TEFL Bitesize: Recent Episodes
Thomas Power
The TEFL Bitesize Podcast is designed to give all those involved in the TEFL world plenty of food for thought, in bitesize chunks.
In today's episode, I'm going to discuss three tools to introduce to your students, including a note on the process of getting students to take on self-study tools into their study routines.
References & Resources:
https://hinative.com/
https://youglish.com/
https://www.losethevery.com/#
Planning what to teach and teaching it often isn't enough for our students. You might baulk at that statement - us teachers are busy enough!
That's true. But nevertheless, we might not be doing right by our students if we don't also train them in the strategies required for effective and efficient language learning.
However, even that might not be enough ..
Students need also to be aware of what, how, and why they are doing what they're doing.
Metacognition refers to the process of thinking about one's thinking, and it is this that we need to help the students to develop in order for them to be better able to self-regulate their actions.
References:
Paul Nation's Four Strands:
https://www.victoria.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1626123/2012-Yamamoto-Four-strands.pdf
What I did this week to improve my English:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1j5keEDOScv4rMIirN5m6ES096XMvH1Lq?usp=sharing
The problem with the ways that language is taught is that it doesn't build upon what was taught before.
Cumulative learning refers to the cognitive process whereby the knowledge and skills we accumulate go on to become the building blocks for all subsequent cognitive development.
In this episode, I also discriminate between CL and what I term "Cumulative Review".
References:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mVN5TbhJEwjosZlxtXNPNs79s32ucmr-?usp=sharing
In today's episode, I'll be talking about five ways in which you can make pair work and group work more effective in your classrooms.
These are:
- "Gossip"
- "What did you put for number 1?" (Peer-checking)
- "It was nice speaking to you" (Polite conversation enders)
- "What percentage did you speak English?" (Awareness building of student talk time)
- Student administration time
In today's episode, I'll be looking at Inquiry-Based Learning and its benefits for language learning.
References:
https://xqsuperschool.org/rethinktogether/what-is-inquiry-based-learning-ibl/
In this episode we'll be looking at CLIL: Content and Language integrated learning. I'll be talking about what CLIL is, why it's in vogue, the different variations of CLIL, and considerations when making CLIL lessons and syllabi.
References:
What is CLIL?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_and_language_integrated_learning
The 4 C's
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1295190.pdf
Hard & Soft CLIL
https://sciendo.com/pdf/10.1515/atd-2015-0018#:~:text=Hard%20CLIL%20means%20that%20the,put%20on%20learning%20the%20language.
Professor Donna Brinton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna_M._Brinton
In today's episode we'll look at cooperative learning in the classroom, including its benefits and the principles that ought to operate behind it. Special thanks to Professor George Jacobs for the lecture.
References:
https://www.tuj.ac.jp/grad-ed/events/2022/1008/cooperative-learning-theory-practice-and-research
https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/
I'm back!
In today's episode, I'll be taking a look at two famous quotes about sticking it out and embracing failure and mistakes.
References:
Quote 1:
https://quotefancy.com/quote/790482/Dalai-Lama-XIV-The-only-way-to-fail-is-to-quit
Quote 2:
https://quotefancy.com/quote/1526342/Kat-Lomb-Language-is-the-only-thing-worth-knowing-even-poorly
In today's episode, I'll be interviewing my colleague, Elliott.
He tells us a little about what it's like to be living and teaching in Myanmar in South-East Asia.
Pronunciation as a subject in itself is often not included in many language courses.
But pronunciation can be one of the most enjoyable subjects to teach, and if taught skillfully can bestow learners with the confidence they need to really speak the language.
In this episode, I've provided four of my favorite pronunciation activities.
References & Resources:
Adrian Underhill's Workshop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kAPHyHd7Lo
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18GYxml6zYXaHMXjDl40gPvxXMG2LPVok?usp=sharing
Not only did John Rupert Firth teach British military personnel to eavesdrop on conversations between Japanese pilots over the radio, but he also gave us one of the best known quotes on vocabulary and its co-dependent relationship with its context. This idea has implication for the way we teach and learn vocabulary, and the importance of mass amounts of meaning-focused input.
Listen to find out what this quote is!
References & Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rupert_Firth
Flashcards are incredibly powerful language learning tools. As a teacher, if you can somehow integrate flashcards into lessons - or even better, your course as a whole - then you'll be equipping your students with a powerful tool and learning skills.
In this second episode on flashcards, we'll look into the different ways you can use flashcards as a teacher over the span of a semester or entire course.
Flashcards are incredibly powerful language learning tools. As a teacher, if you can somehow integrate flashcards into lessons - or even better, your course as a whole - then you'll be equipping your students with a powerful tool and learning skills.
In this first episode on flashcards, we'll look at the theory behind them and what can make or break them.
"No one can give you a language, you have to take it for yourself" **Gabriel Wyner, Fluent Forever
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/19661852-fluent-forever**
The title of today's episode is supposed to be oxymoronic; teaching vocabulary in the traditional sense is one of the least effective ways to boost your learners' lexical repertoire. Instead, what we can do best as teachers, is plan for vocabulary learning to happen, teach vocabulary learning strategies, monitor learners' progress, and help learners to monitor their own progress as their vocabulary levels grow.
References & Resources:
What Should Every EFL Teacher Know? by Paul Nation
https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/1599662663
Vocabulary Size Tests
https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/resources/paul-nations-resources/vocabulary-tests
**Using warmers in English class is so important for a large number of reasons, not least to get your students (re)energized, to review past lesson content and language, to activate their schemata for the upcoming lesson, and to switch into English mode.
In today's episode, we're going to look at three of my favorite warmers:
- Ticket Swap
- Word Stretch
- Act that line**
**References & Resources:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Yq3ry5ILjI6w-dzK_NbXgoFEwtQ-YmKJ?usp=sharing
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082693142351
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TBitesize**
**In today’s episode, we’re going to look at how teachers can help make podcasts part of their learners' repertoire.
Podcasts can potentially be a significant source of input for learners of English, especially those who are studying English in an environment where exposure to the language is very low.**
**References & Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_hypothesis**
**Hi everyone, and welcome back to TEFL bitesize - the podcast show designed to give all those involved in the TEFL world plenty of food for thought, in bitesize chunks.
In today’s episode, we’re going to look at dictation and I'll tell you about four of my favorite dictation activities.
Listen to the episode to find out more!**
**References & Resources:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1S609V-La8zlkIGodtujtWZATkto80Va5?usp=sharing**
**Hi everyone, and welcome back to the first real episode of TEFL bitesize - the podcast show designed to give all those involved in the TEFL world plenty of food for thought, in bitesize chunks.
In today’s episode, we’re going to look at language grading in teacher talk in the classroom.
Language grading has nothing to do with assessment and everything to do with simplifying input for your students.
Done well, you'll not only be more understandable to your students; you'll also be helping them to acquire language!
In essence, language grading is a modest form of performance art.
Listen to the episode to find out more!**
**References & Resources:
Word Frequency Tables:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Frequency_lists/PG/2006/04/1-10000
The Comprehensible Input Hypothesis:
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/comprehensible-input
Vygotsky's ZPD:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_proximal_development**
**Hello and welcome to the TEFL Bitesize Podcast - the podcast show designed to give all those involved in the TEFL world plenty of food for thought, in bitesize chunks.
In this first episode of the podcast, you'll find out what you can expect from the TEFL Bitesize Podcast, including what format the episodes will take, what kind of content there will be, and what TEFL Bitesize means in the first place!**