Málfríður - 15.03.2012, Qupperneq 25

Who.and.what.is.it.that.decides.what.and.how.we.
teach?.Apart.from.the.authorities.and.us,.the.teachers,.
there.are.parents,.students,.schools.and.society ..Maybe.
colleagues,. habits,. even. our. own. comfort .. Ideally. we.
know. well. the. contents. of. the. national. curriculum,.
select. the. type.of. syllabus. that. fits.our. circumstances.
best,. and.we.produce.a.detailed. lesson.plan. for. each.
lesson .. We. share. our. expertise. with. other. English.
teachers.and.cooperate.on.projects ..
To.be.able. to.manage.all. this.preparation,.we.need.
good.time management ..Why.not.reflect.and.find.some.
more.clever.ways.to.save.time?.Or.find.extra.time?
6. Classroom management
For.good.quality.lessons.the.English.teacher.has.to.be.
in. command. of. the. class .. Teachers. are. managers. and.
the.classroom.is.a.variable.that.needs.knowledgeable,.
skilled,.and.professional.leadership .
Many. factors. influence. how. a. lesson. will. develop ..
The. classroom. and. the. layout. of. furniture,. timing,.
the. established. rapport. (relationship. with. children),.
classroom interaction patterns (individual.work,.pair.
work,.group.work,.class.working.as.a.whole),.and.not.
the.least.the.five.Ps:.Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor
Performance.
The English teacher´s professional develop-
ment
Professional. and. personal. exchange,. together. with.
refreshing. study. and. self-reflection,. are. characteristic.
of. Primary Essentials. The. online. course. covers. some.
very. important. aspects. of. teaching. English. to. young.
learners. and. offers. a. good. opportunity. to. dive. deep.
and.emerge.with.new.strength.at.the.end ..
The. goodbyes. in. our. group. were. bittersweet .. We.
were. proud. of. ourselves. to. finish. the. workload. and.
sorry. at. the. same. time,. like. when. you. finish. reading.
a.good.book ..While.filling.out.a.feedback.form,.I.real-
ized.that.British.Council.offers.more.distance.learning.
courses. for. English. teachers,. which. come. highly. rec-
ommended. by. former. participants .. They. are. Teaching
English – steps to success. (online),.Learning Technologies
for the Classroom.(online).and.TKT Essentials.(online) ..
This.module.thus.asks:
•. Why.songs?
•. Why.games?
4. Learning styles
This.module.is.very.practical,.even.though.it.draws.
on.theory.and.science ..It.explores.ways.in.which.stu-
dents. learn,. more. precisely. the. right vs. left brain
learning,. and. the. combination. of. both .. Young. learn-
ers.are.primarily. right.brain.oriented,.as. they. love. to.
use.their.senses.to.learn,.they.need.to.move,.they.are.
creative,. subjective. and. holistic .. They. don´t. separate.
grammar.from.meaning.and.contents,.and.they.don´t.
classify.words.when.they.listen.to.stories ..
Moreover,. young. learners. need. multi-sensory
activities (VAK). because. they. use. different. senses. to.
absorb.new.information ..The.prevailing.learning.styles.
are.visual,.auditory.and.kinaesthetic,.and.the.teacher.
has.to.cater.to.all.of.them,.ideally.in.every.lesson ..For.
example,. if. the.prevailing.activity. in. the.classroom.is.
reading,. the. visual. types. get. an. advantage. over. oth-
ers .. Similarly,. if. the. teacher. gives. lectures. without.
visual. support,. the. auditory. students. learn. the. most ..
The. learning. style.of. the. English. teacher. can. play.an.
unconscious. role. in. choosing. activities. for. the. class-
room.–.how.about.taking.a.little.test.to.find.out.about.
yourself?
5. Syllabus and lesson planning
While.a.new.national.curriculum.for.teaching.foreign.
languages. at. Icelandic. elementary. schools. is. in. the.
making,. the. work. on. syllabuses. and. lesson. planning.
are.becoming.even.more.topical ..Abroad,.teachers.are.
often.required.to.follow.the.national curriculum.strict-
ly,.and.to.hand.in.lesson plans.for.approval ..In.Iceland,.
English.teachers.have.a.lot.of.freedom.to.choose.their.
methods.and.contents,.but.again,.their.choices.must.be.
informed ..
Somewhere.between.the.lesson.plan.and.the.nation-
al. curriculum. there. is. the.syllabus ..Most.of.us.know.
them.from.the.beginnings.of.course.books ..They.state.
what.students.will.learn,.vocabulary,.grammar,.meth-
ods,. topics…. It. is. good. to. know. that. there. are. many.
types. of. syllabi. and. here,. also,. we. have. a. choice:. Do.
we. know. the. advantages. of. grammar-based. syllabi?.
Activity-based. and. task-based. syllabi?. Topic-based.
and.story-based.ones?.
MÁLFRÍÐUR 25