Málfríður - 15.03.2012, Page 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