opportuni-
them to use important language functions ties for language focus because “speaking is a
correctly, including “agreeing and disagree- real-time activity, in which there is normally
ing, interrupting, asking for repetition and no time for careful consideration of language.
clarification, changing the subject or the Writing, on the other hand, allows time to
emphasis, highlighting the important part of think about language” (117).
the message, guessing at meanings and mak- The following tasks were performed as
ing inferences and so on” (Willis and Willis post-reading activities to elicit further discus-
2007, 136). One of my students once told me sion of the text’s main aspects, although the
that he had been able to give directions to a same tasks could easily be adapted for pre-
foreign visitor in English. The visitor was very reading activities. The students did the fol-
grateful because until he met my student, he lowing activities in two subsequent 90-minute
26 2009 Number 2 | E n g l i s h TE a c h i n g F o r u m
lessons. However, other teachers can adapt the Table 2: Identifying Problems and Solutions
tasks to their own class schedules.
PRODUCT PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS
Task 1: Listing and ordering A. Cars 1. pollute the air 1. use filters, ecological fuel,
(Time required: 20 minutes) solar batteries, and electric
The first task is listing and ordering, which engines
allows students to review and activate what
they know about the topic and related vocab- 2. waste energy 2. make economical hybrid
ulary. First, students brainstorm about the engines that work on mixture
words they need to talk about the ecological of petrol and biomass
and social consequences of cars, computers,
and cell phones, products that are part of our B. Computers 1. ruin people’s eyes 1. use modern LCD monitors
everyday lives. This task is especially suitable and glasses with filters
for making words and phrases available that
the students will need to discuss and write 2. cause carpal tunnel 2. improve design of the
about the environmental and social conse- syndrome computer keyboard and
quences of technology. As students brainstorm mouse
and volunteer words, the teacher writes them
C. Cell Phones 1. emit microwaves that 1. use Bluetooth earphones
on the board. Students are allowed to ask
influence the brain
the teacher or other students the meaning of
words they do not know.
2. produce chemical 2. improve recycling technology
Then, the class chooses the most essential
waste when batteries
vocabulary and the teacher circles the words.
are thrown away
Students then form groups and organize the
chosen words into three columns labeled
Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives as shown in
Table 1. Task 3: Sharing personal experiences
(Time required: 50 minutes)
In Task 3 students individually write a
Table 1: Listing and Ordering Nouns, Verbs, and
short paragraph (110 to 140 words) explain-
Adjectives
ing why they have chosen the profession of
NOUNS VERBS ADJECTIVES
an engineer, why they are attending this par-
environment cause dangerous
ticular university, what they would like to do
diseases pollute electromagnetic
after graduation, and how English will help
waves waste uneconomical them in their future career. Then, in pairs,
they read their paragraphs to their partner.
Finally, students exchange papers and report
Finally, the students create phrases by com-
their partners’ information to the class. Fol-
bining the adjectives and the verbs in differ-
lowing are the paragraphs written by one
ent ways with the nouns. Some examples are:
classroom pair.
“pollute the environment,” “cause diseases,”
“dangerous diseases,” and “dangerous elec-
Student 1
tromagnetic waves.” The teacher writes these
I have chosen the profession of engineer
word combinations on the board.
because I like cars. Kyiv Polytechnic Insti-
Task 2: Problem solving tute is the most prestige technical university
(Time required: 40 minutes) in Ukraine. So I decided to study here and
In groups, students record two problems become a good engineer. After my gradu-
each caused by cars, computers, and cell ation I would like to work with cars, be
phones. Then they suggest a solution for each an engineer in a sport car racing team. It’s
one of the problems. Next, a representative a very interesting profession because you
of each group reports to the whole class what always should create new technologies in
problems and solutions they recorded, and autosport. Autosport is not developed in
the teacher compiles the list, as is illustrated the Ukraine. That’s why I want to work
in Table 2. abroad, and so I need to know English.
E n g l i s h TE a c h i n g F o r u m | Number 2 2009 27
English is the most popular language in the 3. My partner wants to work abroad. I
world, and I could communicate freely with want to work in the Ukraine.
the specialists from other countries, and we
Task 5: Creative task and project
could work on new technologies together.
(Time required: 45 minutes)
Student 2 Students are directed to write a paragraph
(140 to 160 words) about three new things
I’m studying in the National Techni-
that they think will happen in engineering
cal University of Ukraine because it was
over the next fifty years. These paragraphs
my dream. It is one of the famous Ukrai-
are then displayed in the classroom so that all
nian Universities. It gave education for
the students can read them. Following is an
many famous people. Now they are the
example of one student’s paragraph:
pride of our country. I’m studying at the
As we know, technical progress
Mechanical Engineering Faculty. One of
and the development of engineering
the best students of this faculty is Alexan-
is the same. So I think that in the
der Yablonsky. He is the great mechanical
future there may be some changes in
engineer and now lives in USA. Maybe in
technology as:
the future I will be a great engineer too.
As for me, English is the best subject in • The reduced influence of petro-
my study program. I speak English not as leum and gas and an increase
good as I want, but I try very hard. The of using new types of energy
English language helps me very much with (more economic, safer for the
the Internet. In the future I want to be a environment), and the devel-
teacher in my University and English can opment of the new branches of
help me to communicate with my col- engineering to deal with their
leagues from other countries. production.
• The increase of computer tech-
Task 4: Comparing and contrasting nologies in manufacturing and
(Time required: 25 minutes) in daily life. People will stop
In pairs, students exchange the paragraphs working so much as executives
and write down three similarities and/or dif- and will begin to work more
ferences between their paragraph and their as operators who control the
partner’s paragraph. Then, they report the work of computers.
differences to the whole class. Following are • The rapid development of
examples of the differences Student 1 and Stu- aerospace engineering, the
dent 2 found in each other’s paragraphs: exploration of space, creating
new kinds of spaceships, the
Student 1’s observations:
building of the new space sta-
1. My partner wanted to study at KPI tions to improve communi-
because it was his dream, and I wanted cations, and the start of the
to study at any good university. regular flights to the moon.
2. My partner wants to be a teacher at the That will be the new stage of
university, but I want to be an engineer the engineering and human
in a car racing team. evolution.
3. English can help my partner to com-
A natural focus on form
municate with his colleagues, and it can
help me to improve new technologies. For teachers who might be afraid that the
focus on grammar is lost in this sequence of
Student 2’s observations:
task-based activities, it is important to note
1. My partner wants to study in KPI because that the opposite is true. In fact, during the
he wants to work with cars. I want to whole task sequence, as they are absorbed
study in KPI because it was my dream. in the meaningful content, students natu-
2. My partner wants to work in the future rally take the time to decide what types of
with a sport car racing team. I want to vocabulary and sentence structure they will
work at my University. use to best express their messages. “They may
28 2009 Number 2 | E n g l i s h TE a c h i n g F o r u m
stop to search for the right word to express In closing, I would also like to mention
the meaning they want, or to look up in the that because the students’ communication in
dictionary a word they are not sure of. Or groups and pairs is much like real communica-
they may stop to wonder if a sentence they tion between people outside of class, they now
are planning to produce is grammatical, or if feel more confident as English speakers. And I
it can be improved in some way” (Willis and feel more confident as a language teacher!
Willis 2007, 113).
References
Conclusion Brown, H. D. 1994. Teaching by principles: An inter-
active approach to language pedagogy. Englewood
Using these task-based activities in my
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.
upper-level ESP classes has really helped Byrne, D. 1988. Techniques for classroom interaction.
encourage my students to communicate in London: Longman.
English and made my lessons livelier. At first I Hall, E. J. 1977. The language of mechanical engi-
neering in English. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Pren-
was afraid that my students would be too shy
tice Hall Regents.
and reluctant to participate in the activities. I
Jacobs, G. M., and S. Hall. 2002. Implementing
was especially concerned because my groups of cooperative learning. In Methodology in language
engineering students consist mainly of young teaching: An anthology of current practice, ed. J.
men, and I tend to find that male students C. Richards and W. A. Renandya, 52–58. Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press.
are, on the whole, less talkative and more
Willis, D., and J. Willis. 2007. Doing task-based
reserved than female students. But I was both teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
surprised and inspired by the fact that they Willis, J. 1996. A framework for task-based learning.
did not object at all to performing the tasks, Harlow, UK: Addison Wesley.
and I could even see that they enjoyed doing
them. I also observed that even the quietest IrIna Lytovchenko graduated from the
Foreign Languages Faculty of Shevchenko
students spoke more freely in groups and pairs
Kiev National University. She taught English
than in front of the whole class. My fear that
at the secondary school level for ten years
students would speak their native language
and taught English for Medicine for eight
instead of English was also unfounded. There
years at the National Medical Bogomolets
were several such incidents, but on the whole
University. She currently teaches English
it was not a problem because the students had for Engineering at the National Technical
more time to speak English and they gradually University of Ukraine, Kiev Polytechnic
got used to it. Institute.
E n g l i s h TE a c h i n g F o r u m | Number 2 2009 29