Barbara teaches integrated listening and speaking (intermediate)

Summary

Barbara, a teacher with nearly 20 years of experience, leads a lesson focusing on rules that students find annoying, using listening and speaking exercises. The lesson explores complaints about everyday rules, such as parking restrictions and airline policies, while encouraging students to practice specific phrases for expressing annoyance. Through interactive activities, including the use of an interactive whiteboard, Barbara engages students in both individual and group discussions. Her reflective approach emphasizes simplifying instructions, keeping language clear, and fostering student interaction, highlighting the effectiveness of using modern technology in the classroom.

Takeaways

• 😀 Barbara has been teaching for nearly 20 years and is a teacher trainer, helping new and experienced teachers develop their careers.
• 😀 Barbara's early teaching career included volunteering in India, followed by teaching in Spain before returning to the UK to become a qualified teacher.
• 😀 In the lesson, students learn about annoying rules, using the context of driving and flying as examples.
• 😀 The lesson incorporates listening activities where students listen for gist and specific language to use in speaking.
• 😀 One example of an annoying rule discussed is paying for bus tickets before boarding, which can cause problems when people don't have the correct change or the ticket machine isn't working.
• 😀 Students are encouraged to reflect on rules that annoy them in their daily lives, including rules related to parking and other everyday activities.
• 😀 The lesson involved practicing phrases like 'I find this really annoying' to express dissatisfaction with various rules.
• 😀 Barbara used an interactive whiteboard in the lesson, as it allows for dynamic teaching and better student engagement, such as dragging items or playing audio clips.
• 😀 Barbara disagrees with critics of interactive whiteboards, believing they enhance classroom interaction and provide better access to learning materials like listening clips.
• 😀 Listening is emphasized as an essential skill in language learning, and Barbara uses listening exercises to help students express their thoughts on irritating rules.
• 😀 Barbara focuses on clear and simple instructions, providing them step by step to ensure students understand and can follow the activities effectively.

Q & A

What is Barbara's professional background and teaching experience?

Barbara has nearly 20 years of teaching experience. She began as a volunteer teacher, then taught in India and Spain before returning to the UK to become a qualified teacher. She now works as a teacher trainer, training newly qualified teachers and those furthering their careers.

What is the focus of Barbara's recent lesson?

Barbara's recent lesson focused on discussing and listening to complaints about annoying rules, particularly related to driving and flying. The lesson aimed to help students use specific language to express frustration about rules.

How does Barbara use listening activities in her lessons?

Barbara uses listening activities to expose students to real-life situations and help them acquire language skills. In her recent lesson, she played audio clips of people complaining about annoying rules and asked students to identify the specific issues being discussed.

What role does the interactive whiteboard play in Barbara's teaching?

Barbara uses the interactive whiteboard to enhance classroom interaction. It allows students to engage directly with content, such as dragging items on the screen or listening to high-quality audio clips. The technology also supports better student participation and helps reinforce learning.

What did Barbara find most useful about using the interactive whiteboard?

Barbara finds the interactive whiteboard particularly useful for listening activities. It allows students to listen to specific parts of audio again by simply touching the screen, which reinforces key phrases and difficult passages.

How does Barbara feel about criticisms of the interactive whiteboard?

Barbara disagrees with criticisms that the interactive whiteboard limits student interaction or focuses too much on the teacher. She believes the technology encourages better student engagement and ownership, as students can use it to create presentations and interact with the content.

What are the primary objectives of Barbara's integrated skills lesson?

The primary objectives of Barbara's lesson were to practice listening for gist and to use specific language for speaking. She aimed to help students engage with the target phrases from the listening activity in a meaningful way.

What did Barbara consider after reflecting on her lesson?

After reflecting on her lesson, Barbara felt that she could have extended the lesson to give more time for students to practice the phrases they had heard. She also noted that exploring the language that follows the phrases (such as infinitives or clauses) could have been helpful.

Why does Barbara think listening is an important skill for students?

Barbara believes listening is a crucial skill because it is one of the hardest skills for students to master. She emphasizes exposing students to listening as much as possible, as it is more challenging than reading, where students can go back and check content.

What teaching strategy does Barbara use when giving instructions in class?

Barbara uses clear, simple language when giving instructions and avoids complex structures. She also delivers instructions step by step rather than all at once, which she finds helps students understand and follow tasks more effectively.