William Shakespeare – Corpus Linguistics

REFLECTIONS ABOUT THE METHODOLOGY USED IN DIDACTIC RESOURCES

Debriefing: Reflecting on Edmodo, Stations, Teamwork, ICT’S to teach English in general and literature in particular (the chosen short stories are intended to adults, YOU, not secondary school students).

Using the methods that we have seen in this subject students have new possibilities to learn and a new way to be the main protagonists of their own learning process.

Traditionally English classes have been based on the explanation of grammar and after the students did some exercises using the new grammatical structure. This technique usually consisted of activities like “filling the gaps” or the main objective was to create a table with the new information in order to memorize it.

The appearance of new technologies and the use of the ICTs suppose a revolution to teach a specific subject. The student can work in a team and can maintain an active role inside the classroom. In this way knowledge is never more passive or it will uniquely depend on the grammatical theory explained by the teacher on the blackboard.

In addition, Internet has let the use of new social networks that can group all the students under the same application. Some precise web pages like Edmodo are very useful because learners can upload at the same moment different files about the topic they are working in class. It is a secure tool as nobody can enter in the application without permission and students are able to reply the comments already written by their partners.

In this sense the class is a more unified group and all the action occurs while students work with the computer program. It is important to highlight that decisions are discussed in the group and for this reason is necessary to achieve an agreement with all the members in order to publish the consensual information. Using this technique the student has a more autonomous work and he/she doesn’t depend constantly on the figure of the teacher.

However, Edmodo is something more than a simple social network. Students can use it in hundreds of different ways like to reflect their final opinions about a project, to communicate informally with other partners, to upload a picture of the team or to send a message to the teacher. Its internal structure is very simple and it is very easy to use. Students feel that the knowledge they have can be listened and shared in the classroom, and all the work occurs inside an educational context.

The teacher becomes with this model a facilitator, a figure to ask in case the students have doubts. This pedagogic method is the maxim that some famous educators have been claiming during decades, as the student is the centre of its own learning. The process is guided by the teacher, but the student is the person who enjoys with the activity and the subject that experiments the action.

Furthermore, as the work is in group everyone has to listen to each member. The student can resolve his/her doubts in the team and is necessary a constant cooperation in order not to fail the exercise. Each person of the group has a better or more precise idea about a specific point, and so all together can benefit from the comments of the members.

Besides, Edmodo functions like an electronic blog, so students can share links or any sort of information from other websites only specifying the place where it comes from. In this way the social network becomes a space where everyone contributes with knowledge and so there is a very strong sense of feedback.

The students are able to upload their own voices (audio exercise), create a postcard or an interactive multimedia file (Glogster) or just upload a photograph previously edited using a computer programme.

With these technological applications actions like reading a book or a fiction story become a more demanding process than just reading the text in a loud voice in class. The team has to understand completely the plot and every detail as after they have some specific exercises about the content of the reading. Activities like putting an image or a symbol that summarizes the plot or to express the opinion of the group have been very useful and the text acquires another dimension (full of possibilities and we have to maintain a more participative behaviour).

In general terms we have seen how the story is not only a reading activity, but it also involves speaking, listening (inside the group), writing and especially to domain technological skills.

The unique problems that I can see with these applications are perhaps the necessity to work on-line and that some activities are very time-consuming. Some programmes are difficult to use and previous experience with the software can be necessary to know all the options that you can develop.

But generally speaking it is an experience that I would recommend to all students as a good alternative to the useless, tedious and repetitive classes based only on the teaching of grammar. As we have seen there is also the possibility to include grammar in a more active class where students participate and create their own didactic material using the four basic skills.

SECOND REFLECTIONS ABOUT THE SUBJECT

There is not only a single way to teach. If we as teachers assume that the traditional explanation of English grammar or the activities proposed by the textbook are all the material that students need, we are then making big mistakes.

There are some advantages to divide students in teams like the fact that they can participate more actively in class, reach an agreement about the topic or the teacher can have more contact with the learners. In this way they “generate rather than receive knowledge” and develop more interpersonal skills.

It is interesting to organize the class in different stages. Pre-teaching exercises like reading a specific paragraph or the discussion of an important passage help learners to be involved with the text and so they want to continue reading. Some games, puns, or to read the first sentences pronounced by a character are also good strategies to engage students.

After, in the second stage (teaching), they can represent a concrete scene or to publish in a social network like Edmodo the pictures or comments that the book suggests. Other activities like a role-playing or to ask people about the content of the story can be positive as the student obtains more information of the text.

In addition, ICTs are a basic help to develop more funny activities. Learners can choose a computer programme that let them to change parts of the story, add a different character or change the scenario where the action happens (http://www.wordle.net/). Blogs are in general terms a good option as students can upload at the same time what they are doing in class or to post different opinions about the text. There are also web pages that motivate students to create their own virtual character and after they can learn interacting with other avatars (http://www.voki.com/)

In the last stage (post-teaching) they can create very positive feedback through oral (group discussion) or written activities. Some practical exercises are also recommendable like to make a class library where students choose their favourite book from the table and after they have to convince the rest of the class that the story selected is the best.

The real aim should be to change the opinion of the students about literature. Traditional activities are uniquely based on depicting the plot or the characters of the story, and with the use of new on-line resources they will integrate this information in a more participative and funny context.

Methodologies should be different to the classical English grammar explanation. Students are the real focus of attention and for this reason they must be involved in their own process of learning. All the methods and techniques used in class can help us a lot to design good activities or to create a better atmosphere for learners. In this way is easier to obtain knowledge and learners will remember teachers that make a different class full of enjoyable possibilities.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

 This subject has been very useful to learn alternative methods to explain English. Students have to participate in class as they can no longer remain passive only paying attention to what the teacher explains.

Simulations are an interesting way to make the students take responsibilities and that they think about a plan to develop in teams. There are much more advantages using simulations than a role-playing game. It serves as a training process for the real life and students do not have to change their personalities or roles.

In every team there are responsibilities for all the members and a common goal to achieve (example: vote, pass a law, etc.) It is a way to practise the active and significant learning (participation, getting involved with the action, to check the work being made in teams, etc.) and a unique possibility to develop their personal autonomy.

The model is divided into three phases:

• Briefing: It is composed by the objectives, aims, responsibilities inside the group and full outline of the future action. Additional material like news articles, magazines or research papers (“realia”) can be given to the students. The teacher maintains the role of a facilitator and although he/she does not take part directly in the action, it is possible to control the work of the teams, resolve doubts and guide the students with more difficulties.
• Action: The real process of the simulation. Furthermore, there can be negotiations among the different groups and a final text (or treaty) can be written to expose in class.
• Debriefing: There are final presentations where the teacher controls the knowledge achieved.

During the whole process the students have practised the four skills to domain a foreign language: reading, writing, listening and speaking (as all the communication produced inside the classroom must be in the foreign language). Simulations are a way to foment their language abilities, to promote their autonomous work and a method to work successfully in teams. A big quantity of universities (Colorado, Minnesota: http://www.carla.umn.edu/culture/resources/exercises.html, Michigan, etc.) and diverse projects from the European Union (“Best Practice – Best Language Teaching Methods”) support simulations as an effective way to learn English and promote human values like equality among the students.