Interactions Mosaic

User Guide-Writing

I. Good Teaching Practices

A. Keeping Your Students' Attention

Most of your classes will probably be a combination of a traditional teacher-centered approach, with all eyes on you at the front of the classroom, and pair and group work. Most of your presentations will be done in the traditional mode. Here are some techniques to help you keep your students' attention:

• Maintain eye contact.

• Work on the board as much as you can. Put examples on the board, even if you simply rewrite them from the text.

• If you want to call on students to read as others follow or read aloud yourself, make sure there is a specific objective for the activity.

• If you want students to read something from the text, give them a question or two, let them read on their own, and then have a class discussion of the answers.

• Keep the class lively. Students should not be able to anticipate your every move.

• Call on students who seem inattentive. Ask them short, snappy questions. Don't embarrass them, but let them know that you've noticed that they're drifting.

• If a large number of students seem bored, change the activity. Even the most motivated students have their off days.

B. Checking Comprehension

Notice students' responses. If they seem confused, check their comprehension, but don't ask, "Do you understand?" It might be uncomfortable for them to answer "No." Instead, ask questions or give commands that make students demonstrate their understanding. Try to have a couple of alternate ways of explaining a point ready so that you can do more than simply repeat what you've already said.

C. Using Teacher Talk

Don't talk more than necessary. There are several ways to cut down on unnecessary "teacher talk."

• Use gestures as much as possible.

• Ask students to explain to one another.

• Use the blackboard to illustrate ideas that may be difficult to explain.

• Demonstrate what you are saying as you are saying it.

However, there are times when teacher talk is essential. Use it to:

• give encouragement,

• model language that students are going to use, and

• ask beginning students to do things around the classroom rather than doing them yourself.

Make sure that you use level-appropriate but natural-sounding language.

• Teach common phrases as formulas. Would you please... What does _____ mean?

• Be careful with grammatical terms. Make sure that you use the same terms that the textbook does.

• Alter your vocabulary and structures, but make sure that you are speaking natural English. Sometimes students will use the word yes? or no? instead of a tag question. Don't use such unnatural structures.

• Speak naturally. Don't speak too slowly. Try to preserve the natural links between words.

Make sure that everyone gets enough practice.

• Make a mental note of each student as you call on him/her.

• If there are too many names to remember, write a class list on a piece of paper that you keep in your textbook. Call on every second or third student. Vary the pattern every day.

• If some students tend to call out answers, make a rule that once a student answers, he/she cannot answer the next three or four questions.

• After one student answers, ask him/her to call on another student.

• Use pair and group work when appropriate.

D. Using Your Time Well: When You Have to Move Quickly

There are several strategies that you can use to move more quickly.

• Look over the textbook before class and estimate how much time each activity will take. Assign exercises for homework. Make sure that everyone understands the objective of each writing exercise before they leave class. In addition, make sure that students will have the resources at home to complete the activity. For example, don't give them an exercise based on a listening (even if they heard the tape or CD in class) because they won't be able to listen again if they need to.

• Start writing exercises in class and have students finish them at home. Check the first sentence or two of each student's writing assignment to be sure it's correct.

• If you are doing group work in which students need to report, increase the number of groups to lessen the reporting time.

• Skip sections and/or exercises. In general, it is better to skip exercises within a section rather than skip an entire section. You should always feel free to skip optional activities. Before you decide to skip a section, look ahead and make sure that that information is not required later in the chapter or the book. Some students feel "cheated" if they do not cover everything in the textbook. Explain that you are short of time and why. (Perhaps you needed to spend more time on another more important topic.) Assure them that they will not be tested on material that you did not cover. Then keep this promise!

E. Using Your Time Well: When You Have Extra Time

Sometimes you will have a few minutes left at the end of class. You can let

students get started on their homework or use one of these short but productive

time-fillers.

1. Language Games

• Twenty Questions

1. You (or a student) think of an object.

2. Students ask yes/no questions to guess what it is.

• Hangman

1. You think of a word and write a blank for each letter. For example, if your word is teacher, write _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on the board.

2. Students try to guess the letters in the word. If a student guesses E, write it in each space; for example, _ E _ _ _ E _.

3. For each wrong letter, you add an element to the hanging man's body.

4. On the board, keep track of the letters guessed so that students don't repeat them.

• Spelling Bee

This is a game where students are asked to spell words. It can also be played by giving students a present tense verb and asking them to say and spell the past tense or past participle.

1. Put students in teams according to rows, so they don't have to move.

2. Tell all students to stand up.

3. Say a word and ask the first person in the first row to spell it. Then say a different word and ask the first person in the next row to spell it.

4. Students sit down when they get a word wrong.

5. The team with the most people standing at the end is the winner.

• Telephone

1. Whisper a short sentence into a student's ear.

2. That student must whisper it to a neighbor.

3. Continue until all students have heard the sentence. Ask the last person to say what he/she heard.

2. Songs

Songs are almost always of interest to students, especially if you have a class of adolescents.

• Sing a song that students have already learned. You can also play a recording of the song.

• In monolingual classrooms, have students try to translate a few lines from a popular song into English.

• Have students tell you a few lines from a popular English song and watch the fun as they argue about what the words actually are.

3. Discussions

Have students talk about:

• yesterday's headlines

• a school issue

• today's or this week's lessons

1. recalling what they did,

2. telling you what they liked,

3. saying what they think they need to work on.

II. Use of English and Native Language in the Classroom

A. Encouraging Your Students to Use English

One of the best ways to encourage your students to use English is to use it yourself from the very first class. With beginning classes, supplement English with other nonlinguistic messages.

• Use gestures.

• Act out what you are saying as you are saying it.

• Write a crucial word on the board if you think that students may recognize it.

• Prompt students with pictures and illustrations posted around the room.

• Say, "Excuse me, I don't understand you" when students speak to you in their native language and you are certain that they could actually say the same thing in English.

• When students speak to you in their native language, give them the sentence or question in English and have them repeat it.

• Do not always insist on accuracy. Students will be more encouraged to speak if they know that it's okay to make mistakes.

• Speak to students in English as much as possible outside of class.

• Keep English-English dictionaries (picture dictionaries at the lower levels) in the class to encourage students to look words up.

• Teach lower-level classes the classroom language they will need and then encourage them to use it.

B. Using Native Language in the English Classroom

There are times when it is appropriate to use students' native language in the classroom.

• Use students' native language for a quick translation of a word or phrase in order to eliminate nonproductive minutes of frustration on the part of students and teacher. However, don't let translation become a crutch.

• When you are giving important directions, such as for a test, do a quick comprehension check and translate if necessary.

• If you are a competent speaker of your students' native language, do not try to counsel students in English. Trying to talk about problems in English may only increase their distress because they will have difficulty expressing their feelings.

III. Group Work and Pair Work

A. Deciding When to Use Pair Work and Group Work

Pairs are easier to manage and set up than groups. Use pairs for all kinds of feedback and evaluation. This is particularly helpful in writing classes where students can give each other comments and suggestions for improving drafts. Pair work is also a useful way of having students compare answers before they hand in papers or answer out loud. Pairs also work well for completing exercises in class and drilling each other on vocabulary, verb forms, spelling, and so on.

Use groups for discussions, games, role-plays, and so on. Groups should probably not be used for accuracy work. Group work is much better for fluency practice where correction comes up only if there is a comprehension problem. Before you begin group work, make sure that you have enough time. Allow at least five minutes to explain the activity and divide into groups.

B. Setting Up Seating Arrangements for Group Work

Below are a couple of possible seating arrangements for group work.

Groups of six if desks can be moved

Groups of four if desks cannot be moved

Students a and b turn around to face students c and d.

C. Deciding Group Size

Groups should have from three to eight members. Groups of more than eight are usually too difficult to handle. Activities where students need to share ideas are often better with more students. Games are often best done in smaller groups so that everyone has more opportunity to play. It is not necessary that all groups be the same size.

D. Working with Mixed-Ability Groups

In general, mixed-ability groups work best. Over-reliance on same-ability groups tends to increase the difference in ability among the more and less capable students. Same-ability grouping works well when you want to give one group of students more guidance or a task more suited to their level.

If possible, divide the activity into different tasks and make sure that each student has a task to perform. Some possible tasks are the moderator (the person who keeps everything going), the time-keeper (the person who makes sure that the work is being completed in a specified time and who also makes sure that everyone participates), and the reporter (the person who reports back to the class).

Students are usually more engaged in group work, so even unmotivated students tend to work harder.

E. Coordinating Group Work

You have an important role to play in pair and group work. Circulate as unobtrusively as possible. Try not to interrupt the flow of conversation unless students are confused, not doing the task, or not doing the activity correctly. If students need vocabulary help, give it to them. Do not let the activity founder for lack of one or two crucial words. Carry a small notebook in which to note errors. However, do not hover writing furiously. Make notes as unobtrusively as possible, then use this information to plan future lessons.

F. Picking Up a Few Pair Work and Group Work Tips

• Explain the activity carefully, making sure that students understand what they are to do. It is usually better to do this before the class breaks into groups so that you will have everyone's attention.

• Remember to appoint or have the group choose a recorder so that the results of the group work can be reported to you or to the class. This will also help group members to take the activity seriously.

• Moving people is easier than moving desks. Don't spend so much time rearranging the furniture that there's no time for the activity.

• Use two or three methods of grouping consistently so that students learn the routine and can easily get themselves organized.

• Give students an approximate time to finish the task. However, be flexible if you've estimated incorrectly.

• Make sure that the activity does not go on for too long. Groups may lose steam after 15 or 20 minutes.

• Have extra work available for groups that finish early.

IV. Feedback

Be happy about errors. They show you the problem areas. Correct answers simply tell you what students already know. Keep reminding students that errors are necessary for progress because they learn how a language works by experimenting and receiving feedback. Students should be working slightly above their ability, so if they aren't making errors, they are not getting the right amount of challenge.

A. Making Corrections: When and What

As a general rule, errors that interfere with communication are more important than those that don't. Distinguish between error correction in accuracy activities and error correction in fluency activities. Accuracy activities, such as pronunciation drills and cloze exercises, demand that the teacher point out errors. When the objective is fluency, tolerate some errors and note others to be worked on later.

Don't rush correction. First of all, make sure that you are reasonably certain of what the student is trying to say. Then indicate that students have made an error. Give them a chance to correct it if it is reasonable to assume that they will be able to do that. The decision should be made based on the level of the error. If a low-level student makes a present tense error, he/she can reasonably be expected to be able to correct it. However, if the same student makes a passive voice error, you can simply supply the correct form and move on.

B. Making Corrections: How

• Gestures can be used to signal common errors. For example, many teachers point over their shoulders to remind a student that they should be using the past tense.

• Use the board to write clues to help students correct their mistakes. For example, a teacher may put a large S in the corner of the board and simply point to it when students are missing the third person "s."

• If a student has been given time to correct an error and is obviously foundering, simply move on to another student. Do not say, "Can anyone help Ana?" This is very embarrassing to many students. When someone has supplied the answer, go back to the first student and give him/her a chance to give the correct answer.

C. Making Corrections: Peers

• Use pairs for peer correction. Never do it in groups.

• Make sure that students have clear guidelines on what to look for. (For example, look for problems with subject-verb agreement.)

• Have students circle possible errors in pencil. Then the errors can easily be erased if the form actually needs no correction.

• In general, have students point out possible problems rather than fix them yourself.

D. Making Corrections: Whole Class

Class correction is a good way of focusing students' attention on errors made in fluency activities.

• Collect errors from students' written work or notes you have made during fluency activities.

• Write them on a transparency (if you have an overhead projector), type them out and distribute them to the class, or write them on the board. Reword them if necessary to make them anonymous.

• Ask students to correct them as a class or in pairs.

E. The Non-native Speaking Teacher Acting As a Model

Your language may not be perfect, but your students do not speak as well as you do, so they need your class. An important part of language learning is learning to take risks and tolerate imperfection. Your students need to learn to speak freely and without embarrassment. You need to model this attitude.

V. Homework

The amount of homework you assign will depend on the amount of time you can realistically expect your students to spend doing it. Assign as homework work that students do at different speeds and generally do alone. For example, a lot of reading and writing can be done outside of class. If a particular assignment is crucial to the next day's activities, warn students in advance. If you do not, you may find yourself with a large group of unprepared students and a lesson you can't teach. Assign homework before students are packing up to leave, making sure that there is enough time for them to ask questions.

Writing Handbook

Teaching Writing with Interactions Mosaic

I. Before You Write

Students should be aware of the seven steps of the writing process. Go over these steps with the class before each writing assignment until students are familiar with them:

• getting ideas

• organizing

• writing a first draft

• revising

• writing a second draft

• editing

• writing a final draft

Use the information in the Instructor's Manual to explain the purpose of the writing process.

A. Dealing with New Vocabulary

1. Using Dictionaries

• If possible, students should have (or have access to) a good English-English dictionary. One written for ESL students is best. Bilingual dictionaries are often inaccurate and should be avoided.

• Do not hesitate to give students English words that they need or provide one-word translations for unfamiliar words. However, make sure that they note the new word in their vocabulary notebooks and then complete the entry at home.

2. Using Vocabulary Notebooks

• Have students keep vocabulary notebooks to record new vocabulary words.

• Each notation will contain part of speech, relevant definition, context sentence, and other related words. Examples are words that are morphologically connected (elation-elated), synonyms (joy-happiness), and antonyms (joy-sorrow). Let students draw in their notebooks or even write a native language translation if they find it helpful. Periodically check their vocabulary notebooks for accuracy and completeness.

B. Using Activities for Getting Ideas

1. Brainstorming

• Brainstorming is probably better done as a group activity.

• Make sure that all groups share at the end.

• Don't let one group share all of its ideas at once. This often leaves the later groups with little or nothing to add.

• Go over vocabulary problems and supply words as needed.

2. Working from Visuals

• Illustrations and photographs are best handled in pairs so that students can talk and look at the picture(s) at the same time. If you do it in pairs, have each pair then talk to another pair to exchange ideas.

• After pairs discuss the visuals, have the class share their ideas and write them on the board.

• If appropriate, ask students to bring in their own illustrations on the topic.

C. Using Reading as a Springboard to Writing

The more students read, the better writers they will become.

1. Taking Notes to Prepare for Writing

• Encourage students to take notes as they read. The notes will become the basis for writing assignments.

• Demonstrate different ways of noting important passages in a text- highlighting, bracketing, underlining, making marginal notes, and so on. Point out that notes often omit pronouns, auxiliary verbs, articles, and connectors. Encourage students to use symbols and abbreviations when appropriate.

• Give students a chance to practice marking up texts and to compare their work with other students.

2. Working with New Reading Vocabulary

• Have students underline or circle new words as they read. Tell them that these are words they might be using in their writing assignment that is based on the reading.

• Encourage students to guess the meanings of words in context before looking them up.

• After they find the meanings, they should decide if the words are potentially useful or not. They should ask themselves if the words might be useful in the writing assignment. If the answer is yes, students should write the words in their vocabulary notebooks.

D. Interviewing

Whether students are interviewing classmates or people outside, help them develop model questions. In a lower-level class, students may simply choose the questions that they wish to ask from a list on the board. In higher-level classes, the questions serve as models of what might be asked.

If students are interviewing people outside of the class, make sure that they choose their interviewees widely. It is obviously more helpful to interview someone in English, but this is often not possible. Tell students that if they are interviewing in their own language, they should try to make their notes in English or a combination of the two languages. If they make all their notes in their native language, they are likely to end up with a lot of ideas that they cannot express in English.

E. Using Freewriting to Increase Fluency

Make sure students understand that freewriting is a fluency activity that will increase their skills in the writing process. Tell them that they should not be worried about grammar or mechanics. You can even allow them to write an occasional word in their native language so that vocabulary doesn't get in the way of the flow of ideas.

• Do not correct freewriting activities. Use them to find out about students'

areas of interest.

• If you collect the freewriting for the purpose of learning more about your

students and their interests, make sure you return it to the students.

F. Organizing Ideas

Present various ways of organizing ideas. Some are better for some types of writing. Some students may prefer one over another. Some students may develop their own hybrid method of organizing.

Have students practice the techniques first as a class and then in small groups or pairs before you ask them to use the techniques in their own writing.

1. Outlining

• It is not necessary for students to use the correct format of a formal outline. However, they should understand the concept of ideas that contain other ideas.

• Outlines are very useful for comparison/contrast writing or for any other writing that has parallel organization.

• Have students use outlining for any type of narrative writing.

2. Brain Mapping or Clustering

This technique can be used as a first step in a writing assignment and then followed up with an outline. It is a useful procedure for accumulating ideas and then limiting the scope of a composition. A brain mapping or clustering procedure for a writing assignment about good health might look something like this:

II. Writing

A. Writing the First Draft

1. Getting Started

• Encourage students to write their first draft in pencil so that they can make changes more easily.

• Tell students to think more about ideas at this stage rather than grammatical accuracy.

• If students are writing in class, circulate to offer appropriate help as needed. However, don't be intrusive. Students may not want you to see their work at this time. They should feel free to write at this point without any apprehension concerning corrections.

• Tell them to follow the plan that they have made but not to be afraid to deviate from the plan if it is not working.

2. Revising for Content

This step includes checking for clarity, making sure all information is included, and deleting all extraneous information. It does not include grammar except where grammar gets in the way of the ideas.

3. Peer Evaluation

Student-to-student feedback can be very useful, especially at this point, but it should be strictly controlled as to the type of feedback and the manner in which it is given. Use the feedback sheets in Interactions and the peer-editing sheets in Mosaic as a guide.

• Make sure that students understand that they are giving feedback on content and not on grammar and mechanics.

• Have students make their comments on another sheet of paper. They should always begin with a positive comment. If they need to refer to a particular section, they can put a number or a symbol on the essay and then refer to it.

4. Self-evaluation

Self-evaluation is an important step in the writing process. Students must learn to be their own editors.

• Have students compare several of their compositions and find ways that they have improved. On this positive note, help them to pinpoint their problem areas so that they can edit themselves more effectively.

5. Teacher Feedback

Follow the same guidelines you gave the students for this step. Comment on ideas, clarity, completeness, and so on. Try not to correct grammar, unless it is an impediment to comprehension.

• Begin with positive comments before getting to problem areas.

• If an essay has significant errors in a particular structure, write a comment such as "Watch the use of present perfect" on top of the paper.

B. Writing the Second Draft

Tell students to write on every other line in order to leave adequate space for

corrections. As they write their second draft, tell them to think about grammar

and mechanics in addition to their ideas.

C. Methods for Editing Grammar and Mechanics

1. Selective Correction

This is a good method for giving students help on one or two particular grammatical or mechanical problem areas. It gives students a written record of certain problems they have that have been identified and corrected.

• Choose a certain structure or structures to concentrate on and correct those.

• On top of the paper, write "Corrected for x and y."

2. Using Correction Symbols

Develop a set of correction symbols and distribute them to each student. Each symbol should have an example error, but not the correction. It trains students to look at the error but to make the corrections themselves.

• Put the correction symbol at the point of the error.

• Put the correction symbol at the end of the line with a number to indicate how many times it occurs; for example, sp3 means three misspelled words.

The chart shows sample symbols.

Symbol Meaning Example

sp spelling her neice recieved the gift

wo word order She gives me always presents.

wo

T tense I see him yesterday.

T

SVA subject-verb agreement We goes together.

SVA

WF wrong form This is mine book.

WF

S/P singular or plural word form I learn a lot of vocabularies.

S/P

^ something was left out We been here for six years.

^

? meaning is not clear The boy was very heterogeneous.

?

WW wrong word He wanted to suicide himself.

ww

P punctuation Was the information correct.

P

III. Testing

Your students may have to take timed essay tests, so it is good to practice these

writing tests from time to time. The Focus on Testing sections in Interactions Mosaic

will give students information on writing during test conditions.

Occasionally you might want to have students do a short impromptu writing

assignment in class. Collect the papers so that you can compare them with their

out-of-class writing. This may give you valuable information about areas in

which students need more practice.