Tài liệu Skkn how to make an english class more interesting and effective.

SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIÊÊM HOW TO MAKE AN ENGLISH CLASS MORE INTERESTING AND EFFECTIVE Người thực hiê Ên : MAI THỊ TƯỜNG VÂN Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu : PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC CHUYÊN MÔN Năm học : 2012-2013 SƠ LƯỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC I. THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ CÁ NHÂN 1. Họ và tên: MAI THỊ TƯỜNG VÂN 2. Ngày tháng năm sinh: 23-8-1968 3. Nam, nữ: nữ 4. Địa chỉ: 12/6 Nguyễn Huệ- tổ 1-khu phố 1-thị trấn Trảng Bom- huyện Trảng BomTỉnh Đồng Nai 5. Điện thoại: 0613 866 198 (CQ)- 0613 866749 (NR)- 0918214351 (DĐ) 6. Chức vụ: Giáo viên 7. Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT Thống Nhất A II. TRÌNH ĐỘ ĐÀO TẠO 1. Trình độ chuyên môn: cử nhân ngoại ngữ 2. Năm nhận bằng: 1993 3. Chuyên ngành đào tạo: Anh văn III. KINH NGHIỆM KHOA HỌC 1. Lĩnh vực chuyên môn có kinh nghiệm: giảng dạy 2. Số năm có kinh nghiệm: 20 năm HOW TO MAKE AN ENGLISH CLASS MORE INTERESTING AND EFFECTIVE CONTENT I. INTRODUCTION II. THE REAL SITUATION IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT 1. 2. 3. Advantages Disadvantages Statistics III. SOLUTIONS IV. THE WAYS OF TEACHING DIFFERENT SKILLS 1.Teaching reading 2. Teaching speaking 3. Teaching listening 4. Teaching writing 5. Teaching language focus V. RESULTS VI. CONCLUSION VII. REFERENCE Tên sáng kiến kinh nghiê êm : HOW TO MAKE AN ENGLISH CLASS MORE INTERESTING AND EFFECTIVE I. INTRODUCTION : _To help students become active in study, teachers should put communicative approach of teaching English for the curriculum set by ministry of educationtraining into practice, quite differently from the traditional way of teaching English for the last many years _To bring teaching English into effects, it is advisable that each unit should begin with a game so that students become interested in the lesson and it is also a way for teachers to introduce the new lesson _Each skill also requires differently suitable methods of teaching II. THE REAL SITUATION IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT 1. Advantages -English is one of core subjects, which are compulsory in final examinations and graduation examinations. This makes students spend more time on studying English -English is taught from grade 3, so high school students have certainly gained certain knowledge of English -Many kinds of books on the renovation or the reforms in teaching methods are published .This means that teachers have many opportunities to do a lesson well . In other words, it isn’t difficult for teachers to give an effective lesson. 2. Disadvantages -Some units are too long for a 45-minute period . This means that 45 minutes isn’t enough to transmit all the knowledge in each part well enough to students -Teachers have to spend too much time preparing for a lesson. - Teachers do not have enough time to call on most of the students in each class to practise speaking and listening - Many students are not interested in writing , so they lack motivation to write - Students haven’t realized the importance of English after high school and before university 3. Statistics : At the beginning of this year grade 10 12 total Number of students 81 85 166 Mark 5 30 % 40 % 35 % Over mark 5 Under mark 5 30 % 40 % 30 % 30 % 30 % 35 % III. SOLUTIONS - To solve the problems mentioned above, it is the duty of teachers to find out how to make an English class interesting and effective . + Teachers use a variety of reference-books , especially the books on the reforms in teaching methods to bring the effect into the lesson and stimulate the spirit of building the lesson among students. + Teachers have a good preparation for lesson – plan and necessary teaching aids to result in quality-lessons + Teachers apply suitable teaching methods into each skill or each period to transmit the content of the lesson to students in details + During the lesson , teachers let students do the activity of recognizing and matching such as seeing pictures , guessing pictures , working in pairs or in groups . + Teachers let students join practice activities in each period to help them have synchronized improvements of 4 skills : listening , speaking , reading and writing + Teachers make use of communicative situations and proper games so that students can master the lesson . - It is clear that a successful lesson is the result of the collaboration of teachers and students . Because of this , in order for students also to help make a contribution to the lesson , I suggest that teachers show students how to prepare the lesson for each period before school + Teachers show students how to prepare the vocabulary and the reading in advance + Teachers let students practise speaking as much as possible + Teachers provide students with the materials for listening skill so that they can practise listening at home + Teachers introduce some kinds of books about writing and grammar to students so that they can buy them for reference IV. THE. WAYS OF TEACHING DIFFERENT SKILLS I. TEACHING READING _In each unit, the outline of Reading is not the same, especially in the length of content. In Reading , there is too much for teachers and students to do in 45 minutes. Because of this, it is very important to use methods as well as techniques of teaching suitably so that teachers can finish the lesson in 45 minutes and students can understand the lesson well. The following is something for reference _Teachers remind students to prepare vocabulary: nouns, verbs, adjs , advs. Only the words in the text are listed and students use dictionaries to look up the meaning of new words, then students practise translating the text into Vietnamese in writing _In the class , teachers explain quite new words in English _ Teachers make at least 3 possible questions and call on students to answer to check students’ understanding and preparation _Teachers play the tape so that students know how to pronounce words and read the text _ Then, teachers explain the requirement of Tasks to students _Teachers should call on good students to practise first, then other objects of students. When it is done, most of the students in class have a chance to practise the lesson. This helps students have favourable attitude toward their study _ The only thing we mention here is teachers’ responsibility. This means that if teachers know that 45’ is not enough for the lesson, teachers actively prepare shorter exercises for consolidation as well as homework _Don’t forget to remind students to do more exercises in Wordkbook. Students can actively organize small classes in groups at home _When this method of teaching is kept up, little by little, students understand the lesson better and certainly they prefer learning Reading Some teaching lessons GRADE 10 – UNIT9: READING There are three paragraphs in this passage, read the topic sentence of each paragraph and guess what each one talks about. Paragraph 1 : For centuries, people have been challenged by the mysteries that lie beneath the blue depths of the ocean. Paragraph 2 :Today’s scientists have overcome many of the challenges of the depth by using more sophisticated tools. Paragraph 3 : The plants and animals of the sea fall into three major groups TASK 1 : The words in the box all appear in the passage . Fill each blank with one of them gulf sophisticated tiny reveal biodiversity interactions 1. Some plants and animals are referred to as ………. organisms because they are extremely small. 2. Thanks to modern technology, scientists have been able to ………. many mysteries of the undersea world. 3. A ………. is a large area of sea that is partly surrounded by land. 4. Personal computers are becoming more and more ……………… 5. …………. is a term that refers to the existence of different kinds of animals and plants which make a balanced environment. 6.A successful language lesson often requires the …………. between the students and the teacher. TASK 2 : Match the following headings with the paragraphs. There are more headings than the paragraphs A. OCEAN MARKET Paragraph 1 B. SEA DISCOVERIES Paragraph 2 C. SEA MYSTERIES Paragraph 3 D. SEA CONNECTIONS E. SEA POLLUTION TASK 3 : Read the passages again , then answer the following questions 1.How many percents of the earth surface are covered with sea and oceans ? 2.What did we use to think of the ocean depths ? 3.How can scientists now reveal the secrets of the undersea world ? 4.What sort of information do we have about the ocean and marine life ? 5.What can we know from the interactions of the ocean and marine life ? 6.What are the three major groups of sea plants and animals ? 7.What do all the plants and animals in the ocean contribute to ? TASK 3 : Read the passages again , then answer the following questions 1.How many percents of the earth surface are covered with sea and oceans ? Seventy five percents ( 75 % ) 2.What did we use to think of the ocean depths ? We used to think that there was no life in the ocean depths. 3.How can scientists now reveal the secrets of the undersea world ? By using more sophisticated tools 4.What sort of information do we have about the ocean and marine life ? We have information about the ocean depths, water temperature, photographs and samples of marine life and undersea populations. 5.What can we know from the interactions of the ocean and marine life ? We can know about the planet’s health and the effects of human activities. 6.What are the three major groups of sea plants and animals ? They are those that live at the bottom, those that move independently of water currents and those that are carried along by the currents. 7.What do all the plants and animals in the ocean contribute to ? They all contribute to the biodiversity of the ocean GRADE 10 - UNIT 8: THE STORY OF MY VILLAGE READING . WARM-UP : _Ask students to work in groups of three or four _Make a list of words related to the countryside countryside cou BEFORE YOU READ _Let Ss work in pairs and discuss the questions in the book _Call on some Ss to read their answers aloud in front of the class _ Feedback and give suggested answers : 1.The farmers are harvesting the crop 2. They are working very hard 3. It’s a good crop 4. Good farming methods , modern technology , hard-working people _Make more questions for Ss : 1.What do you see in the picture ? 2. Who are they ? 3. What are they using ? ………………………………. _ Teach vocabulary : + straw (n) : dry cut stalks of various cereals (rơm ) + mud (n ) : wet, soft soil (bùn ) + technical high school (n): trường trung học kỹ thuật dạy nghề + farming method (n) : method of cultivation + brick house (n) : houses made of bricks ( nhà ngói ) + thanks to (prep ) : owing to , because of _ Read the words , asking Ss to repeat twice _Ask questions related to the words WHILE YOU READ _ Introduce the tasks TASK 1 : Vocabulary matching _ Ask Ss to read the passage and match the words in A with the definitions in B _Encourage Ss to guess the meaning of the words in the context _ Have Ss compare their answers with friends _ Call on some Ss to explain their answers _ Make necessary corrections _Give correct answers : +1b. +2d +3a +4e +5c _ Give Vietnamese equivalents +1. Kiếm tằn tiện đủ sống +2. Thiếu thốn nhiều thứ +3.cải thiện cuộc sống +4. Vụ mùa bội thu +5. Cây trồng để bán và thu lợi nhuận TASK 2 : Table-completion _ Ask Ss to scan the passage to get specific information to complete the table _ Let Ss study the table carefully before doing the task _ Go around the class and provide help when necessary _ Tell Ss to discuss the answers with friends _ Check the answers in front of the class as a whole _ Give correct answers : Areas of change Before Now houses made of straw and mud radio and TV few families had farming methods old new crops poor good / bumper travel made of bricks many families have by motorbike TASK 3 : Answering questions _ Ask Ss to work in pairs _ Tell Ss to underline the information that supports the answers _ Have Ss compare their answers with another pair. _ Call on some pairs to practice aloud _ Give feedback and correct answers 1.It was poor asnd simple 2.Because they hoped that with an education of science and technology their children could find a way of bettering their lives. 3.They introduced new farming methods which resulted in bumper crops . They also helped grow cash crops for export . 4. He said their lives had changed a lot thanks to the knowledge their children had brought home . 5. He told his grandchildren :” Study harder so that you can do more for the village than your parents did “ AFTER YOU READ _ Ask Ss to work in groups and discuss the question “ How can people with an education help make the life of their community better ?” _ Clarify :people with an education refers to people with a university study _Tell Ss to look back the passage to get the ideas , going around the class and to groups _ Conduct the game : SKIM-GAME + Show Ss the board with 10 words from the passage : SCIENCE / MOTORBIKE / CASH CROP / BUMPER CROP / BRICK HOUSE / TECHNOLOGY / ENTERTAINMENT / EXPORT / KNOWLEDGE / FARMING METHOD. + Ss skim them, keep them in mind, not wrire + Some Ss volunteer to write them on the blackboard +which S writing the most correct words gets mark 10 HOMEWORK _Ask Ss to revise all the vocabulary in the passage _remind Ss to write down the whole lesson _ Tell Ss to prepare SPEAKING 2. TEACHING SPEAKING _It isn’t necessary that teaching speaking be done in the order of tasks mechanically. Although Ts stick to steps of teaching , that every lesson is done the same makes Ss feel tired of learning speaking in the next few weeks. The following are also some small tips +T makes some questions about the content of speaking. In the first 10 minutes, T asks Ss , Ss practise asking and answering each other . Ss speak freely and T makes corrections in English or by gestures, not in Vietnamese +T teaches some grammar points, some structures, some sentence patterns in Tasks +To do tasks, T practises with some good Ss first , then calling on other Ss to practise +T should give good marks to Ss who speak fluently, cheerfully, irrespective of small errors +T makes corrections in English for Ss who make a lot of mistakes in speaking +T gives homework to Ss : T suggests a certain topic and asks Ss to make Yes-No questions and WH-questions about the topic +T corrects the homework and gives marks GRADE 11 WARM-UP : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. guess the words tnemorivne yrtsudni tnatullop gnittuc seert gnidliub seitic environment industry pollutant cutting trees building cities I.Pre-speaking VOCABULARY -cultivation (n) = preparation and use of land for growing plants and crops - to discharge (v) = to release - to discourage (v) # to encourage - to capture (v) = to catch a person or animal and keep them as a prisoner II. While – speaking TASK 1 : Why is nature threatened ? 1. kill endangered animals / fur , skin , or food 2. keep animals / pets 3. capture animals / entertainment 4. burn / forests 5. cut / trees / wood 6. use fertilizers / pesticides / cultivation 7. discharge chemical pollutants / the environment TASK 2 : REASONS & ANSWERS 1. What should be done to protect endangered animals ? 2.What should be done to protect plants, trees and forests ? 3.What should be done to protect animals in general ? 4.What should be done to protect the environment ? 5.How should we use fertilizers and pesticides ? TASK 2 : REASONS & ANSWERS 1. What should be done to protect endangered animals ? -killing endangered animals for fur, skin and food should be banned -all kinds of animals should be protected 2.What should be done to protect plants, trees and forests ? -planting trees should be en courage -national parks should be established 3.What should be done to protect animals in general ? -keeping animals as pets should be discouraged -zoos should be established -animals shouldn’t be captured for entertainment 4.What should be done to protect the environment ? -discharging chemical pollutants into the environment should be prohibited 5.How should we use fertilizers and pesticides ? -decreasing the use of fertilizers and pesticides for farming should be encouraged III. Post-speaking TASK 3 : Questions and answers Ex : - what are people doing to endangered animals ?  They are killing them for fur, skin and food -what should be done to protect them ? >killing them should be banned More exs : . animals . forests . trees . cultivation .the environment GRADE 12 – UNIT 6 : FUTURE JOBS SPEAKING WARM-UP : GAME : WHAT ‘ S MY JOB ? _T divides the class into two groups _T reads 5 sentences that farmers, doctors, ......... often say _T asks Ss to listen and guess the jobs _The first group to speak out the name of a job gets 1 point _The group with more points is the winner Sentences the teacher reads a. Take 2 tablets a day after meal ( doctor ) b. Here ‘ s your key. Room 245 ( receptionist ) c. What would you like to order ? ( waiter ) d. Please fasten your seat-belt before the plane takes off ( air-hostess ) e. You will have a test next week ( teacher ) _Lead-in: Let ‘ s continue talking and giving opinions about jobs PRE-SPEAKING : WHO AM I ? _T encourages Ss to give the definitions or descriptions of any job they want to mention _Any student who guesses the right word gets good marks Ex 1 : I take care of injured and sick people. I help to save people ‘ s lives ____I am a doctor Ex 2 : I sit in a desk . I work in a building and handle many books in the day _____ I am a librarian WHILE-SPEAKING _T gives feedback _T practises with one or two good Ss as samples _T asks Ss to practise in pairs +Which job relates to regular working hours / uniform? +Which job is dangerous / difficult / rewarding ? +Which job would you like ? Why ? +Which job do you dislike ?Why not ? _suggested jobs : pilot , waiter , driver , tour guide , .......... POST- SPEAKING _T asks Ss to work in groups of 4 or 5 _T gives some cues +After you finish highschool, where do you work ? +Who do you work with? +How much may you get paid ? +Which working conditions would you like to work in ? _T makes comments on what Ss have HOMEWORK _T asks Ss to write about the job they may do when they finish highschool 3. TEACHING LISTENING _Listening is the skill that Ss are the most afraid of learning because most of the students have no chance to practise it every day . Moreover, listening isn’t tested in paper tests except in TOEFL or the competitions for good students in English . More and more Ss express unfavourable attitude toward learning this skill, especially with the help of many kinds of guidebooks written by different writers _To solve this problem, in my opinion , there is no need for Ts to teach listening as mechanically as the textbook requires . We , all teachers , can make a teaching plan in our own way and change techniques of teaching listening flexibly so that most of the Ss can improve their listening skill in the process of learning . Don’t turn a listening class into a class for entertainment in Vietnamese _T can do the following steps +In “ Before you listen” , Ss can take time to practise speaking as the textbook requires . Ts let Ss work in pairs and make corrections in English if necessary +T introduces the topic that Ss are going to listen and give Ss the time to read through the sentences in each task +In True-False form, T plays the tape and stop at the end of a sentence so that Ss can take short notes . Then T asks Ss to give their answers and explain their choice. T shouldn’t accept their answers without their explanation. Sometimes, Ss do this kind of exercises with the form “ HÊN-XUI” +In the form of missing word, it ‘s enough for Ss to listen to the tape twice + The form of questions and answers is a difficult one . T plays the tape sentence by sentence , even when Ss can’t still listen and take notes , T can read the sentence slowly again +To do this , T makes a very careful preparation for the lesson. This is a standard to determine a T ‘s spirit of responsibility and knowledge of qualifications, especially in the process of teaching listening GRADE 11 – UNIT 4 : VOLUNTEER WORK LISTENING WARM-UP : GAME : FINDING ONE ‘ S OTHER HALF _T divides the class into 2 teams _T hangs on 2 posters on the board _T siicks pieces of paper with different shapes and colours on each poster _T asks Ss in each team to combine them _ The team who first finishes wins _ T checks Ss ‘ understanding of the instructions < SUPPORTING THE ELDERLY ) ( MAKING MONEY ) DONATIONS ) THE POOR > ( RAISING < HELPING CHARITIES > ( HELPING _Lead-in : In today ‘ s lesson, let ‘ s listen to a passage to know more about volunteer work PRE-LISTENING _T teaches Vocabulary + to co-operate (v) + fund-raising (n) + sponsor (n / v) + annual (a) WHILE-LISTENING ACTIVITY 1 _ T plays the tape and asks Ss to listen and fill in the missing information (twice ) _ T asks Ss to give the answers chorally _T asks one student to write the answers on the board ACTIVITY 2 _T delivers handouts with the sentences, asking Ss to listen once more and underline an error in each sentence and correct it 1.Spring School provides classes forr disadvantaged children in HCMCity 2. Dance, theatre, singing and circus classes was set up a year later 3. Spring School requires volunteers helping organize their fund-raising dinner 4. This is an exciting night in where children perform circus, theatre, dance and singing 5. More schools like Spring school will be finding in other cities in Vietnam KEY : 1. for _TO 2.was_WERE 3. helping_TO HELP 4. where_WHICH 5. finding_ FOUND ACTIVITY 3 _ T plays the tape twice and asks Ss to listen and write the answers _ T asks Ss to compare the answers in pairs _ T gives feedback POST-LISTENING _ T asks Ss to tell about Spring school in pairs, using the given suggestions _ T goes around the class to give help where necessary _ T calls on some Ss to report in front of the class HOMEWORK _ T asks Ss to summarize the story about Spring school in writing 4. TEACHING WRITING _It is not very difficult to teach this skill . The problem here is how to finish teaching the content , control Ss ‘ practice and make interesting atmosphere for the class _ There are a lot of requirements in teaching writing so it takes Ts a lot of time to make preparations for the lesson _As usual , the topic and some cues are given. Ss use the cues to write . Because of this , to design the outline is very necessary . Ts should give some more cues than they are given in the textbook. _ Sometimes , to easily check Ss ‘ ability , Ts give the exercises in the form of sentence-building . _ Even , Ts can flexibly show a list of questions . Ss answer them in writing and combine them into a paragraph if required GRADE 12 – UNIT 15 : WOMEN IN SOCIETY WRITING WARM-UP : GAME : JUMBLED WORDS _ T gives out a list of jumbled words _ After 2 minutes, any student who brings the posters to the board with the most correct answers will get good marks A. U S L L T A R T E I B. PAM O C O N R S I C. V E R A AE G D. IRSE E. C E AR S E D E F. AR C H T _ T gives the key : A. ILLUSTRATE B. COMPARISON C. AVERAGE D. RISE E. DECREASE F. CHART _ Lead-in : We use these words to describe a chart . Today , let ‘ s focus on writing a description of the average hours of housework per week PRE-WRITING _ T teaches vocabulary + respectively + to reduce + distribution _ T explains the chart by asking : + What does the chart illustrate ? + What does the vertical axis show ? + What does the horizontal axis show ? _ T asks Ss to work in pairs , asking and giving short answers to the questions in Task 1 WHILE-WRITING _ T asks Ss to work in groups , writing a report _ T goes around to give help if necessary _ To the classes with average Ss , T can give this exercise in the form of sentence- building POST- WRITING _ T asks representatives to hang the posters on the board _ T compares their writings together _ T gives comments and corrections HOMEWORK _ T asks Ss to write the report in the notebooks 5. TEACHING LANGUAGE-FOCUS _ For Language-focus , Ts and Ss can actively prepare for the lesson _ However, it takes Ts and Ss at least two periods to finish the lesson and make a complete consolidation. This means that it is certain that most of the Ss understand the lesson well enough _ In this skill , Ts teach theory , give examples , then asking Ss to do the exercises _ Ts can teach pronunciation in the listening class . Doing this is more sensible because the content of the lesson isn ‘t taught separatedly _ It is obvious that in some units, Language-focus includes a lot of grammar points to teach, while in others , Language-focus only includes a few additional grammar points. Especially, this matter can be found in the curriculum of Textbook-Grade 12 and Unit 12 is an example GRADE 10 – UNIT 8 : THE STORY OF MY VILLAGE LANGUAGE-FOCUS WARM-UP Sentence- transformation _ T asks Ss to work in groups of 4 _ S1 says sentence 1 : + “ I study at TNA Highschool “ _ S2 reports sentence 1 and says sentence 2 + She said she studied at TNA Highschool . “ I like English most “ _ S3 reports sentence2 and says sentence 3 + He said he liked English most “ I have 5 classes a week “ _ S4 reports sentence 3 and says sentence 4 + She said she had 5 classes a week “ I don’t go to school by bus “ _ S1 reports sentence 4 + He said he didn’t go to school by bus TEACHING GRAMMAR *REPORTED SPEECH : STATEMENT _ T presents the rules in reported statement + If the reporting verb is in the past tense, it is usual for the verb in the reported clause to move “ one tense back “ + If the reporting verb is in the present tense, there is no tense change + Typical pronoun, time , place and modal verb changes + In formal situations, we can use THAT after the reporting verb + There are more than one reporting verb. We can use many other reporting verbs besides SAY and TELL. Ex : think , announce , explain , interrupt , demand , insist , admit , complain , warn * SAY- TELL – TALK _ T makes clear the difference between SAY, TELL , TALK _SAY + ( that ) + clause + to someone + ( that ) + clause + something _ TELL + obj. + ( that ) + clause + obj. + (not) + to Verb + someone about sthing + sthing to someone _ TALK + to / with someone + about sthing / someone * CONDITIONAL SENTENCE TYPE 1 _ T explains the form and the use of conditional sentence type 1 to help Ss review it + If clause , Main clause ( present tense) -simple future - command - S + can / must + B.V * WHEN – IF _ T explains the use of WHEN When-clause refers to “ all time “ , not just the present or future. It expresses a situation that is always true . It means WHENEVER PRACTICE _ T asks Ss to do every exercise _ T calls on some Ss to read the answers aloud _ T makes comments and give correct answers if necessary CONSOLIDATION _ T asks some Ss to translate and explain some sentences in each exercise HOMEWORK _ T asks Ss to write all the exercises into the notebooks and to do more exercises in Workbook V. RESULTS - After the 1st term this year , most of the students become more interested in learning English . This means that the solutions have been taken and the effects have been recognized * This is the statistic after the 1st term Grade 10 12 Total Number of students 81 85 166 Mark 5 40 % 45 % 42,5 % Over mark 5 Under mark 5 45 % 15 % 45 % 10 % 45 % 12,5 % VI. CONCLUSION : The above experience is something that I myself get from the process of teaching for many years .Through the lesson I have attended from my colleagues , I also realize that such lesson with good preparation become very interesting. I think when all of us , teachers get more assistance and encouragement from the school , our teaching will be better and better . And certainly , students will study as well as we have expected. This also means that with the improvement in our method of teaching , we , teachers, can help Ss master some knowledge of English and improve their skills of learning English .