Marmara Elt Resources

Michael Lessard-Clouston
z95014 [at] kgupyr.kwansei.ac.jp
Kwansei Gakuin University (Nishinomiya, Japan)
First published in Essays in Languages and Literatures, 8, at Kwansei Gakuin University, December 1997.
This article provides an overview of language learning strategies (LLS) for second and foreign language (L2/FL) teachers. To do so it outlines the background of LLS and LLS training, discusses a three step approach teachers may follow in using LLS in their classes, and summarises key reflections and questions for future research on this aspect of L2/FL education. It also lists helpful contacts and internet sites where readers may access up-to-date information on LLS teaching and research.

Introduction
Within the field of education over the last few decades a gradual but significant shift has taken place, resulting in less emphasis on teachers and teaching and greater stress on learners and learning. This change has been reflected in various ways in language education and applied linguistics, ranging from the Northeast Conference (1990) entitled “Shifting the Instructional Focus to the Learner” and annual “Learners’ Conferences” held in conjuction with the TESL Canada convention since 1991, to key works on “the learner-centred curriculum” (Nunan, 1988, 1995) and “learner-centredness as language education” (Tudor, 1996).
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Classroom management: classroom discipline
Author: Margot McCamley

Level: starter/beginner, advanced, elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate Type: reference material

Advice and suggestions on getting students to behave well in class and using an appropriate level of discipline.
How do we get students to behave in class? Usually not by telling them to behave, but using behaviour patterns that ensure they behave.

Let me explain. I teach 18 students aged from 11-15 in the one class, some at varying levels of language ability to others. This means there is not only a sociological divide but also a language level divide. So how do I get my students to behave? I use these strategies and they are ones that all teachers need to try at least once in their classroom to see which ones work for them.

First ask yourself some questions:

* Have you set a code of behaviour in the classroom?

This should be set with the students, where possible so they know the consequences of their behaviour should it not be socially acceptable to the rest of the group or to you. I always have this code of behaviour on the board or on the wall on a big sheet of paper. Five or six key points are sufficient, e.g. I will work hard to learn the language. I sometimes just have to point to it to remind students of their decision, and this brings the student back on line… Also the teacher needs to add his/her code of behaviour too, what the teacher will do for the students, e.g. be patient, never yell, I will work hard to help you learn the language…etc.
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Read the following description

I am from Seattle, Washington. Seattle is a city in the United States. It is near the border of Canada in the northwest corner of the USA. I live in a town called Olympia which is on the Puget Sound. I live in a house in a street in the countryside. The street is called “Bear Street” and the house is old - more than 100 years old! I am an English teacher at a school in the center of the town. I like books and taking photographs. I usually have lunch at school. I usually go home by car. We have all kinds of food in Olympia. I like Italian food very much. Sometimes, I go to an Italian restaurant in Seattle. The restaurant is called “Luigi’s”. Italian food is great!

Here are the rules for when to use “A, An or The”:

• a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with consonants
  She has a dog.
  I work in a factory.
• an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with vowels (a,e,i,o,u)
  Can I have an apple?
  She is an English teacher.
• the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know)
  The car over there is fast.
  The teacher is very good, isn’t he?
• The first time you speak of something use “a or an”, the next time you repeat that object use “the”.
  I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.
  I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.
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Our ESL department has been recently trying to write new/revised course objectives for its three grammar elective classes. What we initially thought to be a routine task turned into an extended and often spirited debate about the role of grammar in ESL programs, what sorts of structures should/should not be taught at certain levels, why students can’t seem to use grammar effectively in writing even when they’ve studied it very diligently, why so few grammar books provide enough contextualized analysis of “real usage” in spoken and written discourse, etc. Read the rest of this entry »