|
Post by marian on Jul 2, 2020 18:31:36 GMT
ProficiencyI quite liked Widdowson's quote about proficiency. It certainly is thought-provoking, as I'd never seen it in the way he describes it. When one says "proficiency" what normally comes to mind is sounding like a "native" speaker, and proficiency tests like TOEFL, Cambridge etc. that measure your level of language use and put a label on it. While these are important as they are used for university and employment purposes, I don't think that they should dictate how well someone can use the language. Like the course said, passing these tests makes one a good test taker but not necessarily an efficient language user, communicator. These follow certain strategies that a test taker can learn to apply, but are quite rigid and do not allow for any creative use of language. I agree that when a speaker takes hold of the language they are using and confidently uses it for successful communication, then they can consider themselves proficient, why not? When you "submit to the dictates of its form" you cannot help but monitor your accuracy and I think that with that you lose fluency and perhaps communicate less effectively than you truly are able to. "Native" speakers hardly speak with 100% grammatical accuracy (as expected from a standard-English perspective), so asking this of an L2 speaker seems rather ridiculous. English inside and outside the classroomIn terms of in-class activities that might be adapted to the way learners learn outside the classroom, I think it would be helpful to bring the outside inside the classroom. Some ways might be: creating blog posts and actively responding to classmates' posts as they would in their daily life; watching TED talks from varied speakers of English both as L1 and L2 (already heavily practiced) -- I have heard many times that it was hard for learners to understand what the speaker was saying because he/she had a British and not an American accent -- and using them effectively in class; reading from actual newspapers etc.; using corpora to access authentic speech from different varieties of English; giving learners the opportunity to step out in the real world during class and use the language; listen to different types of music and discussing its message and thus the language it uses; watch TV show episodes with focus on vocabulary. Would love to hear more ideas and/or comments. Reading your post about "proficiency", one of my students immediately came to my mind. Although Spanish is her L1, she lived in the USA for many years, and is now back home willing to get a degree as a translator. She's perfectly fluent in English and she can get her message across in all possible situations. However, she makes lots of grammar mistakes, which is a real problem for her future career. How can we deal with situations like this one? Regarding English inside and outside the classroom, I agree with all the possibilities mentioned in this post. Something that I encourage my older students to do is to go to the areas of the city where they might meet tourists, and try to start talking to them, especially offering help or giving directions.
|
|
jake
New Member
Posts: 10
|
Post by jake on Jul 3, 2020 11:41:49 GMT
I found Widdowson’s quote to be helpful from a learner perspective, as well as a teaching one. As a user of L2 Spanish, I sometimes get frustrated that I’m not learning quick enough and still make ‘mistakes’ that would be unacceptable if I were to take an official exam, but Widdowson’s quote made me realise that actually, I AM a user of Spanish, and maybe I CAN call myself proficient in this sense. I’m able to communicate effectively, have my own style, and feel like the language is part of who I am, so I really liked the positive mindset the quote brought about. From a teacher perspective, I will definitely encourage my students to think this way moving forward. Of course, the official title of ‘proficiency’ currently remains tied to exam levels and hoops controlled by organisations, but, in terms of general language learning, I really like the idea of proficiency coming from non-conformity.
The way language is learnt ties into this. I work as a teacher but also lead activities, visits and excursions for my setting, and I usually find that the things that come up outside of the classroom (trash talk during sports, expressions reacting to things seen out and about, etc) are the things that go into the procedural memory of students. For me, these are the things that make a language user proficient, because they are directly dealing with real-world, real-time situations and forming effective interaction with another speaker. It is still useful to give time in class to grammatical accuracy and focus on structures, but for me it is often more beneficial to use the outside experiences as a base for what is covered in class, rather than vice versa.
I agree with the challenge this course makes on whether there is a difference between a learner and a user of a language. Instead of seeing that classroom as where language is learned, and everything outside of the classroom as where it is used, I think all physical contexts need to be recognised as where both things take place. The classroom is more of a bus stop on the learning journey rather than a whole transport network representing the learning process in its entirety.
|
|
jake
New Member
Posts: 10
|
Post by jake on Jul 3, 2020 11:42:37 GMT
In my opinion, most of the proficiency tests that measure the test takers' level of proficiency are not accurate. Even if native speakers tried to take the test, they wouldn't get the full mark which means that the scores are not reliable. In my school where I teach, English inside the classroom is different from English outside the classroom to some extent. This is a problem for many teachers because the students are not interested in most of the topics in the books because they do not address their actual daily life. With exams, I think part of the problem is the prestige they carry in industries that perhaps don’t consider what the exam actually involves. I completely agree that exams of ‘proficiency’ don’t really measure a person’s real ability to use a language. The thing is that the name of the exam or certificate alone indicates that it very much does. Companies, universities, employers etc will ask for candidates to have a certified ‘proficiency’ level without necessarily knowing how the exam is formed or giving much thought to how languages are realistically learned. As teachers, we’re aware of these differences, but the vast majority of employment roles available might not consider this, albeit through no real fault of their own. I think it’s a matter of redefining society’s view of what proficiency really means and involves in order to shape how exams reflect it.
|
|
|
Post by Amaryllis on Jul 11, 2020 15:29:32 GMT
Learning Contexts outside of class
I think that with everyone online now during the pandemic, the distinction between learning English in an ESL setting (where you can hear English when you step outside the classroom) and an EFL setting (where you hear a language other than English when you step outside the classroom) has definitely become blurred. There are no more inner, outer or expanding circles – just one global circle where English is the bridge language of international communication. So maybe Covid-19 has tipped the scales in favour of ELF!
Duolingo is an app I’d be interested in exploring as a springboard for/extension of classroom activities. I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve heard that it is free and fun to use (definite advantages); and is great at the lower levels although it has drawbacks at the higher levels. Duolingo also has an English Test that is accepted by over 2000 institutions around the world, including McGill, Yale, the LSE, and many other well-known institutions. The test can be done solely online and the results are given 2 days later – so maybe they will survive during the pandemic whereas the other major ELT tests have had to postpone activities? I think, inevitably, what students want to learn is linked to what they need it for and how their proficiency will be assessed.
|
|
|
Post by Amaryllis on Jul 11, 2020 15:58:58 GMT
English inside and outside the classroomIn terms of in-class activities that might be adapted to the way learners learn outside the classroom, I think it would be helpful to bring the outside inside the classroom. Some ways might be: creating blog posts and actively responding to classmates' posts as they would in their daily life; watching TED talks from varied speakers of English both as L1 and L2 (already heavily practiced) -- I have heard many times that it was hard for learners to understand what the speaker was saying because he/she had a British and not an American accent -- and using them effectively in class; reading from actual newspapers etc.; using corpora to access authentic speech from different varieties of English; giving learners the opportunity to step out in the real world during class and use the language; listen to different types of music and discussing its message and thus the language it uses; watch TV show episodes with focus on vocabulary. Would love to hear more ideas and/or comments. I agree – I use online talks, news items, podcasts, music, movies, etc as a springboard for learning. Would love to try creating learner blogs and using corpora in class to raise awareness of different varieties/contexts for using vocab. Am wondering, with all the content available online - maybe there is no real need for coursebooks to be the backbone of a General English course anymore? Instead, maybe the materials sourced online can be exploited in greater detail and the teacher's book could be used simply as a guide for the sequence of grammatical structures and the type of vocabulary (e.g word-building, antonyms, etc.) to introduce?
|
|
|
Post by Amaryllis on Jul 11, 2020 16:14:31 GMT
I think I may have mentioned this before, but I conducted a study on some of my students about when and where they use English outside of the classroom - and the answer was overwhelmingly 'with my classmates'- especially those sharing the same first language. The research participants often noted that they found it much easier to learn and practice English with peers speaking the same first language, because they are able to more accurately predict and understand the 'errors' made as result of first language intrusion, and to more effectively accommodate for them. This leads to me to believe that a 'correct' English is one which allows for effective communication, and that learning to accomodate fot different types of English is closer to true fluency than mastering 'standard' English. I find the conclusions from Daniel’s research fascinating - that speakers of the same L1 can more effectively understand each other’s individual Englishes and therefore accommodate for them! My teaching experiences also suggest that learning to accommodate for different types of English is more important for effective communication than mastering ‘standard’ English
|
|
|
Post by Amaryllis on Jul 11, 2020 16:22:16 GMT
I always try to motivate my students bringing their interests into the world of the classroom. They tell me the songs they like and I design activities with them, they do power presentations about their hobbies and interests related to English, they tell me about their series and we do activities related to them, anything and everything that come from the outer world is welcome in the classroom. I have encouraged my students to choose from Tedtalks for more mature students and Ted Eds for younger ones. With the elder ones, I always start with Do schools kill creativity? by Sir Ken Robinson and give them an comprehension and critical thinking questions and then, they have to do the same with a Tedtalk they like. Nowadays we have infinite choices from internet and I think it is vital, at least for myself, to incorporate the outside world to the constraints of the classroom. It does not mean that I do not follow the syllabus or do grammar, unfortunately I do it, but leave one session per week to do what I call my real English lessons. I agree, we have an infinite choice of materials from the internet now. So I’m beginning to wonder what the future holds for the General English coursebooks I have used so much, as some of the courses that my students were most satisfied with were ESP courses using materials produced by the language centre to fit the specific needs of the students. Maybe in the future there will be a greater need for locally produced materials tailored to the students’ needs. Maybe Gen. English now needs an ESP focus that is similar to the content and language integrated learning approach – a move away from ‘language subject’ to ‘object language’? I’m just thinking out loud here … (!) Thanks Evarojo, for the tip about Ted Eds – will definitely try it when next I teach young learners.
|
|
mkhan
New Member
Posts: 7
|
Post by mkhan on Jul 13, 2020 9:19:34 GMT
Efficiency should be measured by how well a person is able to communicate or express his ideas rather than the use of standard language. I've seen using English idioms in IELTS tests increases one's scores which is a not a good practice.
|
|
tony
New Member
Posts: 15
|
Post by tony on Jul 23, 2020 12:08:20 GMT
To my mind, ‘proficiency’ in a target language means the ability to express one’s thoughts and ideas clearly and coherently, engage in a conversation on a completely unfamiliar topic while being able to quickly adapt to such a novel environment, and lastly, think, read, listen, write, and speak effortlessly. Additionally, ‘non-conformity’ in use of English by non-native speakers may come from their cultural backgrounds or be directly influenced by their L1. Finally, I am convinced that the English that is learned inside the classroom is of great importance, and forms a basis that underpins the English used outside the classroom.
|
|
tony
New Member
Posts: 15
|
Post by tony on Jul 23, 2020 12:08:47 GMT
Efficiency should be measured by how well a person is able to communicate or express his ideas rather than the use of standard language. I've seen using English idioms in IELTS tests increases one's scores which is a not a good practice. While knowing idioms does not necessarily means one is proficient or even fluent in English, being able to aptly use a cliché makes one more articulate and significantly contributes to their eloquence.
|
|
|
Post by Ulla on Jul 27, 2020 9:55:53 GMT
I like the idea of linking proficiency to ownership. It seems logical to define a proficient user of English as somebody who has made the language their own to do what they need to do with it. I often made a similar point when I was working with adult learners in Business contexts who were nervous about their English grammar, pronunciation etc. Many of them were very skilled communicators and achieved their communicative goals by using their linguistic resources efficiently.
In more academic contexts, I think it is important for teachers to remember that our learners are users of English, too. If we forget that, we might end up in a situation where there is English-the-school-subject (boring and useless) and English-in-the-real-world (exciting and useful).
Teachers sometimes worry that learners might pick up 'wrong' expressions and structures from song lyrics, for example. I think what we have to do is make learners aware of discrepancies between what their course books say and what they encounter online or in films. There are some contexts (e.g. exams) where you have to use the standard forms, but there are also many situations where it doesn't matter and where it is more important to get your point across.
|
|
|
Post by miabae on Aug 7, 2020 19:50:36 GMT
I know my students watch TV shows in English and are interested in educational videos like TED Talks so I incorporate activities like this. Some students love songs in English and this is one more thing that I 'exploit' when planning my courses.
|
|
|
Post by beatrizguerra on Aug 20, 2020 21:45:22 GMT
English is learned in many different contexts, with students from various previous backgrounds either linguistically or socially, which results in different Englishes. However, there is a social belief that sounding like a native speaker of English means proficiency, which can add a lot of pressure on the learners, especially the ones that are taking IELTS. Insisting on a single 'correct' form of speaking can demotivate the students' interest in learning English since they will struggle to achieve this kind of pattern. Although there is this belief, proficiency is measured by how successful the communication is, by how effectively the speaker can express himself/herself. Considering this, it is not the learners' way of speaking that will dictate how proficient they are in some language. Since English is spoken all around the globe, contact with it is intense, especially with the advent of social media. Due to it, many of my students have a wide vocabulary and know several slangs, which they wouldn't know if they limited their English only to the classroom. Therefore, as I think a language is not just grammar, I try to bring different types of cultural contents, such as Youtube videos, TV series ( mostly sitcoms), newspapers, book excerpts, etc. Thereby, they will be in contact with different kinds of speaking, writing, and accents, which will improve their future communication with native and non-native speakers of English.
|
|
|
Post by Rachel Dry on Aug 23, 2020 17:57:38 GMT
Proficiency: I don’t believe it can be solely and reliably tested with exams such as IELTS. As previously mentioned, if you know the tricks, you’ll get a decent score. In my opinion, fluency plays a massive role in how language proficiency is perceived in real life. In the classroom, as outside, I’ve noticed that those who are natural and confident speakers (but not accurate) are perceived as more fluent than those who are accurate but less confident/natural. I agree with this too! If you know the tricks and train your students to answers as necessary you could achieve a good score. I also think that fluency plays a huge role in the perception of language proficiency. Students who are confident and are able to communicate competently come across much more able users. I am an EAL teacher and i often hear this from other members of staff in the school, who claim that students are 'fluent' because of their ability to express meaning despite their lack of accuracy. But as we have discussed, as language teachers are we too focused on what the students are not able to do or not able to do correctly, instead of celebrating the linguistic success of the student in communicating their intended meaning?? My students are young learners and spend 90% of their time with other English speakers, therefore their time outside the classroom is mostly social time. When the students first join the school a common complaint from them is being able to contribute to social conversations as by the time they have formed a response the conversation has moved on. Therefore, informal group conversations could be something which I add to my class maybe at the start or end of the class, in order to help the students learn the skills of turn taking and formulating responses in live moving conversations. It could help them in conversing with peers outside the classroom. I am sceptical that a group of 12 year olds would allow extra thinking time for one of my students to take part in the conversation.
|
|
|
Post by Anita on Sept 7, 2020 12:25:34 GMT
Teaching in a conservative Arab country where there is less exposure to the target language, requires the teacher to plan tasks that would extend classroom activities outside the boundaries of the classroom.In such cases, simulations and role plays of scenarios are created to provide students real life experiences. One of the task that was given to students was to note down the number of English words they see on their way to the school(billboards, name of shops,restaurants etc), combine and categorize these words in pairs or groups. Another example was to ask them to click a picture of anything that motivated them and speak about it or record the speech of a toddler, explain how the child acquired the first language. These tasks were relevant and designed based on their personal experiences.
|
|