MASARYK UNIVERSITY BRNO FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature
Communicative Teaching in ELT at a Gastronomy Vocational School Diploma Thesis
Brno 2015
Supervisor: Mgr. Jaroslav Suchý
Written by: Bc. Karla Gazdošová
Prohlášení autora Prohlašuji, ţe jsem diplomovou práci vypracovala samostatně, s vyuţitím pouze citovaných literárních pramenů, dalších informací a zdrojů v souladu s Disciplinárním řádem pro studenty Pedagogické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity a se zákonem č. 121/2000 Sb., o právu autorském, o právech souvisejících s právem autorským a o změně některých zákonů (autorský zákon), ve znění pozdějších předpisů. Souhlasím, aby práce byla uloţena na Masarykově univerzitě v Brně v knihovně Pedagogické fakulty a zpřístupněna ke studijním účelům.
Declaration I hereby declare that I worked on the following thesis on my own and that I used only the sources listed in the bibliography. I agree that this thesis can be filed at Masaryk University in Brno, in the Library of Faculty of Education, and made available for academic purposes.
10. 11. 2014
Bc. Karla Gazdošová
Acknowledgements I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mgr. Jaroslav Suchý, for his kind help, patience and inspiring comments. Sincere thanks go to all students who took part in the questionnaire research and who were involved in piloting of my lesson plans, and also to the headmaster of the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín, Mgr. Ivan Kovář, for letting me pilot the lesson plans and conduct the research, which represented a valuable source of information. My thanks also belong to my family, especially to my husband and mother, without whose help and support I would not be able to devote the appropriate amount of time to this thesis.
Annotation The main objective of this diploma thesis is to introduce the principles of Communicative language teaching in English lessons at a gastronomy vocational school with the aim of raising the students‟ interest in English language learning and improving the efficiency of English language teaching at a particular vocational school of gastronomy. The thesis is divided into two parts. The theoretical part introduces specific aspects of ELT in secondary vocational education, it progresses to the description of the main principles of CLT and it provides the arguments for applying this teaching approach at a gastronomy vocational school. The practical part is focused on a questionnaire research, by means of which vocational students‟ attitude towards ELT was investigated, and on lesson plans created in accordance with the principles of CLT, which were piloted at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín and evaluated by its students.
Key words Communicative language teaching, communicative activities, communicative competence, gastronomy vocational school, student behaviour, student motivation
Anotace Hlavním záměrem této diplomové práce je představit principy komunikativní metody ve výuce angličtiny na středním odborném učilišti gastronomie, s cílem zvýšit jak zájem studentů o studium anglického jazyka, tak celkovou efektivitu výuky angličtiny na konkrétním středním odborném učilišti gastronomie. Diplomová práce je rozdělena do dvou částí. Teoretická část uvádí specifické aspekty jazykové výuky na středních odborných učilištích, pokračuje popisem hlavních principů komunikativní metody a předkládá argumenty pro vyuţívání této metody na středním odborném učilišti gastronomie. Praktická část se zaměřuje na dotazníkový průzkum, jehoţ prostřednictvím byly zjišťovány postoje ţáků ke studiu anglického jazyka, a na vlastní plány hodin, které byly vytvořeny v souladu s principy komunikativní metody, pilotně ověřeny na Střední škole gastronomie a obchodu Zlín a zhodnoceny jejími studenty.
Klíčová slova Komunikativní metoda, komunikativní aktivity, komunikativní kompetence, střední odborné učiliště gastronomie, chování studentů, motivace studentů
Content
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Theoretical part ........................................................................................................................ 3 1 Specific aspects of ELT at a gastronomy vocational school .............................................. 3 1.1 Problems associated with ELT ......................................................................................... 3 1.1.1 Student behaviour ...................................................................................................... 4 1.1.2 Language level of students......................................................................................... 6 1.1.3 Classroom time .......................................................................................................... 8 1.1.4 Students‟ motivation and absence rate ....................................................................... 9 1.2 The form of the final exam ............................................................................................. 10 2 Communicative language teaching .................................................................................... 12 2.1 What is CLT?.................................................................................................................. 12 2.2 The main concepts, principles and goals of CLT ........................................................... 13 2.3 Types of communicative classroom activities ................................................................ 16 2.3.1 Mechanical, meaningful and communicative practice............................................. 16 2.3.2 Pre-communicative and communicative activities .................................................. 17 2.4 The teacher‟s role in CLT ............................................................................................... 21 2.4.1 New roles for teachers and students......................................................................... 21 2.4.2 Possible problems .................................................................................................... 22 3 Reasons for applying CLT at a vocational school of gastronomy................................... 24 3.1 The curriculum framework ............................................................................................. 24 3.2 Student behaviour and discipline .................................................................................... 25 3.3 Student motivation .......................................................................................................... 26 3.4 Language level ................................................................................................................ 28 3.5 Final exam ...................................................................................................................... 28 3.6 Year curriculum .............................................................................................................. 29
Practical part .......................................................................................................................... 31 4 Questionnaire research at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín .......... 31 4.1 Aims of the research ....................................................................................................... 32 4.2 Profile of the school ........................................................................................................ 32 4.3 Description of the group of respondents......................................................................... 33 4.4 Findings of the questionnaire ......................................................................................... 33 4.4.1 ELT in the final year from students‟ point of view ................................................. 34 4.4.2 Students‟ preferences concerning language learning ............................................... 37 4.4.3 Summary of the findings .......................................................................................... 41 5 Applying CLT in the classroom ......................................................................................... 43 5.1 Lesson plans with commentary ...................................................................................... 43 5.1.1 Lesson plan 1 ........................................................................................................... 44 5.1.2 Lesson plan 2 ........................................................................................................... 48 5.1.3 Lesson plan 3 ........................................................................................................... 51 5.1.4 Lesson plan 4 ........................................................................................................... 54 5.1.5 Lesson plan 5 ........................................................................................................... 57 5.1.6 Lesson plan 6 ........................................................................................................... 60 5.2 Evaluation of the lessons from the teacher‟s point of view ............................................ 62 5.2.1 Description of the group .......................................................................................... 62 5.2.2 Piloting of the lesson plans ...................................................................................... 63 5.2.3 Evaluation of the lessons with respect to the specific issues connected with ELT at a vocational school .............................................................................................................. 66 5.3 Evaluation of the lessons from the students‟ point of view ............................................ 69 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 75 List of references .................................................................................................................... 77 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 77 Electronic and Internet sources............................................................................................. 77 Other sources ........................................................................................................................ 79 Appendices
List of tables
Table 1. Students„ answers to the Likert-scale questions
List of figures
Figure 1. The methodological framework for classroom activities in CLT Figure 2. A continuum linking pre-communicative and communicative activities Figure 3. Part 2 question 1 – results Figure 4. Part 2 question 2 - results Figure 5. Part 2 question 3 - results Figure 6. Part 2 question 4 - results Figure 7. Part 2 question 5 - results Figure 8. Part 2 question 6 - results Figure 9. Picture of an equipped kitchen Figure 10. Two slides from the teacher‟s PowerPoint presentation Figure 11. Students„ feedback - Question 1 results Figure 12. Students„ feedback - Question 2 results Figure 13. Students„ feedback - Question 3 results Figure 14. Students„ feedback - Question 5 results
Introduction The main aim of my diploma thesis “Communicative Teaching in ELT at a Gastronomy Vocational School” is to introduce the principles of Communicative language teaching, as defined in the theoretical part of this thesis, in English lessons at a particular vocational school of gastronomy, with regard to the most common problems associated with ELT at vocational schools. By introducing these principles and creating particular lesson plans and classroom activities, I intended to prove that students‟ interest in English language learning can be raised and the efficiency of English language teaching at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín can be improved.
In 2008 I started teaching English at a private language school in Zlín, which specialized in teaching groups of four (usually adult) students with the main focus on communicative skills. During this teaching experience, I had the chance to get acquainted with some of the principles of Communicative language teaching. A year later, when I got the opportunity to start teaching at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín, I realized the techniques and activities that served the communicative purpose well at a language school are not always applicable in vocational school classes. The difference is not only in the class size, but also, and mainly, in students‟ motivation and in their general attitude towards gaining knowledge. I chose this topic for my diploma thesis in order to acquire deeper knowledge of Communicative language teaching and to prove that the principles of this teaching approach, when used with consideration, can be successfully applied also at a gastronomy vocational school and that the students can actually enjoy English lessons and benefit from them.
The theoretical part of this thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter is focused on the main characteristics of secondary vocational education, namely on the form of the final exam and on the possible problems a teacher can encounter during English language teaching at a gastronomy vocational school. These include student behaviour, motivation, language level of students, classroom time and absence rate. The second chapter introduces the main aims and principles of Communicative language teaching and provides a basic description of
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communicative classroom activities and the teacher‟s role in CLT. The third chapter links the specific aspects of vocational education, described in chapter 1, with the principles of Communicative language teaching, presented in chapter 2, and explains the main reasons for applying CLT in English lessons at a vocational school of gastronomy.
The practical part of the thesis contains two chapters. The first one describes the aims and the findings of a questionnaire research which took place at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín in May 2014. The purpose of the research was to collect actual data about ELT in the final year of a three-year course in the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter and about the students‟ learning preferences. The last chapter of this thesis contains records of how Communicative language teaching was applied practically at the abovementioned vocational school. This chapter includes six lesson plans with commentaries and evaluation of the piloted lesson plans both from the teacher‟s and the students‟ point of view.
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Theoretical part 1 Specific aspects of ELT at a gastronomy vocational school Vocational schools in the Czech Republic provide secondary education available for pupils who have completed compulsory education at a primary school. Unlike other secondary schools that offer four-year courses concluded by a school-leaving exam called “Maturita”, vocational schools organize courses which commonly last for three years and the students who successfully pass the final exams obtain a vocational certificate. Vocational schools focus more closely on teaching particular skills that the students need to perform their future jobs and the school-leavers are neither required nor expected to receive any academic education. Sadly, this is one of the reasons why these schools often seem to be perceived as less prestigious in the eyes of both potential students and their parents and vocational schools which prepare their students for jobs in the restaurant industry are not an exception. This, in combination with the country‟s population development in recent years, raises a number of important issues which will be described in the following section.
Another specific aspect of English language teaching at a vocational school of gastronomy is the form of the final exam. On the one hand, the exam contains a compulsory foreign language part which consists of a written assignment and a short oral defence. On the other hand, students‟ performance in this part is not crucial for the success or failure of the whole exam. This phenomenon will be discussed further in section 1.2 “Final exams”.
1.1 Problems associated with ELT English language teaching at a vocational school of gastronomy is influenced by external factors which constantly challenge teachers to find more efficient ways of organizing their lessons. Among the issues that have to be taken into account belong: -
student behaviour,
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language level of students,
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classroom time,
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students‟ motivation and absence rate. 3
Naturally, some of the above-mentioned problems apply not only to vocational schools, but also to other secondary schools regardless of their specialization and most of them have an impact on teaching in general, not just English language teaching. Let us examine these issues in more detail.
1.1.1 Student behaviour In order to examine the issue of student behaviour, let us first define the concept of classroom discipline. According to Ur, classroom discipline “is a state in which both teacher and learners accept and consistently observe a set of rules about behaviour in the classroom whose function is to facilitate smooth and efficient teaching and learning in a lesson” (270).
Indeed, the relationship between discipline and learning seems to be a crucial one. Many of the common discipline-related complaints among vocational school teachers stem from the fact that their students are teenagers – members of an age group which is often considered the most problematic as for student behaviour. The reason why teenagers are regarded as undisciplined and difficult to deal with might be the fact that “they are going through profound physical changes, accompanied by an often anxious period of self-awareness and self-examination, as well as a sudden growth of critical perceptions about the world they inhabit” (Lewis 4).
The fact that teenage students tend to criticize the world around them and challenge their teachers reflects natural development of society. However, as Mešková suggests, the number of both primary and secondary school students that could be labelled as “problematic” is increased every year. The reason for this might be that the main role of school as an institution is getting in contradiction with reality, which is characterized by a lack of interest in gaining knowledge and by student behaviour which disrupts the process of education. As a result, the teachers‟ role is increasingly difficult as they cannot fulfil educational standards until they succeed in creating an adequate working atmosphere in the classroom (10, translated by the author1).
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“The author“ refers to the author of this thesis.
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In an interview by Lukáš Petřík, an experienced teacher and writer Petr Kukal argues that discipline at Czech schools is evidently in decline. In his view, this phenomenon is related to the fact that being obedient and courteous is not universally appreciated by the society anymore. On the contrary, what today‟s society values is being rebellious and nonconformist, which is seen as a sign of courage, creativity and strong personality. According to Kukal, in such atmosphere, it is increasingly difficult to inspire children to attend their classes regularly and fulfil the assigned tasks (translated by the author).
In the author‟s observation, most problem situations in the classroom at a vocational school emerge mainly because of the following types of inappropriate behaviour: interrupting, rudeness and defiance, unwillingness to participate in classroom tasks.
According to Lemlech, the reasons why some students habitually interrupt teacher‟s instructions, speech or class discussions are numerous. Among the most obvious causes belong the student‟s need for appreciation and attention, impulsiveness, insecurity, nervousness, extreme competitiveness, or inattention to group instructions (24). As for rudeness and defiance, Lemlech suggests that this behaviour commonly occurs as a reflection of a problem which very likely did not begin in the classroom, but at home or on the campus (25). Finally, the reasons why some students refuse to participate in classroom tasks include for example inability to set personal goals, lack of responsibility, assertiveness or selfconfidence (Lemlech 26).
Scrivener assumes that many of the abovementioned problems, which teachers frequently notice in teenage classes, reflect issues that exist in adult classes as well. Teenage students, however, are generally less restrained than adults and they tend to state openly what they think or want. This leads to more immediate reactions, such as rudeness, refusals and complaints (330).
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One of the many reasons why problems related to poor discipline at vocational schools have to be dealt with constantly and tirelessly is the fact that students‟ inappropriate behaviour influences the quality of lessons to a great extent and impedes the development of teachers‟ teaching skills. As Lemlech explains, “when students misbehave, teachers tend to focus on discipline instead of examining instructional planning, the organization of lessons, and classroom interaction patterns. As a consequence sometimes teachers embrace so-called management systems that reputedly modify student behaviour, coerce students to obey, and ensure teachers‟ rights to control the classroom (28).”
This phenomenon, together with the fact that discipline on secondary schools is demonstrably in decline, forces teachers to find new ways of tackling problem situations in the classroom. Although this applies to all secondary school teachers regardless the subject they teach, foreign language teachers certainly belong among those who struggle with classroom management the most, since the very nature of language lessons often requires more students to talk at the same time while working in pairs or groups and some confusion may also arise from giving instructions in the target language.
1.1.2 Language level of students Besides student behaviour, English language teachers at vocational schools have to take into special consideration the language level of their students. Foreign language learning at vocational schools is related to the curriculum framework for primary education, which means that it should extend students‟ previous language knowledge. Primary education is aimed at adoption of such level of language knowledge and communicative abilities that corresponds with the level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. However, the actual language knowledge of a large number of students who enter secondary vocational education seems to be rather on the A1 level.
Identifying the reasons why the initial knowledge level of vocational school students appears to be generally lower than described in the curriculum framework does not belong among the main topics of this thesis. The problem is complex and applies to other school subjects as well. Arguably, it can be explained in terms of excessive growth of grammar schools and 6
other secondary schools at the expense of vocational schools in the last few decades. Kukal discusses this problem in an interview by Lukáš Petřík. He proposes that due to the establishment of a vast number of private secondary schools in recent years, the sector of secondary education has grown to unnecessary proportions (translated by the author).
At the same time, because of the current country‟s population development, there are not enough secondary school students and many state secondary schools are forced to lower the admission requirements in order to fill the vacancies. If they fail to enrol the required number of students every year, state secondary schools are at risk of being merged with another school or even dissolved.
Another view of the problems associated with secondary education, yet leading to the same conclusion, was expressed in an “Appeal to Teachers” – a document compiled by the board of teachers at the primary school Komenského in Brandýs nad Orlicí in 2014. The authors of this appeal claim that the requirements laid on both future and current grammar school students and other selective secondary school students are actually lower than they should be. The authors assume that due to the decreasing number of primary school students and the constant number of places available at secondary schools, the majority of secondary schools accept also students whose talents and skills do not, in reality, correspond with the schools‟ requirements and the difficulty of the curriculum (Brandýská “Výzva pedagogům”, translated by the author).
Consequently, in order to fill the vacancies and ensure their existence, secondary vocational schools admit all students who apply, without the requirement of passing the entrance examination. This, of course, leads to the fact that not all of the admitted students possess the necessary skills and abilities and not all of them are motivated to educate themselves in the particular field of study, including the related foreign language knowledge.
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1.1.3 Classroom time Another factor which influences English teaching at a vocational school significantly is the number and distribution of English lessons in a school year. Firstly, the vocational school curriculum is divided into two separate parts: theoretical subjects and practical training. At gastronomy vocational schools, students attend school lessons every other week (they spend one week at school and the other week at the workplace, where they are trained to obtain practical skills). In other words, out of the 32 to 33 weeks of the school year, only half of them are in fact devoted to classroom time. This, of course, brings about other related issues, such as worse continuity of lessons and problems with revision. Moreover, in case that a student is absent from class for a whole week or the lessons are cancelled for example because of a school holiday, the gap between lessons grows exponentially and it becomes increasingly hard for the teacher to ensure the necessary continuity of lessons.
As for the classroom time itself, year curricula clearly show that the total number of lessons English teachers have at their disposal during three-year vocational courses is lower in comparison with other courses at secondary schools. As a part of a three-year course in the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter, which is focused on for the purpose of this thesis, the weekly distribution of English lessons is 2 in the first year, 2 in the second year and 3 in the third year. This, in reality, means 4 (or 6) lessons per every other week, based on the system of alternation between theoretical classes and practical training explained earlier. During a similar, yet four-year course called Gastronomy and Hotel Management, the number of English lessons given in the curriculum is 3 in all four years of the course (Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín).2 Because of this relatively low number of lessons and the oneweek breaks caused by the time devoted to students‟ practical training, an English teacher at a vocational school has to choose the methods and plan the lessons in a detailed and careful way in order to teach the language efficiently.
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According to Year curricula for the fields of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter and 65-41-L/01 Gastronomy and Hotel Management, which are being applied at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín.
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1.1.4 Students’ motivation and absence rate As already mentioned, English teachers at vocational schools have to contend with a wide range of problem situations caused by students‟ misbehaviour and often also with a low language level of students, both of which is, to a large extent, related to students‟ motivation.
Within a survey focused on the evaluation of working with School curriculum from the point of view of educational strategies, which took place at 27 schools in the spring of 2010, teachers were asked, among other things, how they motivate the students at their schools to learn and how they encourage them to be responsible. The teachers concurred that motivating students to work is increasingly difficult, especially in the subjects which the students generally do not find enjoyable (Šumavská, translated by the author).
Low motivation is an issue which applies to both primary and secondary school level and its causes can be traced to an overall lack of interest in gaining knowledge, decreased respect for authority, and a society-wide tendency to challenge facts and ideas presented by somebody else as a sign of courage and independence, as mentioned earlier in this chapter. Moreover, students of vocational schools lack the motivation to learn also because they do not have to make an effort to be admitted due to the fact that schools often face a shortage of students. In a number of cases, the students also lack interest in the field because they apply without careful consideration after not being admitted to a different secondary school of their choice.
As a consequence, not only that the students show little interest in classroom activities, but they are also frequently absent from their lessons, often without a reasonable justification. And it is mainly high absence rate which results in poor learning outcomes, as can be seen in the Annual Report of the Czech School Inspection for the School Year 2011-2012. According to this report, compiled from the findings based on 3,372 lessons observed on different kinds of secondary schools, this problem is most apparent at secondary vocational schools, where the absence rate in the reference sample reached almost 25 percent (Česká školní inspekce 59, translated by the author).
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The findings of the abovementioned Annual Report correspond with the situation at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín, where the author piloted the lesson plans, included in the practical part of this thesis3.
1.2 The form of the final exam The previous section discussed the main issues related to vocational school teaching and the most common problems not only English teachers frequently encounter. It should be emphasized, however, that the aim of vocational education in general is to prepare students for their future occupation. At the end of the three-year course, students have to demonstrate whether they are qualified for the occupation by taking final exams, which traditionally consist of a theoretical and a practical part.
The form of final exams has undergone a number of changes in the past few years, since the National Institute of Education has devised the so-called unified assignment system, which was already adopted by most vocational schools. The advantages of the unified assignment system of final exams include: comparable level of difficulty at different schools of the same specialization, involvement of employers in the creation of individual tasks, and greater emphasis on professional experience. Students answer questions related to their future occupation and have to defend an individual final work on a given topic (Součková, translated by the author).
The unified assignment system of final exams also contains a compulsory foreign language exam. According to the National Institute of Education, the exam primarily reflects the need for practical use of a foreign language in the respective field and therefore it contains tasks based on anticipated communication situations. That is why the exam contains mainly technical terminology. In the branch of gastronomy, the students‟ language competence is examined by means of a written individual final work, which is prepared and submitted by students before the exam and contains at least one page of text compiled in a foreign 3
For more information about the absence rate during the week in which the lesson plans were piloted, see page 66 section 5.2.3 “Evaluation of the lessons with respect to the specific issues connected with ELT at a vocational school.“
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language, and by means of oral defence of the final work during the practical part of the exam (translated by the author).
The main problem of the current form of the final exam from a foreign language teacher‟s point of view is the fact that the foreign language tasks are evaluated as a part of the practical exam – not individually – and students are awarded a single mark. Students‟ unsatisfactory performance in the foreign language part therefore leads to obtaining a worse mark from the practical exam but it does not have to lead to a complete exam failure. As a result, students are well aware of the fact that even if they ignore the foreign language part of the exam completely, they still have a reasonable chance of passing the final exam as a whole. This considerably undermines teachers‟ effort to motivate students to learn for the sake of the exam, which means that the students have to be encouraged to study rather because of their own learning goals.
This chapter was concerned with the characteristic features of English language teaching at a vocational school of gastronomy, namely with the issues related to student behaviour, language level of students, classroom time and students‟ motivation and absence rate. It was also stated that even though the current form of a final exam in the branch of gastronomy contains a compulsory foreign language part, the tasks which the students are supposed to fulfil do not play a significant role in the overall exam results. It is clear that all of the abovementioned facts influence English language teaching at a vocational school significantly and should be taken into consideration during lesson planning. The following chapter will focus on the teaching approach which might help vocational school teachers overcome the problems connected with the issues raised in this chapter.
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2 Communicative language teaching The previous chapter discussed typical features of vocational education and the main problems an English teacher has to anticipate at a vocational school of gastronomy, namely in the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter, which will be examined further in the practical part of this thesis. The aim of chapter 2 is to describe the main characteristics of a teaching approach which is, according to the author, beneficial for both students and teachers because it reflects the issues described in the previous chapter, as well as students‟ preferences concerning language learning, discovered by means of a questionnaire research4. The main reasons for applying this approach at a gastronomy vocational school will be listed in chapter 3. Furthermore, the approach will be reflected in the piloted lesson plans in the practical part of this thesis5, whose aim is to improve current teaching methods at a particular vocational school of gastronomy.
2.1 What is CLT? The origins of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) date back to the late 1960s and they are associated with the changes in the British language teaching tradition. Despite the fact that the approach has British origins, its scope has become much broader over the past four decades. Nowadays, CLT is seen as “an approach (and not a method) that aims to (a) make communicative competence the goal of language teaching and (b) develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication” (Richards and Rogers 155).
In his book “Language Teaching Today,” Jack C. Richards also defines Communicative language teaching as “a set of principles about the goals of language teaching, how learners learn a language, the kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning, and the roles of teachers and learners in the classroom” (2).
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See page 33 section 4.4 “Findings of the questionnaire“. See page 43 section 5.1 “Lesson plans with commentary“.
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Another possible definition of Communicative language teaching is the one proposed by Scrivener. He claims that CLT is a teaching approach “based on beliefs that learners will learn best if they participate in meaningful communication” (38). Scrivener also distinguishes two versions of this approach: a stronger and a weaker version of CLT. In strong CLT, explicit teaching and traditional exercises focused on practice play a limited role. Instead, students learn predominantly by doing various communication tasks. In a weak CLT, the variety of activities and exercises is much wider and the main focus is on speaking and listening work (39). It is the weaker version of CLT that is reflected in the piloted lesson plans in the practical part of this thesis6.
2.2 The main concepts, principles and goals of CLT As already suggested, the main goal of CLT is teaching of communicative (not grammatical) competence. The term “communicative competence” was introduced by Hymes, who defines competence as “the most general term for the capabilities of a person” (282). He also states that “competence is dependent upon both tacit knowledge and the ability for use” (282). According to Savignon, Hymes proposed the term communicative competence in order to “represent the ability to use language in a social context, to observe sociolinguistic norms and appropriateness” (2).
Richards describes the difference between grammatical and communicative competence in the following terms: Grammatical competence refers to the knowledge we have of a language that accounts for our ability to produce sentences in a language. It refers to knowledge of the building blocks of sentences (e.g., parts of speech, tenses, phrases, clauses, sentence patterns) and how sentences are formed. … While grammatical competence is an important dimension of language learning, it is clearly not all that is involved in learning a language since one can master the rules of sentence formation in a language and still not be very successful at being able to use the language for meaningful communication. It is the latter capacity which is understood by the term communicative competence. (3) 6
See page 43 section 5.1 “Lesson plans with commentary“.
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A similar outline of the fundamental concepts of CLT was proposed by Littlewood, who uses the terms structural view of language and functional view of language. Littlewood defines structural view of language as a view which describes how linguistic items can be combined, with grammatical system as its main concern (1). He also argues that this view is not sufficient on its own, due to the fact that a stable structure of a sentence can have various communicative functions, which depend on specific social factors and communicative situations (Littlewood 2).
The abovementioned concepts of Communicative language teaching are well reflected in the following summary of eight main principles of CLT provided by Berns: 1. Language is seen as communication and language teaching is adjusted to this view. In other words, language represents a social tool used by speakers to create meaning and oral or written communication always reflects particular purpose. 2. As a part of language use and language development, certain diversity is accepted and recognized. 3. A learner‟s competence is a relative concept and therefore it is considered in relative, not absolute, terms. 4. Learning and teaching is not restricted to a single variety of a language. More varieties are recognized and can be applied. 5. Culture is recognized as a helpful tool in shaping speakers‟ communicative competence. 6. No single methodology or fixed set of techniques is prescribed. 7. Language serves interpersonal and textual functions and its use is related to the development of learners‟ competence in each. 8. It is essential for the learners to be engaged in doing things with language. In other words, that they use the language for a variety of purposes in all phases of learning (qtd. in Savignon 6).
How these theoretical principles of CLT influence foreign language learning in the classroom was described by Larsen-Freeman, who proposes for example that: The teacher has the responsibility to create situations that promote communication. The target language is not just the object of study. It should also be used as a vehicle for classroom communication. 14
The teacher should introduce the language as it is used in a real context. That is why students should be exposed to authentic language materials whenever it is possible. Students should be given an opportunity to express their ideas and opinions. Mastery of linguistic forms is not as important as the process of communication. Since one function can have many different linguistic forms, students are encouraged to rephrase and use their own words. An important part of communicative competence is to learn to use language forms appropriately in a given social context. Working in pairs or small groups is convenient because it maximizes the amount of communicative practice students receive. Language games have a significant role in language teaching because they share certain features with real communicative events, particularly the need to exchange information. Errors are perceived as a natural outcome of the development of communication skills. If an activity focuses on fluency rather than accuracy, the teacher notes the error and returns to it at a later point. The teacher helps to set up communicative activities and works as an advisor when the activities are in progress. The grammar and vocabulary that the students learn is related to the communicative activities they perform (128).
In conclusion, even though grammatical competence is not the main focus of this teaching approach, the structural view of language is not totally suppressed or ignored. According to Littlewood, “one of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language, combining these into a more fully communicative view (1).” CLT therefore focuses on the communicative competence and, at the same time, recognizes the connection between language and communication.
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2.3 Types of communicative classroom activities Since communicative competence represents the main goal of language teaching in CLT, the classroom activities, naturally, differ from those that were used as a part of traditional lesson formats.7 The range of activities and exercise types suitable for teachers who want to employ CLT in their lessons is endless, as long as the exercises “enable learners to attain the communicative objectives of the curriculum, engage learners in communication, and require the use of such communicative processes as information sharing, negotiation of meaning, and interaction” (Richards, Rogers 165). By creating and using such classroom activities, natural language occurs and fluency in language use is developed.
2.3.1 Mechanical, meaningful and communicative practice A common distinction of classroom activities, proposed by the supporters of CLT, is based on the differences between three kinds of language practice: mechanical, meaningful and communicative.
The first term is related to activities which are teacher-controlled, such as repetition and substitution drills. In order to perform such activities, students do not necessarily need to understand the language they are using. The second term refers to an activity where the teacher provides certain language control, but the students need to understand and choose the appropriate language (for example from a list of expressions) during the practice. Finally, the last term applies to activities that are focused on using language in a real communicative context, where “real information is exchanged, and where the language used is not totally predictable” (Richards 16).
Naturally, it is the last type of practice that is truly communicative by definition. However, especially when working with a group of students who have not experienced CLT before, it is vital to take the students from mechanical, to meaningful, to communicative practice. 7
By the term “traditional lesson formats” we understand lesson routines focused primarily on teaching grammatical structures and practising these structures by means of drills, memorized dialogues and other teacher-controlled activities (Richards 4).
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A number of ready-to-use activities, created by the author, that promote mainly meaningful and communicative practice of a language can be found in the practical part of this thesis8.
2.3.2 Pre-communicative and communicative activities A similar distinction as the one described in the previous section was proposed by Littlewood in 1981. Littlewood divides classroom activities into two groups: pre-communicative and communicative, which is represented in the following diagram:
Fig. 1. The methodological framework for classroom activities in CLT
Structural activities Pre-communicative activities Quasi-communicative activities
Functional communication activities Communicative activities Social interaction activities
Source: Littlewood (86)
This methodological framework was taken into consideration when preparing the actual piloted classroom activities, which play a significant role in the practical part of this thesis. Because the author uses this particular framework in the commentaries that accompany the lesson plans in the practical part of the thesis, Littlewood‟s definitions of the classroom activities, therefore, prevail in this section.
8
See page 43 section 5.1 “Lesson plans with commentary“.
17
According to Littlewood, the main purpose of pre-communicative activities is to encourage students to “produce certain language forms in an acceptable way” (16). Littlewood also emphasizes that these activities often appear in the form of a structural practice and they are designed by the teacher so that the language items students had recently learnt could be practised in a meaningful way. The teacher prompts the students to use these forms according to his instructions and the main aim of using such activities is to equip the students with necessary linguistic forms for later communicative activity (16).
As for the communicative activities, Littlewood distinguishes two major types: functional communication activities and social interaction activities (20).
Functional communication activities are devised in such a way that students have to communicate in order to solve a problem, exchange information or overcome an information gap. Thanks to this principle, the students work together in the direction of a certain solution and in order to achieve the communicative goal they use “whatever language they have at their disposal” (Littlewood 20).
These activities might not yet provide the basis for independent communication, but they represent an important step towards this aim. On the one hand, the different communicative goals that might be invented for students are somehow limited by the nature of the classroom situation and most functional communication activities are based solely on processing and sharing of information. On the other hand, the complexity of the language that students need to perform the tasks may vary significantly thanks to the use of different source materials (Littlewood 22).
In any case, the classroom activities should maximise students‟ opportunities to “use the target language for meaningful purposes, with their attention on the messages they are creating and the task they are completing” (Mitchell 38).
In contrast to functional communication activities, social interaction activities add the dimension of a more clearly defined social context, which means that not only functional, but 18
also social meanings of the conveyed message must be taken into account by language users. As a result, these activities more resemble communication situations that happen in the world outside the classroom (Littlewood 43).
Naturally, students performing social interaction activities have to use the target language more creatively and independently, which necessarily leads to making errors. These are seen as a normal part of language learning and their constant correction while the activity is in progress might be counterproductive. It is the extensive experience of target language use that the students benefit from the most (Mitchell 38).
Before employing social interaction activities in lessons, however, it is necessary to consider a number of factors. Most importantly, the linguistic demands of an activity must correspond with the linguistic capabilities of a particular group of students. This means not only which linguistic forms they are able to use, but also how independently they are able to handle them. Naturally, with greater linguistic competence comes greater independence in social interactions (Littlewood 49).
Exercise types that belong among social interaction activities include dialogues and roleplays, simulations, debates, discussions and improvisations (Richards, Rogers 166). Especially role-playing has gradually become a frequently employed and well-established tool in communicative language teaching because students have to imagine themselves in a situation which they might encounter not only in the classroom, but also in practical life, they have to accept a certain role in this situation (they either act as themselves or they adopt a different identity) and they should act as if they were really experiencing the simulated situation (Littlewood 49). Another reason why role-plays became so popular among language teachers is the fact that different sets of role cards can be designed in order to provide an opportunity to practise specific grammatical points, lexical groups or other pieces of language in a specific context (Scrivener 156).
The same requirements are valid for a number of pre-communicative activities as well. However, in case of social interaction activities, these requirements are extended beyond the 19
imaginary line which divides pre-communicative and communicative activities. As already mentioned, pre-communicative and communicative activities share a number of common features. The relations between different types of pre-communicative and communicative activities can be expressed by the following continuum of activity types proposed by Littlewood:
Fig. 2. A continuum linking pre-communicative and communicative activities
Control
Performing memorised dialogues Contextualised drills Cued dialogues Role-playing
Creativity
Improvisation
Source: Littlewood (50)
All of the above-mentioned activities require a certain degree of simulation, but they differ in aspects such as teacher-control and individual creativity of students. Thus, when performing memorised dialogues, the teacher‟s control is at a maximum and the creativity of students is at a minimum. Along this continuum, Littlewood proposes to take cued dialogues as “the point where role-playing becomes sufficiently creative to think in terms of communicative language use” (51).
Similarly to the classification of classroom activities according to the types of practice (mechanical, meaningful and communicative) at the beginning of this section, Littlewood‟s scheme also suggests that pre-communicative activities cannot be ignored as they represent a necessary meaningful practice of linguistic forms that need to be acquired before proceeding to independent communicative activities. This was taken into consideration when creating the lesson plans and ready-to-use activities included in the practical part of this thesis.
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2.4 The teacher’s role in CLT Due to the fact that the focus of CLT is on teaching how to communicate successfully and efficiently rather than on teaching how to produce error-free sentences, both teachers and students take different roles from those found in more traditional classrooms. This is caused by the type of classroom activities as well as by the nature of the approach itself.
2.4.1 New roles for teachers and students Before proceeding to a more detailed description of teacher and student roles in Communicative language teaching, let us first compare the teacher and students‟ roles with three different teaching approaches, all of which emerged prior to CLT:
Grammar-Translation Method In Grammar Translation Method, the roles of both the teacher and students are very traditional. In other words, the teacher is the authority in the classroom and the students are required to do as he says so that the teacher‟s knowledge can be passed on to the learners (Larsen-Freeman 21).
The Direct Method In the Direct Method, the role students take is less passive than in the previously mentioned method. On the one hand, the teacher directs the classroom activities, on the other hand, he is not that authoritative. He rather represents a partner to his students in the teaching/learning process (Larsen-Freeman 28).
The Audio-Lingual Method In this oral-based approach, the teacher resembles an orchestra leader who directs and controls language behaviour of the students. One of the teacher‟s responsibilities is to provide the students with a good model for imitation, since the student‟s role is to imitate the teacher‟s model (or the tape of model speakers supplied by the teacher) (Larsen-Freeman 46). 21
Communicative language teaching An important dimension to the teacher and students‟ roles in CLT is the fact that classroom activities in CLT are based on a cooperative rather than individualistic principle (Richards 5). This means that students frequently work on pair work or group work tasks and they do not rely on the teacher for a model as much as in the abovementioned teaching approaches, mainly in the Grammar-Translation Method and the Audio-Lingual Method. That is the reason why, in this configuration, the students need to accept a greater degree of responsibility for their own learning (Larsen-Freeman 129).
Consequently, the teachers who employ communicative language teaching in their lessons face a number of challenges. Breen and Candlin describe the teacher‟s role as follows: The teacher has two main roles: the first role is to facilitate the communication process between all participants in the classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts. The second role is to act as an independent participant within the learningteaching group. The latter role is closely related to the objectives of the first role and arises from it. These roles imply a set of secondary roles for the teacher; first, as an organizer of resources and as a resource himself, second as a guide within the classroom procedures and activities. (99)
Thus we may assume that the teacher becomes less dominant in CLT, but not less important. Apart from facilitating language learning, he is also expected to bear responsibility for determining and responding to students‟ language needs, to show effective classroom management skills, and often to create original adapted classroom activities (Richards, Rogers 168). The teacher is also responsible for establishing situations that promote communication, monitoring students‟ performance and answering students‟ questions (Larsen-Freeman 128).
2.4.2 Possible problems As mentioned above, in CLT students are expected to bear more responsibility for their learning and for their actions in the classroom. In many activities, the teacher gives instructions and starts the activity, but it is the students‟ responsibility to perform the interaction and lead it to its conclusion. Many groups of students might be unfamiliar with 22
this level of responsibility and an unexpected transition to an activity which is not controlled by the teacher may therefore cause tension, undermine their confidence or discourage the students from participating in the activity (Littlewood 18).
On the other hand, the teacher‟s unnecessary intervention – especially in the more creative activities – may “prevent the learners from becoming genuinely involved in the activity and thus hinder the development of their communicative skills”. Ideally, the language teacher should not be a dominant person in the classroom. Instead, he should be available as a source of help and guidance, monitor students‟ strengths and weaknesses and do his best to facilitate the learning process (Littlewood 19).
This chapter was concerned with Communicative language teaching: its general definition, its main principles and goals, the types of classroom activities promoting meaningful communication and the roles which students and teachers take in CLT. Naturally, the chapter focused on the description of different types of communicative activities, since this theoretical background is directly linked to the description of the actual classroom activities in the practical part of the thesis, which were created by the author and piloted at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín.
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3 Reasons for applying CLT at a vocational school of gastronomy The previous chapter stated that the main aim of CLT is teaching communicative competence and it introduced the basic types of communicative activities. Let us now examine in detail why is the ability to communicate efficiently in the target language important for vocational school students and in what way can teachers benefit from applying CLT in their lessons at a gastronomy vocational school.
3.1 The curriculum framework The curriculum framework for the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter, a field which is focused on for the purpose of this thesis, describes the aims of foreign language teaching as follows: Foreign language teaching is based on humanistic approaches towards students and on cognitive and communicative teaching approaches. Among other requirements, it is necessary to develop teaching and learning strategies that match the students‟ abilities, to support their confidence, independence and initiative and also their self-control and selfevaluation. It is desirable to integrate specialized language and technical terminology into foreign language lessons. Education should be practically oriented, with the focus on speaking skills (Ministerstvo školství, mládeţe a tělovýchovy 16, translated by the author).
The curricular document itself therefore suggests that in English language teaching, communicative skills should be stressed, the language should be taught in the manner which supports practical applicability of language skills and the students should be given the opportunity to express their individuality and accept greater responsibility for their own learning, all of which belongs among the fundamental principles underlying the approach of CLT.
Furthermore, as mentioned in chapter 1, vocational school teachers often experience obstacles in their lessons caused by factors such as student behaviour, students‟ language level and motivation. As will be discussed further on, employing the principles of Communicative
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Language Teaching can help teachers overcome these problems and improve the classroom situation.
3.2 Student behaviour and discipline Apparently, student behaviour these days is one of the most burning issues connected with teaching at all levels and from the current situation one can only assume that the problem is rather deteriorating and might gradually become even worse. To tackle the issues like illdiscipline or rudeness teachers need to identify possible motives for such behaviour.
Scrivener suggests that a lot of problem situations in the classroom caused by inappropriate behaviour of students may occur as a reflection of the fact that students do not have the power to influence what they are being required to do and they do not understand why they should do it. It is, therefore, more likely the students will be interested in an activity if they feel that they have, at least in some degree, chosen what to do and how to do it (Scrivener 329).
Ur supports this view and claims that factors which influence classroom discipline are not limited to teacher‟s classroom management skills. According to Ur, by choosing an appropriate methodology, teachers can influence the way students perceive learning a foreign language. She assumes that students will be more willing to cooperate if they feel “they are learning in a way that is „right‟ and useful for them“ (262).
In conformity with this assumption, a questionnaire for gastronomy vocational school students was devised, distributed and collected. Its aim was to discover truthful and actual information regarding English language teaching in the final year of the course and students‟ preferences concerning foreign language learning. Students were also encouraged to introduce their own ideas about the content of English lessons. The research took place at a Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín in the spring of 2014 and its findings are described in detail in the practical part of this thesis9.
9
See page 33, section 4.4 “Findings of the questionnaire“.
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Among other things, the research revealed that most students of gastronomy consider communicative skills important for their future life and it can therefore be supposed that problems related to student behaviour will not be that frequent if the classroom activities are practically oriented and performed with a clear aim. Making students aware of the fact that gaining communicative competence is the main aim English lessons are heading towards might partly help teachers overcome the problem of ill-discipline.
However, as Ur suggests, there are more factors that can contribute to classroom discipline besides the appropriate choice of methodology. These factors include for example interpersonal relationships based on mutual respect, careful and thorough lesson planning and student motivation (262).
3.3 Student motivation As mentioned earlier, motivating students to participate in classroom activities with enthusiasm is increasingly difficult for most teachers. Students‟ unwillingness to work manifests itself also in their reluctance to prepare for the lessons and do homework10. Lemlech acknowledges the problem and proposes that “students‟ motivation for learning is affected by praise, the dynamics of the classroom, and instructional strategies” (16).
The outcomes of a survey held in spring 2010 at 27 schools in the Czech Republic confirm this view. Šumavská concludes that students‟ motivation is affected also by the teacher‟s personality and creativity. Among other aspects that influence motivation in a positive way belong pleasant atmosphere in the classroom, positive mutual relationships and cooperation between the teacher and students. Šumavská adds that in order to motivate students to learn, the knowledge gained in class must be applicable in their personal and professional lives (translated by the author).
10
This can also be seen from the results of a questionnaire distributed to vocational school students in the spring of 2014. See section 4.4.2 “Students’ preferences concerning language learning“, question 4, page 39.
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In communicative language teaching, the requirement of practical utility is observed. Since the goal of CLT is to enable students to communicate in the target language, most classroom activities are based on purposeful communication in English which corresponds with the actual level of students‟ language knowledge. It can therefore be expected that students will be more motivated to study since they feel they are learning to do something useful with the language, especially because the grammar and vocabulary that students learn is related to the communicative activities they perform.
As for the classroom dynamics, employing interaction patterns such as pair work and group work certainly contributes to a positive classroom atmosphere where students feel comfortable learning a foreign language. Incorporating communicative games into the lessons might also help motivation. Language games are not only considered enjoyable by students, but they also share certain features with real communicative events, which represents a motivational factor as well.
At this point it is necessary to consider, however, whether motivating students is in fact merely the teacher‟s responsibility and to what extent this goal is attainable. Girard, for example, expressed a point of view shared by a number of authors, that motivating learners should be an integral part of the teacher‟s job (qtd. in Ur 276). On the other hand, some of the learner-centred approaches to language teaching, including the CLT, suggest that since the teacher‟s role is mainly to facilitate the teaching/learning process, the students are logically required to take a greater degree of responsibility for their own performance and motivation (Ur 276).
The importance of student motivation is often emphasized because of its link to competence and achievement. Mešková claims that student‟s achievement equals the student‟s competence multiplied by his motivation (93, translated by the author). This view is supported also by the results of numerous studies, which clearly show that especially intrinsic motivation contributes to achievement significantly, sometimes over twice as much as the person‟s IQ. This is especially visible in case of students being raised by families that value education and instil this drive in their children (Smith).
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It can therefore be concluded that while teachers are not able to make or teach students to be self-motivated, they can at least encourage them and promote their intrinsic motivation by means of appropriate teaching strategies (Helping Students Become Motivated Learners).
3.4 Language level Another reason for employing CLT in English lessons at a vocational school of gastronomy is the students‟ language level. According to the curriculum framework, foreign language teachers at gastronomy vocational schools should develop teaching strategies that match the students‟ abilities and support their confidence, independence and initiative (Ministerstvo školství, mládeţe a tělovýchovy 16, translated by the author). Since the initial level of students‟ language knowledge is rather low and each class often contains students of mixed abilities, it is vital for English teachers to use the principles underlying communicative language teaching in their classes11. Firstly, the teachers can adapt classroom activities to match the actual language level of students or create their own. Secondly, in order to support students‟ confidence, the teachers may use different types of pre-communicative activities that will help students acquire the language they need for future communication in English. Students will also feel more secure thanks to the many opportunities for cooperation and interaction with other students. Finally, the roles both students and teachers take in CLT and the classroom activities designed to promote communication in the target language support the requirement that teachers should develop students‟ initiative and independence.
3.5 Final exam The form of the final exam at a gastronomy vocational school was described in chapter 1. It was also suggested that the exam itself does not function as a motivational device since students‟ potential inability to defend the individual final work in English is not crucial for the overall exam result.
11
As will be described in the practical part of the thesis, the group of students who participated in piloting of the author’s lesson plans also contained students of mixed abilities. See page 62 section 5.2.1 “Description of the group“.
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It is, therefore, necessary that the teachers establish different learning goals for students. As will be shown in the practical part of this thesis, the majority of vocational school students acknowledge the fact that they will, at least to some extent, need to use English for communicative purposes in the future12. This implies that students may benefit from employing the principles of communicative language teaching at a vocational school since they can make the ability to communicate efficiently in English their main goal.
3.6 Year curriculum As mentioned earlier, the main focus of this thesis is a three-year course in the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter, specifically the final year of this course, which concentrates on specialized language and technical terminology from the field of gastronomy. Whereas the curricula for the first and second year of the course contain predominantly general English, the curriculum for the third year is based on a course book designed specifically for students who plan to work in the restaurant industry. This is, naturally, reflected in the content of the lessons.
During the third year of the course, students are expected to learn language forms that will enable them to introduce themselves and their colleagues, describe a kitchen and a restaurant in detail, deal with enquiries, give directions, take reservations, give information about a restaurant, receive guests, make arrangements, describe recipes, present menus, take orders from customers, recommend dishes, deal with complaints and react in other common situations which might occur at a workplace. This clearly shows that communicative competence is crucial not only for the sake of the curriculum, but also for the students‟ future jobs in gastronomy because most of the language forms students need to learn are intended for interaction with other language users.
As this chapter has shown, the arguments for employing the principles of communicative language teaching at a gastronomy vocational school are numerous. They include not only the requirements set by curricular documents, but also the issues connected with student
12
See section 4.4.2 “Students’ preferences concerning language learning“, question 6, page 40.
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behaviour, motivation and language level, raised already in chapter 1. Even the current form of the final exam at a gastronomy vocational school supports the necessity to teach English mainly for communicative purposes. Using communicative approach in English lessons can therefore be considered appropriate and vital with respect to the language knowledge that is to be acquired by gastronomy vocational school students.
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Practical part 4 Questionnaire research at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín The reasons why the author has chosen to concentrate on the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín for the purpose of this thesis are predominantly personal. As an English teacher, the author has worked at this particular school, either part-time or full-time, since September 2009 but is not currently involved in the teaching process because of the maternity leave. Therefore, this thesis represents an opportunity for the author to reflect on the main problems she has encountered during the teaching experience and consider the possible ways of how the quality and efficiency of ELT at this particular school can be improved.
From the fields of study which are offered at this vocational school, the author has decided to focus on the field 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter, in which, traditionally, most students are educated. Because the first and the second year curricula concentrate mainly on general English, whereas the focus of the third (and final) year curriculum is on technical terminology and communication with the customer, the author‟s decision was to narrow the focus and investigate the situation in ELT at this school in the final year only.
To obtain actual and truthful information concerning ELT in the final year of the three-year course and to confirm or disprove the author‟s assumption that the students might appreciate if English lessons were generally more communicative, a two-part questionnaire was created and distributed to vocational school students. The research took place in May 2014 at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín and involved one class of students in the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter, who experienced almost the whole third-year curriculum since they were about to sit for their final exams at the time of the research.
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4.1 Aims of the research As mentioned earlier, the main aim of the questionnaire research was to discover both students‟ preferences concerning foreign language learning and their views about English language teaching in the final year of their studies. Also, the overall purpose of the research was to verify author‟s assumptions based on five years of teaching experience and to confirm or disprove author‟s opinion that it could be beneficial for both students and teachers to employ the principles of Communicative language teaching in English lessons.
4.2 Profile of the school Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín is a state secondary school with a long tradition of educating students who intend to work in the restaurant industry. The school was established in 1958 and it is conveniently located in the town centre. Apart from studying theoretical subjects, the students perform (already since the very beginning of their studies) practical training in various restaurants and hotels in Zlín and its surroundings (Informace o škole, translated by the author). Because of this, the education is split between theoretical and practical subjects and the students alternate between the school‟s premises and the workplaces, usually on a one-week basis13.
The school offers education in one four-year course finished by a school-leaving exam called “maturita”, several three-year courses finished by a final exam after which the students obtain a vocational certificate and one two-year course for students who already have a vocational certificate and would like to sit for the “maturita” exam14. Traditionally, the students are divided into 12 classes. The school‟s capacity is about 360 students but in recent years, the actual numbers have been lower. A typical school day starts at 7:50 AM and students usually have seven 45 minutes long lessons a day.
13
For more information about the alternation between theoretical subjects and practical training, see page 8 section 1.1.3 “Classroom time.” 14 It is only the three-year course for future cooks and waiters, however, that is focused on for the purpose of this thesis.
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As for the language education, all students are required to study two foreign languages – the main one (from which the students are tested during the final exams or may be tested as a part of the “maturita” exam), and the second one (which is not included in any type of schoolleaving exam). The only foreign languages offered to students at this school are English and German. The vast majority of students study English as their main language since this is the language they usually studied already during their primary education.
4.3 Description of the group of respondents
As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the questionnaire devised for the purpose of this thesis was distributed to a class of students in the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter in May 2014. The total number of respondents was 32 and their average age was 18 years. This particular group of respondents was chosen because at the time of the research, the students had already experienced almost the whole third-year curriculum and could, therefore, retrospectively evaluate the positive and negative aspects of English teaching in the final year of the course.
4.4 Findings of the questionnaire The questionnaire itself consisted of two parts. The first part was formatted as a Likert scale, by means of which the respondents can express to what extent they agree with the statements presented in the questionnaire (Gavora 110, translated by the author). The second part of the questionnaire contained six multiple choice questions. Except for one question, the respondents were asked to choose at least one, but possibly more options they agreed with. In some of the questions the students were also encouraged to write their own ideas and opinions, if they were different from the options offered in the questionnaire. To obtain clear data and to avoid misunderstanding, the questionnaire for students was written in Czech – not English. A blank copy can be found in the Appendices at the end of this thesis (see Appendix 1). The findings of the questionnaire will now be described in detail.
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4.4.1 ELT in the final year from students’ point of view
The first part of the questionnaire was focused on students‟ opinions concerning teaching technical vocabulary and using the target vocabulary in dialogues and for communicative purposes in general. Students were asked to retrospectively evaluate their English lessons in the third year and to indicate to what extent they agree with the presented statements. The answers are summarized in the following table:
Tab. 1. Students„ answers to the Likert-scale questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
In the third year, the lessons were focused mainly on technical vocabulary. We were taught new vocabulary and phrases in an enjoyable way. We frequently used the new vocabulary and phrases in dialogues. The new vocabulary and phrases were revised repeatedly and in different ways in the following lessons. The vocabulary and phrases were practised in a communicative way in the lessons. I remember the technical vocabulary well and I would be able to make use of it in real life. The teacher brought various extra activities to revise the content of the course book. We often rehearsed dialogues with customers in a restaurant. I think I would be able to make use of the rehearsed dialogues in real life.
I totally agree
I rather agree
I do not have a clear opinion
I rather disagree
I totally disagree
22 %
47 %
9%
16 %
6%
3%
16 %
13 %
34 %
34 %
25 %
41 %
22 %
6%
6%
19 %
34 %
13 %
31 %
3%
3%
22 %
31 %
41 %
3%
3%
25 %
31 %
28 %
13 %
19 %
50 %
9%
22 %
0%
31 %
34 %
19 %
13 %
3%
9%
19 %
38 %
25 %
9%
Source: Original
As the first item in the table above reveals, the majority of students realize that the focus of most lessons in the final year of the course is technical vocabulary from the field of gastronomy. This corresponds with the existing syllabus and with the content of the course book, which introduces vocabulary essential for students who are planning to work in the restaurant industry.
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Since technical vocabulary clearly played an important role in the lessons, another concern of the questionnaire was students‟ opinion on presentation of the new vocabulary (statement 2). The results show that a vast majority of respondents do not find the methods used by their teachers very enjoyable. The reasons for this may be related not only to the teachers‟ presentation skills, but also to students‟ limited motivation to cooperate in the lessons and improve their English language knowledge.
Although most students did not praise the way in which they were taught new vocabulary, the majority of them did admit they had frequently practised the vocabulary in sentences and dialogues (statement 3), which indicates that the vocabulary was, at least to some extent, taught in a given social context and the aim of the lessons was to equip students with language forms necessary for communication in the target language.
As for statement number 4, the results appear to be rather ambiguous. About half of the respondents claim new vocabulary was revised repeatedly and in numerous different ways in the lessons, whereas the rest of the students either disagree or do not have a clear opinion on this matter. This ambiguity may stem from the fact that not all respondents were taught by the same teacher during the period in question, so it might indicate there was not a unity in the teachers‟ approaches towards vocabulary revision. Another possible reason why the answers differ so much might be the fact that the absence rate of students at this vocational school is generally rather high and some of the respondents probably did not attend English classes regularly15.
The purpose of statement 5 was to find out whether the students think the vocabulary and phrases were practised in a communicative way in the lessons. This question is crucial because the author personally believes (thanks to her previous teaching experience) that communicative approach to teaching and practising vocabulary increases students‟ ability to use the target vocabulary appropriately and independently in real life. As the results show, the 15
The problem of high absence rate at vocational schools is described in section 1.1.4 “Students‘ motivation and absence rate“. The numbers given in this section correspond also with the absence rate of the class which was involved in piloting of the author’s lesson plans (see page 66 section “5.2.3 Evaluation of the lessons with respect to the specific issues connected with ELT at a vocational school.“)
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majority of respondents either did not have a clear opinion or rather disagreed with the statement that technical vocabulary was practised in a communicative way in the lessons, which means that the opportunities for teachers to improve the teaching methods at the particular vocational school in order to make English lessons more communicative are numerous.
Statement number 6 was supposed to examine how the students feel about practical application of their knowledge of vocabulary and phrases from the field of gastronomy. The respondents were nearly equally distributed between those who at least partly agree they would be able to apply the knowledge when necessary, those who do not have a clear opinion and those who think they would not be able to apply what they were taught. These results show that the students are not very confident about using English in real-life situations, which implies that a teaching approach which would focus more on using the acquired language forms and vocabulary in authentic situations should be introduced in the lessons. This represents another strong argument for choosing Communicative language teaching as the main approach and using its principles in English lessons.
As can be seen from students‟ responses to statement 7, the teachers who taught this particular class used extra materials in the lessons and did not rely solely on the course book. However, about one quarter of respondents slightly disagreed with the statement, which shows that teachers could utilize various additional teaching materials even more, provided that there is enough classroom time to do so.
The last two statements from the first part of the questionnaire were focused on practising model dialogues with potential customers and the practical applicability of this practice. A vast majority of students stated that the lessons were frequently focused on rehearsing dialogues in a restaurant. However, only about one third of all respondents think they would be able to make use of the rehearsed dialogues in practical life. These results suggest that in order to make their students feel more confident about using the language, teachers should employ the techniques proposed by the advocates of CLT in the classes rather than make their students memorize dialogues from the course book. 36
4.4.2 Students’ preferences concerning language learning
The second part of the questionnaire was focused on the students‟ preferences concerning English language learning. In other words, what could be changed or modified in order to make the lessons more enjoyable and beneficial for students and for their future profession. This part of the questionnaire contained six multiple choice questions. Except for question number 4, the respondents were asked to choose at least one, but possibly more options they agreed with. In questions 2, 3, 5 and 6, they were also encouraged to write their own answers, if they wanted to add their own ideas to the options which were given.
The aim of the first multiple choice question was to find out which of the four language skills should be practised more according to the students. As the following chart indicates, the majority of students would prefer if more lesson time was devoted to practising speaking and listening. Despite the obvious interconnection of the four language skills, which is acknowledged by most teaching approaches including CLT, the respondents expressed the wish to focus more on speaking and listening maybe because focusing on the other two skills seems to be less attractive or interesting, or perhaps simply because they feel that practising speaking and listening skills was being neglected throughout the third-year curriculum.
Fig. 3. Part 2 question 1 - results
1. Which language skills would you like to practise more in the third year? 25 20 Listening
15
Speaking 10
Reading
5
Writing
0 Listening
Speaking
Reading
Source: Original 37
Writing
Due to an enormous lack of students‟ interest in learning (not only) foreign languages at a vocational school, question 2 tried to examine what could be done, as for the content of lessons, to increase student‟s willingness to work and pay attention in class. The majority of respondents stated they would appreciate if teachers used more audio-visual materials in the lessons. A significant number of students would also like if the lessons were generally more communicative and if teachers used more additional materials and activities besides the course book. Students were also encouraged to write their own suggestions and two of them stated they enjoy preparing projects on different topics at home and talking about them in class.
Fig. 4. Part 2 question 2 - results
2. English lessons would be more interesting for you if… The teacher generally talked less and the students had the opportunity to talk more. There was less reading and writing and more speaking in English. The teacher used more additional activities and materials besides the coursebook. The teacher used more authentic materials such as audio recordings of dialogues, excerpts from films etc. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Source: Original
The aim of question 3 was to find out which ways of practising new vocabulary the students find enjoyable. The most popular option was using target vocabulary in dialogues, which supports the assumption, based on the previous findings of the questionnaire, that the students mostly prefer to learn how to use English for meaningful and purposeful interaction. Other popular choices include playing vocabulary games and completing sentences and crossword puzzles, one of the respondents also suggested using flashcards with words and pictures to practise target vocabulary. 38
Fig. 5. Part 2 question 3 - results
3. How would you like to practise new technical vocabulary? By using target vocabulary in sentences when writing a longer text. By using target vocabulary in dialogues. By completing sentences and crossword puzzles with target vocabulary. By playing board games and other word games with target vocabulary. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Source: Original
One of the most common problems which vocational school teachers have to face is students‟ unwillingness to do homework and prepare for the lessons at home. This was also one of the concerns of the questionnaire. Students‟ answers to question 4 revealed that more than two thirds of them spent less than an hour a week on home preparation for English lessons in the third year.
Fig. 6. Part 2 question 4 - results
4. How many hours a week did you spend on home preparation for English lessons in the third year?
12% 0 - 1 hour 19%
2 - 3 hours 69%
More than 3 hours
Source: Original 39
Naturally, another question‟s aim was to find out what could motivate students to devote more time to home preparation for English lessons. Apparently, most students would be more motivated to do their homework regularly if it was focused mainly on the practical use of English. Other frequently chosen options included homework that is checked and graded by the teacher and homework that is always used and worked with in the following lesson.
Fig. 7. Part 2 question 5 - results
5. What type of homework would motivate you to prepare for English lessons regularly and more thoroughly? Short homework, that doesn't take up a lot of time. Homework that helps with practising vocabulary from the previous lesson. Homework that is always used in the following lesson. Homework focused on the practical use of English. Homework that is checked and graded by the teacher. 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Source: Original
Despite the fact that the respondents are supposed to start working in the restaurant industry after they finish their studies, the vast majority of them suppose they will mostly use English when travelling abroad in the future. As question 6 results reveal, only about one third of them also agree they will need the language for communication with foreign customers in a restaurant, which implies either that the other two thirds of respondents do not actually plan to work in this field, or that they are not aware of the growing need for communication skills in English in the field of gastronomy.
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Fig. 8. Part 2 question 6 - results
6. In which situations will you probably use English in your future profession? When watching foreign cookery programmes on TV. To translate an English recipe to Czech or to explain a Czech recipe to a foreigner. In a restaurant while serving a customer who doesn't speak Czech. In town, to give directions to someone who doesn't speak Czech. In various situations while travelling abroad. 0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Source: Original
4.4.3 Summary of the findings The questionnaire research, carried out among the students of the final year of a three-year vocational course 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter, revealed that the majority of students would like to experience more enjoyable ways of presenting and practising technical vocabulary in their English lessons. Even though they admit that the vocabulary and phrases were practised in a certain social context and that model dialogues with customers were often rehearsed in the lessons, most of the respondents are not certain whether they would be able to use the knowledge they gained in the third year for communication with actual customers outside the classroom. This can probably be attributed to the fact that the vocabulary and language forms were not, at least according to the majority of respondents, commonly practised in a communicative way.
The results of the second part of the questionnaire show that students would generally prefer to focus more on developing their speaking and listening skills, they would appreciate if more authentic audio-visual materials were used in the lessons, and they would like to practise new 41
vocabulary and language forms mainly through dialogues and other communicative activities. As for home preparation, most students are not willing to devote much time to doing homework. Therefore they would appreciate if the homework for English lessons was rather short and practically oriented. Even though they are trained to work in the restaurant industry, where the foreign language knowledge plays an important part these days, most of the students predict that they will need to communicate in English while travelling abroad more frequently.
The findings of the questionnaire research, described in this chapter, therefore imply that gastronomy vocational school students would most probably appreciate if a more communicative approach to English language teaching was employed. This corresponds with the author‟s assumptions and beliefs that the students would benefit from applying the principles of CLT in English lessons because learning a foreign language in general becomes easier when the participants are involved in meaningful communication in the target language. The following chapter will, therefore, focus on the practical application of Communicative language teaching at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín, namely in one particular class of third-year students.
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5 Applying CLT in the classroom As mentioned before, a number of factors were taken into account when creating the lesson plans which will be described in detail in this chapter. The author‟s previous teaching experience at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín together with the findings of the questionnaire, presented in the previous chapter, led the author to the conclusion that employing the principles of Communicative language teaching in English lessons will probably improve the current situation in ELT at this secondary school. The following lesson plans reflect both the findings of the abovementioned questionnaire and the main principles of Communicative language teaching, as described in chapter 2 in the theoretical part of this thesis.
5.1 Lesson plans with commentary As for the format of the lesson plans, different sets of guidelines a teacher should follow when preparing a lesson are proposed by various authors. For example, Ur suggests that a teacher should always write lesson notes down but keep them short (ideally less than a page), and include brief headings and abbreviations, page numbers referring to a particular course book, notes on specific language items and an extra activity in case there is some time left at the end of the lesson. Ur also claims that the teacher should always be aware of the lesson aims, but does not have to write them down explicitly (225).
On the other hand, Scrivener provides a ready-to-use lesson plan in the form of a table for new teachers who prefer a more solid structure. Scrivener‟s shorter version of a lesson plan includes the following items: teacher‟s name, observer‟s name, class name and room, date and lesson start time, observation start time, length of lesson, length of observation, main lesson aims, personal goals, timetable fit, assumptions, predicted problems and used materials (410).
After careful consideration, the author has decided to use a lesson plan format from an online course “Teaching Practice – Mgr programmes” on the website www.moodlinka.ped.muni.cz, because its structure seemed to comply best with the author‟s needs and intentions. The basic
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format (included in the Appendices) was slightly adapted for the purpose of this thesis16. The items “language level”, “age group” and “time” are explicitly mentioned only at the beginning of the first lesson plan, since these items are constant and do not change during the period in question.
Unless otherwise indicated, all the pictures used for the ready-to-use activities, devised as a part of the following lesson plans, were created by the author. The activities are based on the course book the students are currently using and in the future they can be used as additional teaching resources for all teachers who use this course book in their lessons. All the activities, as well as the relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order”, are included in the Appendices at the end of this thesis.
All six lesson plans were piloted at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín in class K/Č3. from 13th to 17th October 2014 (that is, during one school week). Unfortunately, it was not possible for the author to teach more lessons because of the maternity leave. The author has, therefore, decided for this particular number of lessons because of the alternation between theoretical classes and practical training in the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter. (The students have six English lessons in one week and they spend the following week at the workplace.17) Naturally, the lesson plans reflect the third year curriculum for the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter, which is being applied at the particular vocational school18.
5.1.1 Lesson plan 1 Aims: To revise “there is/there are” (grammar included in the previous unit of the course book) and present continuous tense, to promote meaningful communication in the target language, to practise students‟ listening comprehension skills. 16
See Appendix 10. See page 8 section 1.1.3 “Classroom time.“ 18 See Appendix 2 for the full Year curriculum. 17
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Language level: Elementary to pre-intermediate19 Age group: 17 – 18 years old Time: 45 minutes Class size: 10 out of 15 students were present Patterns of interaction: individual work, pairwork, groupwork Materials and equipment: PC and a projector, CD-player.
Procedure: Stage 1 (5 minutes) Content: There is/are (picture description), revision of grammar and vocabulary from the previous unit. Organization, method: Structural practice. Teacher-centred. A picture of an equipped kitchen is projected on the screen. Students ask and answer questions such as: “Is there a stove in the kitchen?”, “Where exactly is the stove?”
Fig. 9. Picture of an equipped kitchen
Source: Original
Commentary: This exercise serves as a warm-up activity. Students are familiar with the vocabulary and the structure “there is/there are“, since it appeared in the previous unit of their 19
The actual language level can not be stated unambiguously because the group contains students of mixed abilities, as will be explained further on in section 5.2.1 “Description of the group“ on page 62.
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course book (see Appendix 3a). The exercise has a form of a structural practice; it is, therefore, a pre-communicative activity (according to Littlewood‟s methodological framework for classroom activities)20. Its aim is to revise what was recently learnt in a meaningful way and to prepare students for the following exercise, which falls into the category of functional communication activities.
Stage 2 (10 minutes) Content: Identifying pictures - Kitchen Organization, method: Group work. Students A and B get a set of 6 pictures, student C has a copy of only one of these pictures21. Students A and B have to find out which of the pictures Student C is holding, by asking similar questions as in the previous activity. Students then may swap roles (provided that a different “secret“ picture is used). Commentary: As mentioned earlier, this exercise represents what Littlewood calls a functional communication activity (see page 18) and its purpose is to prompt students to engage in meaningful communication, which is less teacher-controlled than the previous exercise. In order to achieve a communicative goal (in this case, to find out which picture their colleague is holding), students have to exchange information and use the target structures and vocabulary.
Stage 3 (15 minutes) Content: Progress – Student‟s Book pg. 20 ex. 1, 2 (see Appendix 3b) Organization, method: Individual work. Students listen to the conversation on page 20 and answer the questions in their books. Then they read the conversation in the books and check their answers. While reading, they underline unknown vocabulary and then ask the teacher about the meaning of new words. Commentary: The conversation on page 20 in the course book is an example of an enquiry – a type of dialogue the students need to practise in order to be able to deal with enquiries in their future profession. By listening to the conversation prior to reading it, students develop their listening skills and, at the same time, they get the real-life experience of a dialogue with an 20 21
See page 17, section 2.3.2 “Pre-communicative and communicative activities.“ See Appendix 4a.
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English speaking customer. This is important also because in CLT, the aim is to expose the learner to authentic materials and situations whenever possible (see page 15, the basic guidelines for teachers by Larsen-Freeman).
Stage 4 (15 minutes) Content: Progress – present continuous tense Organization, method: Students underline examples of present continuous tense in the conversation on page 20, which they have just read. They read the sentences aloud. The teacher writes the sentences on the whiteboard and elicits the structure of present continuous tense from students. Flashcards (structural practice). Pairwork. Each pair is given a set of flashcards22. Students take turns, ask and answer questions such as: “What is the boy doing?” “He‟s drinking milk.“ Commentary: Students are familiar with present continuous tense from their past studies. However, its correct structure and use needs to be revised because most students keep using the tense incorrectly or they keep dropping the auxiliary verb. In CLT, the grammar is taught inductively, which means that the teacher guides the students to discover and formulate the rules. That is why the teacher elicits the structure from students and does not explicitly reveal the rules beforehand. When the students refresh the correct form, they proceed to structural practice. They use prompts on flashcards, which helps them gain confidence in using present continuous tense. This structural practice is necessary for the students to be able to use the structure independently later on. Also, during a questionnaire research which took place at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín, several students pointed out that they would have appreciated more frequent use of flashcards to practise specific grammar and vocabulary items in English lessons (see page 38 section 4.4.2 “Students‟ preferences concerning language learning“, question 3). That is why flashcards appear several times in the piloted lesson plans.
Homework assignment: There is no homework from Lesson 1 – students have one more English lesson later the same day. 22
See Appendix 4b.
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Resources Student‟s Book: Baude, Anne, and Montserrat Iglesias. Ready to Order: Elementary English for the Restaurant Industry. Student’s Book. London: Longman, 2002. Print.23 Class CD: Baude, Anne, Monserrat Iglesias and Anna Iñesta. Ready to Order Class CD. Longman, 2002. CD. Extra materials: Sets of pictures with kitchen equipment (created by the author), see Appendix 4a. Sets of flashcards for practising present continuous tense (source: MS Word 2010 clipart), see Appendix 4b. Piloted: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, class K/Č3., Monday 13th October 2014.
5.1.2 Lesson plan 2 Aims: To practise and simulate real-life dialogues (enquiries), to revise “Wh- words” in questions, to encourage students‟ creativity and independent use of the target language. Class size: 10 out of 15 students were present Patterns of interaction: individual work, pairwork, groupwork Materials and equipment: No special equipment needed.
Procedure: Stage 1 (10 minutes) Content: Fill-in exercise24 based on page 20 of the course book25 Organization, method: Students complete the dialogue individually, then they check it in pairs and finally with the teacher and the whole class. 23
See Appendix 3 for relevant pages of the course book. See Appendix 5a. 25 See Appendix 3b for the relevant page. 24
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Commentary: In the previous lesson, students listened to (and read) a phone conversation between a waiter in a restaurant and a customer. The aim of this exercise is to revise the vocabulary and phrases from the previous dialogue, so that the students feel more confident while simulating (role-playing) a similar dialogue later on.
Stage 2 (20 minutes) Content: An enquiry (cued dialogues) Organization, method: Pairwork. Students are given cues26 and prepare their own dialogue in pairs. They add their own information instead of the “???” mark. Different pairs of students act their dialogue out in front of the class. Other students listen in order to find out the information given instead of the “???” marks. They take notes. The teacher checks the understanding by asking questions such as: “What is student B planning?”, “How many people will there be at the banquet?” Commentary: In Littlewood‟s continuum linking pre-communicative and communicative activities, cued dialogue is seen as an activity which lies between the two abovementioned types27, since it requires approximately the same amount of teacher control and student creativity. In a group of students who have not had much experience with CLT before, it is not possible to jump directly to communicative activities without some previous precommunicative practice. The cues in this particular dialogue correspond with the conversation on page 20 in students‟ course books and also with the lines in the preceding fill-in exercise. This is necessary because the students would not be able to successfully perform cued dialogues without adequate prior preparation.
Stage 3 (15 minutes) Content: Progress – Student‟s Book pg. 21 ex. 3 (see Appendix 3c) Organization, method: Students individually match the “Wh-questions” with correct answers. Then they adapt the questions so that they can be used for a short conversation with their colleagues (for example, instead of “When do you open?” they ask “When does your favourite restaurant open?”). Afterwards, students form groups of three and ask their 26 27
See Appendix 5b. See page 20 Fig. 2 “A continuum linking pre-communicative and communicative activities.“
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colleagues adapted questions from ex. 3 and provide their own answers. As a feedback, each student tells the class at least two pieces of information they have found out from the colleagues in the group (if there is time remaining). Commentary: Students often confuse “Wh- words” so it is vital to revise them. However, the exercise in the course book does not provide an opportunity for immediate meaningful practice. That is why the students are asked to use their creativity to adapt the questions to their environment and add the social context first. When using the adapted questions for interaction, students actually perform a social interaction activity (see page 18, section 2.3.2 “Pre-communicative and communicative activities”), which more resembles natural conversation situations outside the classroom. This type of interaction also requires more independent use of the target language.
Homework assignment: Fill-in exercise28 based on pg. 21 ex. 3 in Student‟s Book (“Wh- questions”). Student‟s Book page 22 section Language (see Appendix 3d). Students complete the rules for producing sentences in present continuous tense. Students are asked to bring a photograph depicting a restaurant‟s dining room. They may bring a photo of their favourite restaurant, a restaurant they work in as a part of their practical training, or any random restaurant of their choice. They may bring an actual photograph or select an online photograph which will be projected on the screen in the next lesson.
Resources Student‟s Book: Baude, Anne, and Montserrat Iglesias. Ready to Order: Elementary English for the Restaurant Industry. Student’s Book. London: Longman, 2002. Print.29
Extra materials: Fill-in exercise based on Student‟s Book pg. 20 (created by the author), see Appendix 5a Cued dialogues (created by the author), see Appendix 5b 28 29
See Appendix 5a. See Appendix 3 for relevant pages of the course book.
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Fill-in exercise “Wh- questions“ (created by the author), see Appendix 5a Piloted: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, class K/Č3., Monday 13th October 2014.
5.1.3 Lesson plan 3 Aims: To practice “Wh- questions”, to introduce vocabulary connected to seating arrangement in a restaurant, to practice students„ listening comprehension skills. Class size: 11 out of 15 students were present Patterns of interaction: individual work, pairwork, groupwork Materials and equipment: PC and a projector, CD player
Procedure: Stage 1 (15 minutes) Content: Homework check – Language spot and “Wh- questions” Organization, method: Quick check of homework in the Student‟s Book, page 22 Language (see Appendix 3d) and the fill-in exercise “Wh-questions“ (see Appendix 5a). Group work game. Students work in the groups of three or four; they ask and answer questions from the homework exercise. They give one answer which is untrue. The other students from the group guess which answer it is. Commentary: The aim of this activity is to provide further opportunities to practise “Whquestions”, introduced in the previous lesson. The exercise which was assigned for homework provides a certain context as the topic is directly linked to both students‟ personal lives and restaurant industry. In this way, students have the chance to practise social interactions which resemble the life outside the classroom. Also, working in small groups is convenient because the amount of communicative practice students receive is maximized. This all corresponds with the main principles of using CLT in the classroom, as proposed by Larsen-Freeman (see pages 14 - 15).
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Stage 2 (15 minutes) Content: Seating arrangements - lead-in Organization, method: For their homework, students were supposed to find a photograph of a restaurant‟s dining room and bring it to the class either in a paper or electronic form. The photos are projected on the screen and the students who brought them use their own words to describe what the dining rooms look like. Commentary: This activity is important for two reasons. Firstly, it provides an authentic material connected to students‟ lives, which serves as a starting point for communication in the target language, and secondly, it naturally leads the students to the next topic, which is concerned with describing seating arrangements in a restaurant.
Stage 3 (15 minutes) Content: Seating arrangements - presentation Organization, method: Each student is given a copy of a handout30. The teacher projects the first slide of a PowerPoint presentation on the screen. Students work in pairs and match the pictures in their handouts with the appropriate words (the same words and pictures are projected31). Afterwards, to check their answers, the teacher projects the second slide, as shown below. Fig. 10. Two slides from the teacher‟s PowerPoint presentation Slide 1
Slide 2
Source: Original 30 31
See Appendix 6b. All pictures included in the PPT presentation, as well as in the handouts, were created by the author.
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The students do the same with the second picture in their handouts and the teacher projects the correct answers again. Finally, the students listen to a recording which corresponds with exercise 5 on page 21 in their course books (see Appendix 3c). However, instead of following the instructions in their books, the students follow the instructions in their handouts. Finally, the correct answers to the listening exercise are displayed on the screen as the fifth slide of the PPT presentation (see Appendix 6a for the complete slides of the PowerPoint presentation). Commentary: In the author‟s opinion, new vocabulary from the course book connected with seating arrangements requires a more clear-cut visual presentation. That is why a PowerPoint presentation was created so that the students had the chance to match the table sizes and shapes to the adequate words that describe them. The students have the opportunity to work out the correct answers in pairs, which they will probably manage despite the fact that some of the words will surely be new for them. Also, the listening exercise was adapted since the original instructions in the course book seem to be rather chaotic, considering that the vocabulary is new to the students. In the handouts, students familiarize themselves with the vocabulary first and then they use the words to complete the gaps while listening. In this way, the exercises are adapted to match the students‟ abilities and to support their confidence, which are also the requirements mentioned in the Curriculum framework for this particular field of study (see page 24).
Homework assignment: Vocabulary crossword. Students complete their half of a crossword with vocabulary from the past three lessons (see Appendix 6c).
Resources Student‟s Book: Baude, Anne, and Montserrat Iglesias. Ready to Order: Elementary English for the Restaurant Industry. Student’s Book. London: Longman, 2002. Print.32 Class CD: Baude, Anne, Monserrat Iglesias and Anna Iñesta. Ready to Order Class CD. Longman, 2002. CD.
32
See Appendix 3 for relevant pages of the course book.
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Extra materials: PowerPoint presentation of seating arrangements vocabulary (created by the author, see Appendix 6a) Handout for the PowerPoint presentation (created by the author, see Appendix 6b) Pairwork crossword assigned for homework (created by the author, see Appendix 6c)
Piloted: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, class K/Č3., Tuesday 14th October 2014.
5.1.4 Lesson plan 4 Aims: To revise vocabulary from the previous lessons in a communicative way, to introduce vocabulary and language forms related to giving directions. Class size: 12 out of 15 students were present Patterns of interaction: individual work, pairwork, groupwork Materials and equipment: PC and a projector, CD player
Procedure: Stage 1 (10 minutes) Content: Vocabulary crossword (homework check) Organization, method: For their homework, students were given different halves of the crossword to complete. Students A and students B now work in pairs and ask questions to find out the words from the other half of the crossword to discover the secret word. Commentary: The main aim of this activity is to revise previously introduced vocabulary. Students are supposed to complete their half of the crossword at home (thus saving classroom time, which can be used for speaking activities instead). In class, they work in pairs and use whatever language they have at their disposal to achieve the communicative aim, which is to find out the missing clues and the secret word. In this way, a mere vocabulary revision is transformed into a functional communication activity (see page 18). 54
Stage 2 (10 minutes) Content: Revision of vocabulary connected with places on the map and prepositions Organization, method: Structural practice. A teacher-centred activity. A schematic map of town (see Appendix 7a) is projected on the screen. A few students are given flashcards depicting some of the places on the map (see Appendix 7b). A student who has a card asks questions such as: “Excuse me, where is the nearest hotel?“ Other students answer according to the map: „The hotel is in Victoria Street, next to the baker‟s shop and opposite the restaurant.“ Commentary: This pre-communicative activity33 serves as a practice of the linguistic forms students will need later on when giving directions. In this case, the students should practise how to ask about a location and how to describe the location using appropriate prepositions.
Stage 3 (15 minutes) Content: Progress – Student‟s Book pg. 23 (Giving directions) Organization, method: Students work in pairs. Each pair is given a set of cut-up lines taken from the conversation in exercise 2 on page 23 in their course book (see Appendix 3e). They try to put the lines of the conversation in the correct order. To check whether they have succeeded, students listen to a CD recording. Finally, they focus on the part of the conversation which is concerned with giving directions. To check the understanding, they try to answer the question in exercise 2 while using the map on page 23 in their books. Commentary: Instead of reading the conversation from their books, the students are asked to put the lines in the correct order first, which certainly requires greater initiative and focus. Also, while working in pairs, students have the opportunity to use English as a vehicle for classroom communication. Since this exercise introduces the linguistic forms necessary for giving directions, it is essential for the students to familiarize themselves with these forms and to understand them properly, which will be the main goal of the following activity.
Stage 4 (10 minutes) Content: Progress – Verbs and prepositions of movement (based on Student‟s Book pg. 2434) 33
See page 17 for the basic division of classroom activities in CLT by Littlewood.
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Organization, method: Group work. Each student is given a copy of a handout (see Appendix 7d). Students work in small groups of 3 or 4 and match the schematic pictures to the verbs and prepositions. Commentary: The verbs and prepositions of movement included in this handout are almost the same as the ones in exercises 3 and 4 on page 24 of the course book (see Appendix 3f). Only one extra expression is added which the students will need in the following lessons. The reason for creating this handout was that students often possess a course book which was previously owned by different students and most of the fill-in activities are therefore already completed. Also, handouts might be more convenient than course books when working in small groups. To match the words with the correct pictures, students will feel more secure if they can cooperate with others. In addition to this, groupwork represents another opportunity for meaningful communication in English.
Homework assignment: Student‟s Book pg. 24 ex. 3, 4, 5 (see Appendix 3f). If possible, students complete the exercises at home as a revision of what they did in the lesson.
Resources Student‟s Book: Baude, Anne, and Montserrat Iglesias. Ready to Order: Elementary English for the Restaurant Industry. Student’s Book. London: Longman, 2002. Print.35 Class CD: Baude, Anne, Monserrat Iglesias and Anna Iñesta. Ready to Order Class CD. Longman, 2002. CD. Extra materials: Schematic map of town to be projected on the screen (created by the author, see Appendix 7a) A set of flashcards depicting places on the map (created by the author, see Appendix 7b) Sets of cut-up lines (created by the author, see Appendix 7c) from exercises 1, 2 on page 23 in the course book (see Appendix 3e)
34 35
See Appendix 3f. See Appendix 3 for relevant pages of the course book.
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Handouts with verbs and prepositions of movement (created by the author, see Appendix 7d)
Piloted: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, class K/Č3., Wednesday 15th October 2014.
5.1.5 Lesson plan 5 Aims: To revise verbs and prepositions of movement, to help students become more fluent in giving directions. Class size: 12 out of 15 students were present Patterns of interaction: individual work, pairwork Materials and equipment: PC and a projector
Procedure: Stage 1 (10 minutes) Content: Homework check Organization, method: A quick check of the activities from the course book which were assigned for homework. Students first compare the answers to the exercises with their partners in pairs and then with the teacher and the whole class. Commentary: Comparing the answers in pairs before checking with the whole class enhances students‟ confidence in their knowledge.
Stage 2 (10 minutes) Content: Revision of verbs and prepositions from the previous lesson and of present continuous tense
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Organization, method: Structural practice. Each student gets a flashcard depicting a verb or preposition of movement36. Students stand up and mingle. They ask and answer questions such as: “What is the man doing?”/”Where is he going?” “He is crossing the street.” “He is going out of a restaurant.” Commentary: This activity serves as a communicative practice of the vocabulary introduced in the previous lesson. The flashcards correspond with the pictures in the handouts the students were given at the end of lesson 4 (stage 4, see above) and, at the same time, the practised vocabulary represents a convenient opportunity to revise present continuous tense, which was dealt with in lesson 1 (Stage 4, see page 47). Moreover, a mingle activity gives students the opportunity to interact with the classmates they do not usually work with, which is a refreshing change.
Stage 3 (10 minutes) Content: Giving directions – oral practice Organization, method: Teacher centred activity. A schematic map of town37 is projected on the screen. Several students are given flashcards38 with a place they are looking for. They ask somebody in the class to explain the route to this place. The map and the flashcards are the same as the ones used in Stage 2, Lesson 4. However, this time the students do not merely describe the location (“The hotel is in Victoria Street, opposite the restaurant.”), but they have to give precise directions to a certain place from a given point in the map (“Go along Station Road, pass School Lane and take the next street on the right. The hotel is the second building on the right.”). Commentary: This teacher-centred pre-communicative practice is essential for students to revise the verbs and prepositions of movement, introduced in the previous lesson (see Stages 3 and 4, Lesson 4), and to practise giving directions in the same way they would give directions to a stranger in the street. The activity has a form of structural practice and the focus is rather on accuracy. This is important since the following activity will require the students to use the structures more independently.
36
See Appendix 8a for the complete set of flashcards. See Appendix 7a. The map is the same one which was used in Stage 2, Lesson 4. 38 See Appendix 7b. The flashcards are the same ones which were used in Stage 2, Lesson 4. 37
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Stage 4 (15 minutes): Content: Discovering locations – information gap exercise Organization, method: Pairwork. In pairs, students get two versions of the same map39 (different places are missing on each version of it). Students complete their version of the map by asking the other student for directions to the places that are listed at the top of their handout. Commentary: After students have thoroughly revised the language forms necessary for giving directions (see Stage 3), they have the opportunity to interact with their partner and use the language independently during this functional communication activity40. In this particular exercise, the students have to work together and communicate in the target language in order to overcome an information gap, which is represented by a blank space on the map. They need to process the information they already have and pay attention to each other. Because of this, the activity represents an effective communicative practice and, at the same time, simulates a real-life situation in which they might be asked to direct a stranger to a certain place in town.
Homework assignment: Each student thinks of a place in the town centre and writes (or draws) the directions to this place from the school. In next lesson, other students will have to recognize the place from the route description.
Resources Student‟s Book: Baude, Anne, and Montserrat Iglesias. Ready to Order: Elementary English for the Restaurant Industry. Student’s Book. London: Longman, 2002. Print.41 Extra materials: Schematic map of town to be projected on the screen (created by the author, see Appendix 7a) Set of flashcards depicting places on the map (created by the author, see Appendix 7b) 39
See Appendix 8b. See page 18 for more information about functional communication activities. 41 See Appendix 3 for relevant pages of the course book. 40
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Flashcards with verbs and prepositions of movement (created by the author, see Appendix 8a) Pairwork information gap activity (created by the author, see Appendix 8b)
Piloted: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, class K/Č3., Thursday 16th October 2014.
5.1.6 Lesson plan 6 Aims: To revise giving and understanding directions, to practise listening comprehension skills while watching an authentic film sequence. Class size: 12 out of 15 students were present Patterns of interaction: individual work, pairwork Materials and equipment: PC and a projector
Procedure: Stage 1 (15 minutes) Content: Homework check – guessing the location in town Organization, method: Game. Students form two teams. Each student in the team gives directions to a secret place in the town centre (which they prepared for homework) and students from the other team should identify the place. Each team is awarded points for both guessing the right place and providing meaningful and logical route description. The winner is the team that scores more points in total. Commentary: The main linguistic aim of this activity is to practise giving and understanding directions, which the students already devoted some time to in previous lessons (for example, see Stages 3 and 4, Lesson 5). However, students might become more genuinely interested in the activity because of the added gaming element, which is supposed to stimulate students‟ motivation (see page 27 section 3.3 “Student motivation” for more information about the impact of games on student motivation). Also, as a part of a questionnaire research that took 60
place at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín prior to creating these lesson plans, some of the respondents stated that they would appreciate more opportunities to speak individually in the lessons but with adequate home preparation42. This activity enables students to speak in the lesson independently, but the fact that they can prepare their speech beforehand will certainly increase their confidence.
Stage 2 (30 minutes) Content: Movie sequence – GPS directions Organization, method: Individual work. Students watch a short sequence from the film “The Ghost Writer”. They complete the GPS instructions in their handouts (see Appendix 9, exercise 1). Then they watch again and complete the summary of the trip by adding correct prepositions (exercise 2). As a follow-up activity, students work in pairs and discuss the questions at the bottom of their handouts (exercise 3). Commentary: In the abovementioned questionnaire research, the majority of respondents stated that English lessons would be more interesting for them if teachers used more audiovisual materials in the lessons, such as CD recordings and excerpts from films 43. Moreover, as mentioned in section 2.2 “The main concepts, principles and goals of CLT”, one of the teacher‟s duties is to introduce the language as it is used in a real context. This can be achieved for example by exposing students to authentic language materials (whenever it is possible). This was taken into consideration when creating these lesson plans. The sequence from the film “The Ghost Writer” serves the intended purpose well, since it contains a lot of language forms which were presented to students and practised over the past few lessons. The last activity in students‟ handouts (exercise 3) represents an opportunity for the students to engage in a dialogue which requires creativity and independence in language use. Thus, it can be considered a social interaction activity44.
Homework assignment: Since this is the teacher‟s last lesson with the group, there is no homework assigned this time.
42
See page 38 section 4.4.2 “Students’ preferences concerning language learning“, question 2. See page 38 section 4.4.2 “Students’ preferences concerning language learning“, question 2. 44 See pages 18 - 19 for more information about social interaction activities. 43
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Resources Student‟s Book: Baude, Anne, and Montserrat Iglesias. Ready to Order: Elementary English for the Restaurant Industry. Student’s Book. London: Longman, 2002. Print.45 The Ghost Writer. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson, Olivia Williams. Summit Entertainment, 2010. DVD. Extra materials: Handout with activities based on the film sequence (created by the author, see Appendix 9)
Piloted: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, class K/Č3., Friday 17th October 2014.
5.2 Evaluation of the lessons from the teacher’s point of view The aim of this section is to evaluate the six lessons, during which the lesson plans were piloted, from the teacher‟s point of view. Because most of the teacher‟s observations apply not to individual lessons, but to the whole period in question, the lesson plans will be evaluated rather collectively in this section, as a part of the whole teaching experience. How these lessons were perceived by students themselves will then be described in the following section.
5.2.1 Description of the group
As mentioned earlier, the thesis is focused on the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter; more specifically on the students in the third (and final) year of this course. Class K/Č3., which was involved in piloting of the lesson plans, is split in halves during English lessons and there are 15 students in each group. The average age of the students is 18 years. The two groups have English lessons at the same time and are taught by two different teachers, which is the reason why the lesson plans were used only in one half of the class.
45
See Appendix 3 for relevant pages of the course book.
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The group which participated in piloting of the lesson plans contained students of mixed abilities (that is why in the lesson plans, “Elementary to pre-intermediate“ is given in the column “Language level“). There are more reasons for this phenomenon. Firstly, as was mentioned already in chapter 1, the initial level of vocational school students‟ language knowledge appears to be rather low46 and the progress the students make during the first and the second year of their studies is very individual. Secondly, this particular group contained two students who failed a different subject in the past (and who have, therefore, repeated one school year) and three students who terminated their studies at a different secondary school in the past and then started studying at this school. These five students have therefore studied English for more years than others, which naturally means that some of them are more advanced.
5.2.2 Piloting of the lesson plans The fact that the group contained students of mixed abilities naturally lead to a number of issues, which had to be dealt with while piloting of the lesson plans. The most common problem was related to the fact that since different students needed different amount of time to complete the tasks, the so-called early-finishers had the tendency to start chatting in Czech while waiting for the others to finish the activity. To avoid this, the teacher encouraged the early-finishers to ask each other additional questions in English, which would be related either to the topic or to their personal lives. A few students have adopted this approach, the others, unfortunately, kept on using Czech for their informal conversations.
The teacher‟s main concern was how the students will respond to applying the principles of CLT in the lessons. This concern was based on the assumption that most English teachers at the particular vocational school of gastronomy probably use slightly different methods and approaches47.
46
See page 6 section 1.1.2 “Language level of students.“ This assumption is based on the results of the questionnaire research, which took place at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade in the spring of 2014. See section 4.4 “Findings of the questionnaire“. 47
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As mentioned in chapter 2, students who are not familiar with CLT and the level of student responsibility it requires might feel insecure when forced to participate in a classroom activity which is less controlled by the teacher. This may cause great tension and discourage the students from participating in the activity48. This potential problem was anticipated and therefore, while creating the lesson plans, the author decided to proceed to a less teachercontrolled communicative activities only after employing adequate pre-communicative activities, which would provide the required structural practice and equip the students with language forms needed for the future interactions.
This system proved to be successful. In Lesson 1, it was obvious that the students had not been used to performing communicative activities before, at least not the ones which would require such degree of communicative independence. Therefore, the students seemed to be a little reluctant at first. In the following lessons, as they became more acquainted to such activities, the students worked in a much more natural and relaxed manner. During the week in which the lesson plans were piloted, the students managed to perform most of the communicative activities adequately to their language abilities and they even seemed to enjoy them.
What proved to be difficult for the students, however, was understanding teacher‟s instruction in English. They were able to follow brief instructions such as “Talk to your partner.“ or “Tell the class what you have found out.“ Nevertheless, when introducing a more complex communicative activity (such as the one described in section 5.1.3 “Lesson plan 3“, Stage 1, where students had to talk to each other and then decide which answers they heard were untrue), it was necessary to use Czech from time to time to clarify the instructions and make sure all students knew what they were supposed to do.
Also, while using the target language for interaction when working in pairs and teams, the students sometimes had the tendency to switch to Czech when they thought the teacher was not paying attention to them. This, of course, was not true because the teacher monitored both pairwork and groupwork closely, walked around the classroom, listened to the students while 48
For more information about the potential pitfalls of using CLT see page 22 section 2.4.2 “Possible problems.“
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they were performing the activities and offered help when necessary. Whenever the students saw the teacher was approaching, they started using the target language again.
As for the content of the lesson plans and timing of the individual activities, some of the lesson plans proved to contain more tasks than could be managed within the time limit of 45 minutes. This meant that some of the activities had to be assigned for homework and some lesson stages had to be shortened or left out as follows: In Lesson 2, Stage 3 (see page 49), the time for using the adapted “Wh- questions” for interaction was very limited and therefore the phase of feedback was left out. In Lesson 3, Stage 2 (see page 52) had to be shortened from 15 to approximately 10 minutes, in order to have enough time for the following stage. In Lesson 4, because Stages 1 and 3 took more time than expected, Stage 4 was left out completely and the handout was assigned for homework (see page 55). In Lesson 5, because the last activity from the previous lesson plan was assigned for homework and had to be checked at the beginning of the lesson, Stages 2 and 3 had to be shortened by a few minutes (see pages 57 – 58).
The delays also happened because the phases of checking the homework generally seemed to be unnecessarily long. This was caused either by the fact that some students were not present in the previous lesson and therefore did not know about the homework, or by the students‟ general carelessness, which was the reason why a few of them forgot to do the homework for the lesson, even though they were present.
In general, however, it can be concluded that the students responded well to the piloted classroom activities and tried to participate (naturally, with different levels of enthusiasm) in meaningful communication in the target language.
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5.2.3 Evaluation of the lessons with respect to the specific issues connected with ELT at a vocational school In chapter 1 of this thesis, various problems of English language teaching at vocational schools were introduced. It was also stated that using the communicative approach in English lessons might, for various reasons, help the teachers overcome these problems and improve the situation in the classroom (see chapter 3). Whether these assumptions were confirmed during the six piloted lessons will be revealed further in this section.
Student behaviour
As mentioned earlier, one of the most problematic issues connected with vocational school teaching is certainly student behaviour. Many authors believe that students (especially the teenage ones) are generally more likely to behave if they feel they are being taught what they consider useful49. That is why the piloted lesson plans were created in accordance with the findings of the questionnaire for students of the third year (see section 4.4 “Findings of the questionnaire“), which indicated that students wish to use the target language for communication in their lessons, because they are aware of the fact that they will need to communicate in English in the future. Even though the students who participated in piloting of the lesson plans were not the same as the ones who filled out the abovementioned questionnaire, their views seemed to be compatible.
The lesson plans were created with a strong belief that providing vocational school students with more opportunities to communicate meaningfully in the target language will diminish the frequency of inappropriate behaviour in the classroom. Indeed, during the one week in which piloting of the lesson plans took place, the students behaved appropriately, rarely interrupted the teacher while giving instructions, did not sabotage any classroom activities and there were no displays of ill-discipline or rudeness in the classroom (which are otherwise relatively common at vocational schools). Even though this time period was probably too short to draw any final conclusions concerning the effect of CLT on vocational school students‟ classroom 49
See page 25, section 3.2 “Student behaviour and discipline.“
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behaviour, this experience represents a positive sign for the teacher and it is certainly hopeful for the future.
Student motivation
The issues of student behaviour and student motivation are closely connected. As mentioned in chapter 350, one of the impulses which can stimulate motivation of students is practical applicability of the knowledge they are supposed to gain at school. After piloting of the six lesson plans, the author‟s belief that employing the principles of Communicative language teaching systematically can help students become more motivated learners was reinforced.
One week is, naturally, not enough to assess whether the motivation of students has been increased permanently. However, when reflecting on the students‟ responses to the piloted activities, it can be concluded that the students were willing to work, follow the teacher‟s instructions and engage in communication in the target language. In the author‟s opinion, among the activities which appeared to be the most appealing for students belong: Cued dialogues (Lesson 2, Stage 2; especially the part where the students acted the dialogues out in front of the class), vocabulary crossword (Lesson 4, Stage 1), discovering locations – the information gap exercise (Lesson 5, Stage 4) communicative game – guessing the location described by other students (Lesson 6, Stage 1) and film sequence – comprehension practice based on an authentic sequence from a film (Lesson 6, Stage 2).
50
See page 26 section 3.3 “Student motivation“.
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Attendance
A specific feature of vocational school teaching is an extremely high absence rate. This phenomenon was described in chapter 1 of this thesis51, which contained the findings of the Annual Report of the Czech School Inspection. According to this report, the absence rate at secondary vocational schools reached almost 25 percent in the school year 2011 – 2012. The validity of these findings is unquestionable. In the week during which the lesson plans were piloted, the absence rate in the particular class fluctuated between 20 and 33 percent. This, of course, caused problems related to the continuity of the curriculum because in almost each lesson, there was at least one student who had missed the previous class (or classes) and who, therefore, struggled to catch up with the lesson‟s content. Even though high absence rate clearly represents a problem at vocational schools in general, there seems to be very little an English teacher could do to improve this situation.
In conclusion, even though six lessons are probably not enough to assess all possible benefits and pitfalls connected with using this teaching approach at a vocational school, the author‟s observations from this week support the premise that through CLT, English language teaching at the particular vocational school of gastronomy can become more efficient and enjoyable for both teachers and students. The most common problems related to student behaviour and motivation are likely to become less frequent when employing this approach systematically and on a long-term basis. These beliefs are based not only on the six piloted lessons themselves, but also on the comparison between these lessons and the author‟s previous teaching experience at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín. When compared with the previous teaching experience, students‟ performance and behaviour was definitely much more satisfactory (at least from the teacher‟s point of view) during the week when CLT was being applied.
51
See page 9, section 1.1.4 “Students‘ motivation and absence rate.“
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5.3 Evaluation of the lessons from the students’ point of view After piloting of the lesson plans, included in section 5.1, which were created in accordance with the principles of Communicative language teaching, the students were asked to fill out a short questionnaire (see Appendix 11) and retrospectively evaluate the lessons they experienced. For each question, the students were supposed to choose one answer only. To avoid misunderstanding, the questionnaire was written in Czech. Its main aim was to receive feedback from students especially in the areas which relate to the language skills which were focused on, the piloted classroom activities, and practical applicability of the language forms which were dealt with. The findings of the questionnaire will be described in detail in this section.
Question 1
The first question was included mainly because during the first questionnaire research, which took place in the spring of 2014, the vast majority of respondents stated that speaking and listening are the two language skills which they would like to practise more in the third year of the course (see section 4.4.2 “Students‟ preferences concerning language learning“, questions 1 and 2).
Naturally, all four basic language skills should be constantly developed in English lessons. However, one of the aims of the piloted lesson plans was to focus on speaking and listening slightly more, since the students clearly felt these skills were not being practised enough.
This aim was achieved, because nine out of twelve respondents stated that over the past week, speaking had been practised the most, three students felt that the focus of the lessons had been mainly on listening skills and neither of the students thought the lessons had been focused on developing reading or writing skills.
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Fig. 11. Students„ feedback - Question 1 results
Question 1: Which of the following language skills was, in your opinion, practised the most during the past week? a) reading b) writing c) listening d) speaking
Source: Original
Question 2
As stated on numerous occasions throughout this thesis, one of the main objectives of the teaching approach called CLT is teaching communicative competence and the teacher‟s responsibility is, among other things, to create classroom situations that promote communication and to facilitate the communication process.
Students of this particular vocational school have stated before that the vocabulary and phrases which were presented to them in English lessons were not often practised in a communicative way52. Therefore, the purpose of the next question was to discover whether the students considered the six piloted lessons to be more communicative. Only one respondent claimed there had not been a noticeable difference in comparison with previous English lessons. On the other hand, eleven out of twelve students thought they had had more opportunities to communicate in the target language during the week in which the lesson plans were piloted.
52
See page 35 section 4.4.1 “ELT in the final year from students’ point of view“, question 5.
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Fig. 12. Students„ feedback - Question 2 results
Question 2: During the past week you communicated in English language in your lessons: a) more than before b) less than before c) there was no difference when compared to the English lessons we had in the past Source: Original
Question 3
During the first questionnaire research, the majority of students claimed English lessons would be more interesting for them if teachers used authentic audio-visual materials such as excerpts from films, CD recordings etc. more often (see section 4.4.2 “Students‟ preferences concerning language learning“, question 2). Using authentic materials is also highly recommended in CLT, which means that this aspect was taken into account when creating the lesson plans.
Question 3 investigated how the students perceived the audio-visual materials used during the six lessons. The opinion of the vast majority of respondents was that these materials enliven the lessons and that they are able to memorize more thanks to such activities. Only one student stated that working with the course book generally suited him (or her) better than working with audio-visual materials.
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Fig. 13. Students„ feedback - Question 3 results
Question 3: What is your opinion on using audiovisual materials in English lessons? a) I think there is no point in using them. b) I have nothing against them but I learn more while working with a course book. c) They enliven the lessons and I memorize more things thanks to them. Source: Original
Question 4 As a part of the piloted lesson plans, a number of classroom activities were created by the author in order to supplement the content of the course book and, even more importantly, to promote communicative classroom practice. The aim of Question 4 was to discover students‟ opinion of the piloted activities. All respondents unanimously claimed that thanks to these activities, the revision of grammar and vocabulary and the lessons themselves were more enjoyable for them.
Question 5
Due to an enormous lack of students‟ motivation to do homework53, possible ways of stimulating students‟ interest in home preparation were investigated within the first questionnaire research. The results suggest that students feel more motivated to do their homework when the assigned activities are practically oriented and when the homework is always checked and used further in the following lesson (see section 4.4.2. “Students‟ 53
For more information about the problem of students’ motivation see page 9 section 1.1.4. “Students’ motivation and absence rate.“
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preferences concerning language learning“, question 5). The author‟s intention was to adhere to these requirements when preparing the lesson plans, described in section 5.1.
The results of the second questionnaire support the original findings. One third of the respondents were satisfied with the fact that the homework did not take up a lot of time, whereas the other two thirds of students found it convenient that the homework was usually used further in the following lesson.
Fig. 14. Students„ feedback - Question 5 results
Question 5: What is your opinion of the homework you were assigned over the past week? a) I found it convenient that the homework did not take up much time. b) The homework was not long, but it was rather boring. c) I found it convenient that the homework was usually used further in the following lesson. Source: Original
Question 6
Since the main part of communicative competence is the ability to use language forms appropriately in a given social context, the last question investigated whether the students feel they could use the language forms they practised over the past week for communication in English in real life. All students thought that the language they practised by means of precommunicative and communicative activities is applicable in practical life. This contrasts with the findings of the first questionnaire, according to which only about one third of 73
respondents thought they would be able to make use of the dialogues they rehearsed in class in real-life situations.
To sum up the findings of the questionnaire, the students who participated in piloting of the lesson plans claimed that the focus of the lessons was on promoting speaking and on gaining communicative competence in general. The vast majority of students appreciated the audiovisual materials included in the lesson plans because they made the lessons more appealing. The respondents also enjoyed working with other additional activities created in order to supplement the content of the course book. Even though not all of the students succeeded in doing homework for each lesson, most of them appreciated that the homework was usually used further for communicative purposes. Finally, and maybe most importantly, all students believe that the knowledge they gained over the week is practical and that they could use it in real life, which was one of the author‟s main goals.
According to these findings, and also with regard to the teacher‟s observations and evaluation of the piloted lessons, it can be concluded that since the students‟ reactions to the piloted lesson plans were predominantly positive, applying the principles of Communicative language teaching at a gastronomy vocational school appropriately and systematically would most probably raise students„ interest in language learning on a long term basis.
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Conclusion The main aim of this diploma thesis was to introduce the most common issues related to English language teaching at vocational schools as well as the main principles of Communicative language teaching, and to employ these principles in English lessons at a vocational school of gastronomy. By creating and piloting particular lesson plans and classroom activities, the author hoped to raise students‟ motivation to learn English and also attempted to improve the efficiency of English language teaching at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín in general.
The theoretical part of this thesis contained three chapters. The purpose of the first chapter was to provide the main characteristics of secondary vocational education, with the focus on the most common problems English teachers face at a gastronomy vocational school. The chapter also contained a brief description of the current form of the final exam. The second chapter introduced the main aims and principles of Communicative language teaching and provided a basic description of communicative classroom activities and the teacher‟s role in CLT. The aim of the third chapter was to link the specific aspects of vocational education with the principles of Communicative language teaching and to provide arguments for applying CLT in English lessons at a gastronomy vocational school.
The practical part of the thesis consisted of two chapters. The first chapter presented the aims and the findings of a questionnaire research which took place at the Vocational school of gastronomy and trade Zlín in the spring of 2014 and whose purpose was to collect data about students‟ learning preferences and about students„ experience with ELT in the final year of their studies. The second chapter, which was also the last chapter of this thesis, was focused on the practical application of CLT at the particular vocational school. It contained lesson plans with communicative activities created by the author, author‟s evaluation of the lessons during which the lesson plans were piloted and also the students‟ feedback.
Despite the fact that the time period in which the lesson plans were piloted was rather short, the author observed that the most common problems related to student behaviour and 75
motivation, as described in the theoretical part of this thesis, became less evident when compared to the author‟s previous teaching experience at this particular school. In addition, the students who participated in piloting of the lesson plans appreciated the opportunity to use English for meaningful communication in their lessons, which was confirmed by the results of a subsequent questionnaire. The students found the lessons more enjoyable thanks to the communicative activities they performed and they also found them practical and applicable in real-life social interactions.
This confirms the author‟s hypothesis that thanks to the principles of CLT, English language teaching at a vocational school of gastronomy can become more efficient and enjoyable for both teachers and students. It can therefore be concluded that since the improvement of students‟ performance and behaviour was obvious during the short period of time in which the lesson plans were piloted, there is no doubt that employing the principles of Communicative language teaching at the particular gastronomy vocational school on a long term basis is highly desirable since it would definitely improve the overall efficiency and quality of English teaching.
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List of references Bibliography Baude, Anne, and Montserrat Iglesias. Ready to Order: Elementary English for the Restaurant Industry. Student’s Book. London: Longman, 2002. Print. Gavora, Peter. Úvod do pedagogického výzkumu. Brno: Paido, 2000. Print. Larsen-Freeman, Diane. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. Print. Lemlech, Johanna K. Classroom Management: Methods and Techniques for Elementary and Secondary Teachers. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, 1999. Print. Lewis, Gordon. Teenagers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. Littlewood, William. Communicative Language Teaching: an Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. Print. Mešková, Marta. Motivace žáků efektivní komunikací. Praha: Portál, 2012. Print. Richards, Jack C. and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print. Scrivener, Jim. Learning Teaching: a Guidebook for English Language Teachers. Oxford: Macmillan, 2005. Print. Ur, Penny. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print.
Electronic and internet sources “Brandýská Výzva pedagogům.” Česká škola. Albatros Media, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. Breen, Michael P. and Christopher N. Candlin. “The Essentials of a Communicative Curriculum in Language Teaching.” Applied Linguistics 1.2 (1980): 89-112. PDF file.
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Česká školní inspekce. Výroční zpráva České školní inspekce pro školní rok 2011-2012. Praha: Česká školní inspekce, 2013. PDF file. “Helping Students Become Motivated Learners.“ NDT Resource Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. Hymes, Dell Hathaway. “On Communicative Competence.“ Sociolinguistics: Selected Readings. Ed. Pride, J. B., Holmes, Janet. Baltimore, USA: Penguin Education, Penguin Books Ltd., 1972. 269-293. PDF file. “Informace o škole.” Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín. Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. Ministerstvo školství, mládeţe a tělovýchovy. Rámcový vzdělávací program pro obor 65-51H/01 Kuchař – Číšník. Praha: Ministerstvo školství, mládeţe a tělovýchovy, 2007. PDF file. Mitchell, Rosamond. “The Communicative Approach to Language Teaching: An Introduction“. Teaching Modern Languages. Ed. Swarbrick Ann. London: Routledge, 1994. 33-42. PDF file. Petřík, Lukáš. “Zkušený pedagog hovoří o tom, jak čelit spratkům, tělesných trestech i o strašné úrovni vysokoškoláků a gymnázií.” Parlamentní listy.cz. Our Media, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Aug. 2014. Richards, Jack C. Language Teaching Today. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. PDF file. Savignon, Sandra J. “Communicative Language Teaching: Linguistic Theory and Classroom Practice.“ Interpreting Communicative Language Teaching: Contexts and Concerns in Teacher Education. Ed. Savignon, Sandra J. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2002. 1-27. PDF file. Smith, C. R. “Intrinsic Motivation.” Education.com. Education.com, Inc., 5 May 2014. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. Součková, Jitka. “Cizí jazyk v jednotném zadání.” Národní ústav pro vzdělávání. Národní ústav pro vzdělávání, n. d. Web. 30 Aug. 2014. Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín. Ročníkový učební plán, odborné zaměření: Kuchař(ka) – číšník, servírka. Zlín: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, 2013. PDF file.
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Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín. Ročníkový učební plán, odborné zaměření: Gastronomie s hotelovým provozem. Zlín: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, 2013. PDF file. Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín. Tématický plán vyučovacího předmětu anglický jazyk, odborné zaměření: Kuchař(ka) – číšník, servírka. Zlín: Střední škola gastronomie a obchodu Zlín, 2014. PDF file. Šumavská, Gabriela. “Jak a čím motivovat ţáky ke studiu a vést je k odpovědnosti.” Národní ústav odborného vzdělávání. Národní ústav odborného vzdělávání, n. d. Web. 30 Aug. 2014. “Teaching practice – Mgr programmes.” Moodlinka.ped.muni.cz. n.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.
Other sources Baude, Anne, Monserrat Iglesias and Anna Iñesta. Ready to Order Class CD. Longman, 2002. CD. The Ghost Writer. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson, Olivia Williams. Summit Entertainment, 2010. DVD.
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Appendices
Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students of the final year Appendix 2: Year curriculum for the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter Appendix 3: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ Appendix 3a: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 19) Appendix 3b: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 20) Appendix 3c: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 21) Appendix 3d: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 22) Appendix 3e: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 23) Appendix 3f: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 24) Appendix 4: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 1 Appendix 4a: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 1 - Identifying pictures Appendix 4b: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 1 – Flashcards Present Continuous Appendix 5: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 2 Appendix 5a: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 2 - Fill-in exercise based on SB pg. 20; “Wh- questions” fill in (homework) Appendix 5b: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 2 – Cued dialogues Appendix 6: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 3 Appendix 6a: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 3 – PPT presentation (slides) Appendix 6b: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 3 – Handout for the ppt presentation Appendix 6c: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 3 - Crossword (homework) Appendix 7: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 Appendix 7a: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 - Map of town
Appendix 7b: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 - Places on the map (flashcards) Appendix 7c: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 - Listening (cut-up sentences) Appendix 7d: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 - Matching verbs and prepositions of movement Appendix 8: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 5 Appendix 8a: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 5 – Verbs and prepositions (flashcards) Appendix 8b: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 5 - Discovering locations Appendix 9: Ready-to-use activity for lesson 6 - Film sequence (handout) Appendix 10: Basic lesson plan format Appendix 11: Questionnaire for students – Feedback on the piloted lesson plans
Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students of the final year Váţení studenti, chtěla bych vás poţádat o vyplnění následujícího dotazníku, který se týká výuky anglického jazyka ve 3. ročníku učebního oboru Kuchař-číšník na vaší škole. Informace z dotazníku jsou důleţité pro budoucí zkvalitnění výuky angličtiny v tomto učebním oboru a rovněţ budou pouţity pro moji diplomovou práci. Dotazník je zcela anonymní, proto vás prosím o upřímné odpovědi. Vyplnění vám nezabere více, neţ 15 minut. Děkuji za vaši spolupráci. Bc. Karla Gazdošová 1. ČÁST Vyjádřete, do jaké míry souhlasíte s následujícími výroky: (číslici zakroužkujte)
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Ve 3. ročníku jsme se v hodinách věnovali hlavně odborné slovní zásobě. Nová slovíčka a slovní spojení jsme se učili zábavným způsobem. Nová slovíčka a slovní spojení jsme často pouţívali ve větách a rozhovorech. Probranou slovní zásobu s námi učitel v následujících hodinách několikrát různými způsoby opakoval. Slovíčka a slovní spojení jsme v hodinách procvičovali komunikativní formou. Odbornou slovní zásobu, kterou jsem se učil(a), si dobře pamatuji a dokázal(a) bych ji pouţít v praxi. Pro opakování učiva z učebnice nám učitel na zvláštních listech nosil různé doplňkové aktivity z jiných zdrojů. Často jsme nacvičovali rozhovory se zákazníkem v restauraci. Myslím, ţe rozhovory, které jsme v hodinách zkoušeli, bych dokázal(a) pouţít při komunikaci se zákazníkem v praxi.
Naprosto souhlasím
Spíše souhlasím
Nemám vyhraněný názor
Spíše nesouhlasím
Naprosto nesouhlasím
1
2
3
4
5
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2
3
4
5
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2. ČÁST U následujících otázek můžete vybrat jednu nebo více možností. Možnost „jiné“ prosím vybírejte pouze tehdy, pokud chcete uvést svou vlastní odpověď. 1. Které jazykové dovednosti byste rádi ve 3. ročníku procvičovali více? a) Poslech b) Mluvení c) Čtení d) Psaní
2. Hodiny angličtiny by pro vás byly zajímavější, kdyby: a) učitel celkově mluvil méně a dal více prostoru k mluvení studentům. b) se v hodinách méně četlo a psalo ale více mluvilo anglicky. c) učitel kromě učebnice více pouţíval i jiné doplňkové materiály k procvičení nového učiva. d) učitel více pouţíval autentické materiály jako audio nahrávky rozhovorů, ukázky z filmů apod. e) jiné (prosím, napište své nápady) ____________________________________________________________
3. Jakým způsobem byste rádi procvičovali novou odbornou slovní zásobu? a) Pouţíváním slovíček ve větách při psaní delšího textu. b) Pouţíváním slovíček ve větách při rozhovoru. c) Doplňováním slovíček do vět nebo kříţovek. d) Hraním soutěţních nebo stolních her s vyuţitím nové slovní zásoby. e) jiné (prosím, napište své nápady) ____________________________________________________________
4. Kolik času jste ve 3. ročníku obvykle věnovali domácí přípravě do angličtiny? (vyberte pouze jednu možnost) a) 0 – 1 hodinu týdně. b) 2 – 3 hodiny týdně. c) Více neţ 3 hodiny týdně.
5. Jaký typ domácích úkolů by vás motivoval k lepší pravidelné domácí přípravě do angličtiny? a) Krátké domácí úkoly, které nezaberou mnoho času. b) Domácí úkoly, které procvičí učivo z předchozí hodiny. c) Domácí úkoly, se kterými se v následující hodině vţdy pracuje. d) Domácí úkoly zaměřené na pouţití angličtiny v praxi. e) Domácí úkoly, za které je moţné získat známku. f) jiné (prosím, napište své nápady) ____________________________________________________________
6. V jakých situacích budete pravděpodobně používat angličtinu ve své profesi v budoucnu? a) Při sledování zahraničních pořadů o vaření. b) K přeloţení anglického receptu do češtiny nebo k vysvětlení českého receptu cizinci. c) V restauraci při obsluhování zákazníka, který nemluví česky. d) Ve městě k vysvětlení cesty někomu, kdo nemluví česky. e) V různých situacích při cestování do zahraničí. f) jiné (prosím, napište své nápady) ____________________________________________________________
Děkuji vám za vyplnění dotazníku.
Appendix 2: Year curriculum for the field of study 65-51-H/01 Cook – Waiter Tématický plán vyučovacího předmětu: anglický jazyk, č.j. 27 668/99-22 Školní rok: 2014/2015 Kód, název: 65-51-H/01 Kuchař(ka) - Číšník, servírka Ročník: třetí (K/Č3.) Týdenní počet vyučovacích hodin: 3 Počet vyučovacích týdnů: 32 Měsíc Září
Říjen
Listopad
Prosinec
Leden
Tématický plán a téma I. 1. lekce Představování, podávání a zjišťování osobních údajů Země a národnosti Číslovky, sloveso to be Test vědomostí Nástup do zaměstnání (Úvod do světa práce, tém. celek č. 12)
Počet hodin 7
1
II. 2. lekce Prezentace ESF: Existenční vazba there is, there are Prezentace ESF: Předložky II (místa) Popis restaurace a kuchyně Vazba there is / there are Předloţky místa
7
III. 3. lekce Přítomný čas průběhový Uspořádání stolů v restauraci Udávání směru – popis cesty
7
IV. 4. lekce Prezentace ESF: Předložky III (času) Přijímání rezervací, podávání informací o restauraci Předloţky času, udávání času Tradiční anglická snídaně
7
V. Review 1
2
VI. 5. lekce Přijímání hostů Svatební hostina Způsobová slovesa Vazba going to Budoucí čas
7
VII. 6. lekce Prezentace ESF: Počitatelná a nepočitatelná podstatná jména Nápojový lístek, objednávání nápojů Trpný rod Počitatelná a nepočitatelná podstatná jména
7
VIII. 7. lekce Koktejly a jejich příprava Rozkaz, zákaz Pololetní písemná práce
7
Únor
Březen
Duben
Květen
Červen
IX. 8. lekce Recepty Slovesa popisující přípravu jídel Stupňování přídavných jmen
7
X. Review 2
2
XI. 9.lekce Jídelní lístek Předkrm, hlavní chod Popis jídel Minulý čas prostý
7
XII. 10. lekce Prezentace ESF: Srovnání minulého času prostého a průběhového Moučníky Doporučení Nádobí Nepravidelná slovesa Minulý čas průběhový
7
XIII. 11.lekce Stíţnosti a jejich vyřizování Omluvy Předpřítomný čas
7
XIV. 12. lekce Účtování, placení, loučení s hosty Závěrečná písemná práce Ţádost o zaměstnání (Úvod do světa práce, tematický celek č. 12)
7
XV. Souhrnné opakování Opakování a systematizace gramatického učiva Opakování odborné slovní zásoby
6
Počet hodin celkem
Použité učebnice a učební texty: Název, autor, rok vydání Ready to Order, Baude A., 2002 Časopisy Bridge, Friendship, ročník 2014-2015 Audio a video nahrávky Vyučující: Mgr. Ţaneta Zmeškalová Podpis předsedy PK: Kontroloval: Schválil:
1
96
schval. doloţka MŠMT ano ne ne
Appendix 3a: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 19)
Appendix 3b: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 20)
Appendix 3c: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 21)
Appendix 3d: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 22)
Appendix 3e: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 23)
Appendix 3f: Relevant pages from the course book “Ready to Order“ (page 24)
Appendix 4a: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 1 - Identifying pictures
Appendix 4b: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 1 – Flashcards Present Continuous
to drink
to cook
to walk
to eat
to work
to run
to talk
to watch
to listen
to learn
to drive
to ride Source: MS Word 2010 Clipart
Appendix 5a: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 2 - Fill-in exercise based on SB pg. 20 Complete the dialogue with the correct form of the words from the box:
banquet
get
private
exactly
see
plan
help
stay
near
W: Good morning, Golden Crown Restaurant. Can I _________ you? C: Yes, you can. My name‟s George Adams. It‟s my birthday next week and I‟d like a small _________. I‟m _________ a party for about twenty people. W: We have a _________ dining-room for about twenty-five people. C: Oh, that‟s great! And where _________ is your restaurant? W: The address is 25 Regent Street. C: Oh, and where is that? I‟m not from London, you _________. I‟m _________ at the Queen Victoria Hotel. So how can I _________ to your restaurant? W: That‟s very easy, sir. Our restaurant is very _________ the hotel.
Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 2 - “Wh- questions” fill in (homework) Complete the questions with the correct Wh- words from the box:
where
what (2x)
who
how
1. _______ is your best friend? 2. Does your best friend have a job? 3. _______ is your best friend‟s job? 4. Does your best friend like his/her job? 5. _______ does/doesn‟t your best friend like his/her job? 6. _______ does your best friend get to work? 7. _______ is your best friend‟s favourite restaurant? 8. _______ is the restaurant located? 9. _______ does the restaurant open?
when
why
Appendix 5b: Ready-to-use-activities for lesson 2 – Cued dialogues
STUDENT A A: Start the conversation. Say hello. Introduce the restaurant. Ask if you can help. B: A: Say you have a private dining room for ??? people. B: A: Say that the address of the restaurant is on ??? Street. B: A: Explain that the restaurant is very near the city centre. B: A: Say goodbye.
STUDENT B A: B: Say hello. Introduce yourself. Say you are planning a ??? and you want a banquet for about ??? people. A: B: Express pleasure. Ask about the location of the restaurant. A: B: Ask where the restaurant is. Explain that you are not from London, but from ???. Say that you are staying at a hotel in the centre. A: B: Express pleasure. Say goodbye.
Appendix 6a: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 3 – PPT presentation (slides) Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Appendix 6b: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 3 – Handout for the ppt presentation 1.
2. Listening (based on Student´s Book pg. 21 ex. 5) Complete the conversation with the words you hear:
Jan: Excuse me, Ms Davis. I think there´s a problem with the __________ for the wedding banquet. There are only four __________ tables in the restaurant. We can seat five guests at each table. But there are twenty-five guests! So we need one more. But the rest of the tables are __________ or __________. Susan: Well, why don´t we arrange the tables in a __________, and not __________style? Hm? I´ll phone Mrs Porter and check it´s OK.
Appendix 6c: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 3 - Crossword (homework)
STUDENT A Complete your half of the crossword.
1 2 3 4 5
X 6
7 8 9 10 11 12
1 An
table
3 If you put food in a ______, it stays cold.
5 When you prepare chips, you put them in a ______.
7 A door by which you can enter a restaurant is called an ______.
9A
table
11 A
style of seating arrangement
STUDENT B Complete your half of the crossword.
1 2 3 4 5
X 6
7 8 9 10 11 12
2 In a restaurant, celebrations and parties usually take place in a ______ dining room.
4 A ______ is a piece of kitchen equipment, on which you can cook meat or vegetables.
6A
is the person who makes and serves drinks.
8A
style of seating arrangement
10 A
table
12 A ______ is another word for cooker.
Appendix 7a: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 - Map of town
LONDON STREET Bar
CHURCH STREET VICTORIA
Newsagent’s
Florist’s
Supermarket
Theatre
Grocer‘s
Church Toy shop
SQUARE VICTORIA STREET
ALBERT STREET Chemist’s Res tau ran t
Ho tel
T
Clothes shop Spo rts sho p
Gym Sc ho ol
Baker‘s
Butcher‘s S
Un ive rsit y
KINGS LANE STREET SCHOOL
A
T I O N R O A D SOUTH STREET MANCHESTER STREET Cinema Gif t sh op
Pub Ph ar ma cy
Stationer’s Sho e sho p
You are here.
Appendix 7b: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 - Places on the map (flashcards)
Church
Restaurant
Hotel
University
School
Butcher‘s
Baker‘s
Bar
Pub
Pharmacy
Cinema
Theatre
Grocer‘s
Florist’s
Newsagent’s
Gym
Toy shop
Chemist’s
Clothes shop
Shoe shop
Sports shop
Gift shop
Stationer’s
Supermarket
Appendix 7c: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 - Listening (cut-up sentences)
Peter So, Rosa. What are your plans for tomorrow? I‟m free all day! ----------------------------------------------------------------Rosa Well, I‟d like to go shopping tomorrow. I need a gift for a friend. ----------------------------------------------------------------Peter Is it a boy or a girl? ----------------------------------------------------------------Rosa A boy. ----------------------------------------------------------------Peter Is he a special friend? ----------------------------------------------------------------Rosa All my friends are special. Anyway, where can I find a nice gift? ----------------------------------------------------------------Sam
You could go to Carnaby Street. There are lots of gift shops there.
----------------------------------------------------------------Rosa How do I get to Carnaby Street? ----------------------------------------------------------------Jan
You go out of the restaurant and turn left. Go straight on and turn right into Regent Street. Walk along Regent Street and turn left into Foubert Street. Pass Kingly and take the first street on the right. That‟s Carnaby Street.
----------------------------------------------------------------Peter That‟s not right. You turn right into Regent Street, and then left into Foubert Street. I know! I‟m from London! I can come with you Rosa and show you the way. ----------------------------------------------------------------Jan
Yes, we can all come!
----------------------------------------------------------------Rosa Thanks guys, but I can find it on my own. There are street maps at reception.
Appendix 7d: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 4 - Matching verbs and prepositions of movement 1. Match the pictures to the correct verbs from the box. to walk
to pass something
1
to go straight on
to cross a street
2
to turn
_____________
3
_____________ 4
_____________
5
_____________
_____________
2. Match the pictures to the correct prepositions from the box. to go across the street
to go towards something
to go out of a building
1
to go along the street
2 _____________
5
to go past something
3 _____________
to turn around
4 _____________
6 _____________
to go into a building
_____________
7 _____________
_____________
Appendix 8a: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 5 – Verbs and prepositions (flashcards)
Appendix 8b: Ready-to-use activities for lesson 5 - Discovering locations
Student A Ask your partner for directions to: a grocer‟s shop, a restaurant, a gym, a pharmacy, a music shop
LONDON STREET Bar
CHURCH STREET VICTORIA
Newsagent’s
Florist’s
Supermarket
Baker’s
Toy shop
Post office
SQUARE VICTORIA STREET
ALBERT STREET Chemist’s
School
Hair dres ser
Ho tel
Clothes shop
S
T
Theatre A
T I O N R O A D SOUTH STREET MANCHESTER STREET Pub
Spo rts sho p
KINGS LANE STREET SCHOOL
Gif t sh op
Cin em a
Stationer’s Sho e sho p
You are here.
Student B Ask your partner for directions to: a post office, a baker‟s shop, a school, a cinema, a clothes shop
LONDON STREET Bar
CHURCH STREET Florist’s
VICTORIA
Newsagent’s
Grocer’s
Toy shop
SQUARE VICTORIA STREET
ALBERT STREET
Supermarket
KINGS LANE STREET SCHOOL
Chemist’s Hair dres ser
Ho tel
Re sta ura nt
Gy m
Theatre S
T
Music shop Spo rts sho p
A
T I O N R O A D SOUTH STREET MANCHESTER STREET Pharmacy
Gif t sh op
Pub
Stationer’s Sho e sho p
You are here.
Appendix 9: Ready-to-use activity for lesson 6 - Film sequence (handout)
1) Watch the following film sequence. Listen to the instructions on the GPS. Complete the instructions below with correct words from the box. exit
road
left (2x)
right
turn (2x)
destination (2x)
traffic
around
BMW Connected Drive. ________ is clear to your destination. Join ________when possible. In 200 yards, turn ________. Turn ________ when possible. In 50 yards, ________ left. ________ left. In 50 yards, turn ________. Please proceed to the indicated route. In 200 yards, take the next ________. In half a mile, take a short ________ turn. Turn left. In 200 yards, you will have reached your ________. You have reached your ________. 2) Watch the film sequence again. Complete the text with correct prepositions from the box. around
towards
in the middle
out of (3x)
on (2x)
along
past
He drives ________ the garage and ________ the gate. He drives ________ a few houses. He turns ________. He takes the first street ________ the left. He drives ________ a port. He buys the ticket and gets ________ the ferry. He drives ________ the ferry, turns left and continues ________ the road. The destination he has reached is ________ of forest. 3) In pairs, discuss these questions: Can you drive a car? Have you ever used a GPS navigation system? Where did you go? What is better – using a GPS or an ordinary map? Why?
The Ghost Writer. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson, Olivia Williams. Summit Entertainment, 2010. DVD.
Appendix 10: Basic lesson plan format
Lesson plan format
Aims: both linguistic and other aims (personal development, intercultural competences etc.)
Language level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate / Intermediate /
Age group: x-y years old (or young learners, adults, etc.)
Time: x lessons of x minutes, or 45 minutes, etc.
Class size: x-y students (or simply – small classes, large classes, etc.)
Patterns of interaction: (individual work, pairwork, groupwork, teamwork)
Materials/Equipment: list everything that you wouldn‟t always have in the classroom
Procedure: (warm-up, stage1, stage 2 etc.)
Resources: Here you should include pictures, texts etc.
Piloted: (where and when)
Feedback:
Appendix 11: Questionnaire for students – Feedback on the piloted lesson plans Váţení studenti, chtěla bych vás poţádat o vyplnění následujícího dotazníku, který se týká výuky anglického jazyka ve vaší třídě v uplynulém týdnu. Informace z dotazníku budou pouţity pro moji diplomovou práci a jsou také důleţité pro budoucí zkvalitnění výuky angličtiny na vaší škole. Dotazník je zcela anonymní, proto vás prosím o upřímné odpovědi. U všech otázek prosím vyberte pouze jednu odpověď. Vyplnění vám zabere zhruba 5 minut. Děkuji za vaši spolupráci. Bc. Karla Gazdošová 1. Které z následujících jazykových dovedností jste se, podle vašeho názoru, v uplynulém týdnu věnovali nejčastěji? a) čtení b) psaní c) poslechu d) mluvení 2. V tomto týdnu jste měli, podle vašeho názoru, možností komunikovat v anglickém jazyce: a) více, neţ dosud b) méně, neţ dosud c) nepozoroval(a) jsem ţádný rozdíl oproti předchozí výuce 3. Jaký je váš názor na používání audiovizuálních pomůcek v hodinách (autentické ukázky z filmů, CD nahrávky, prezentace v programu PowerPoint)? a) Myslím, ţe nemají pro výuku ţádný význam. b) Nic proti nim nemám, ale při práci s učebnicí se naučím více. c) Oţivují průběh hodiny a více si toho díky nim zapamatuji. 4. Během uplynulého týdne jste pracovali s celou řadou doplňkových aktivit (doplňovací cvičení, obrázky, křížovky, mapy atd.). Jaký na ně máte názor? a) Více mi vyhovuje, kdyţ pracujeme pouze s učebnicí. b) Procvičování učiva bylo díky těmto aktivitám zábavnější. c) Doplňkové aktivity mi nevadily, ale myslím, ţe jejich pouţívání hodiny angličtiny nijak nezlepšilo. 5. Jaký je váš názor na domácí úkoly, které jste v uplynulém týdnu dostávali? a) Vyhovovalo mi, ţe úkoly nezabraly mnoho času. b) Úkoly sice nebyly dlouhé, ale byly nudné. c) Vyhovovalo mi, ţe se s úkolem v následující hodině obvykle dál pracovalo. 6. Myslíte, že učivo, které jste v uplynulém týdnu procvičovali formou rozhovorů, byste mohli využít také při komunikaci v angličtině v běžném životě? a) ano b) ne c) nejsem si jistý/á Děkuji vám za vyplnění dotazníku.
