A framework for planning a listening skills lessonSubmitted by Anonymous on 10 February, 2010 - 11:34Listening is one of the most challenging skills for our students to develop and yet also one of the most important. By developing their ability to listen well we develop our students' ability to become more independent learners, as by hearing accurately they are much more likely to be able to reproduce accurately, refine their understanding of grammar and develop their own vocabulary.In this article I intend to outline a framework that can be used to design a listening lesson that will develop your students' listening skills and look at some of the issues involved. The basic framework Pre-listening While listening Post-listening Applying the framework to a song Some conclusionsThe basic frameworkThe basic framework on which you can construct a listening lesson can be divided into three main stages. Pre-listening, during which we help our students prepare to listen. While listening, during which we help to focus their attention on the listening text and guide the development of their understanding of it. Post-listening, during which we help our students integrate what they have learnt from the text into their existing knowledge.Pre-listeningThere are certain goals that should be achieved before students attempt to listen to any text. These are motivation, contextualisation, and preparation. MotivationIt is enormously important that before listening students are motivated to listen, so you should try to select a text that they will find interesting and then design tasks that will arouse your students' interest and curiosity. ContextualisationWhen we listen in our everyday lives we hear language within its natural environment, and that environment gives us a huge amount of information about the linguistic content we are likely to hear. Listening to a tape recording in a classroom is a very unnatural process. The text has been taken from its original environment and we need to design tasks that will help students to contextualise the listening and access their existing knowledge and expectations to help them understand the text. PreparationTo do the task we set students while they listen there could be specific vocabulary or expressions that students will need. It's vital that we cover this before they start to listen as we want the challenge within the lesson to be an act of listening not of understanding what they have to do.While listeningWhen we listen to something in our everyday lives we do so for a reason. Students too need a reason to listen that will focus their attention. For our students to really develop their listening skills they will need to listen a number of times - three or four usually works quite well - as I've found that the first time many students listen to a text they are nervous and have to tune in to accents and the speed at which the people are speaking.Ideally the listening tasks we design for them should guide them through the text and should be graded so that the first listening task they do is quite easy and helps them to get a general understanding of the text. Sometimes a single question at this stage will be enough, not putting the students under too much pressure.The second task for the second time students listen should demand a greater and more detailed understanding of the text. Make sure though that the task doesn't demand too much of a response. Writing long responses as they listen can be very demanding and is a separate skill in itself, so keep the tasks to single words, ticking or some sort of graphical response.The third listening task could just be a matter of checking their own answers from the second task or could lead students towards some more subtle interpretations of the text.Listening to a foreign language is a very intensive and demanding activity and for this reason I think it's very important that students should have 'breathing' or 'thinking' space between listenings. I usually get my students to compare their answers between listenings as this gives them the chance not only to have a break from the listening, but also to check their understanding with a peer and so reconsider before listening again.

Post-listeningThere are two common forms that post-listening tasks can take. These are reactions to the content of the text, and analysis of the linguistic features used to express the content. Reaction to the textOf these two I find that tasks that focus students reaction to the content are most important. Again this is something that we naturally do in our everyday lives. Because we listen for a reason, there is generally a following reaction. This could be discussion as a response to what we've heard - do they agree or disagree or even believe what they have heard? - or it could be some kind of reuse of the information they have heard. Analysis of languageThe second of these two post-listening task types involves focusing students on linguistic features of the text. This is important in terms of developing their knowledge of language, but less so in terms of developing students' listening skills. It could take the form of an analysis of verb forms from a script of the listening text or vocabulary or collocation work. This is a good time to do form focused work as the students have already developed an understanding of the text and so will find dealing with the forms that express those meanings much easier.Applying the framework to a song.Here is an example of how you could use this framework to exploit a song: Pre-listening Students brainstorm kinds of songs Students describe one of their favourite songs and what they like about it Students predict some word or expressions that might be in a love song While listening Students listen and decide if the song is happy or sad Students listen again and order the lines or verses of the song Students listen again to check their answers or read a summary of the song with errors in and correct them. Post-listening Focus on content

Discuss what they liked / didn't like about the song Decide whether they would buy it / who they would buy it for Write a review of the song for a newspaper or website Write another verse for the song Focus on form Students look at the lyrics from the song and identify the verb forms Students find new words in the song and find out what they mean Students make notes of common collocations within the songConclusionWithin this article I have tried to describe a framework for listening development that could be applied to any listening text. This isn't the only way to develop our students listening or to structure a listening lesson, but it is a way that I have found to be effective and motivating for my students.

English Communication Through Practical ExperiencesJudith D. DeRolfKanto Gakuin UniversityYokohama, Japan

Originally published inKanto Gakuin Daigaku Kogaku Bu Kyoyo GakkaiNo. 24, March 1995Teaching English to a wide variety of students for more than thirty years has taught me that generalizations and stereotypical ideas concerning the way learning takes place is not nearly as important as it is for each teacher to discover the method of instruction or combination there of, which most matches his or her style with a group of students at a given time.1. Through the writing of this paper I will endeavor to share some teaching methods both inside and outside the classroom and how they can be beneficial to the practical task of communicating in English.

As a young person teaching English to underprivileged Mexican- Americans in rural Indiana I discovered these children were more concerned with the food that would or would not be on their table for lunch than with sitting quietly learning how to read a book. Since their parents worked on farms in the area for a few weeks or months, and then moved on to the next town or state these children knew the names of the places they had been and had quite an interest in geography. Teaching the correct pronunciation of a given town or state and learning how to spell difficult names became a real challenge that was not only enjoyable to teach but fun to learn. Another practical learning experience these students could build on was to learn the English names of the various crops their parents were working in. Their parents spoke very little English and had little time to learn besides what was absolutely necessary for their daily existence. The children were often required to interpret or explain an idea to the American farmers, so it was necessary for the children to be able to communicate at basic level

As is often true of immigrant families, the first generation only learns the most basic vocabulary and grammar but the children, if given the chance, will learn to function better in the new language than in their mother tongue. These children traveled from place to place nine months out of a year, so received very little formal education in the American public school system. Because of this they had very few skills in reading or writing. But the program I taught in was trying to get them into the educational stream and I was free to experiment with a variety of educational methods in order to teach the fundamental skills of language. I found that "hands on" language worked best. For example; one day we went to the zoo and as we looked at each animal I would give the animal and the children would repeat the name over and over until they could say them with precision. Another hands on tactic I used to teach food names and the use of money was to have a store in the classroom allowing the students to play both clerk and customer. Just to "play store" is never as good a learning experience as really going shop-ping. Giving each child a small amount of money and letting them go into a store freely to buy something can become a pivotal experience in the motivation for learning language. These are just a very few simple ways to make language learning enjoyable but ways to make the student feel he or she is communicating.

Teaching reading to second language learners should usually come after some exposure to the spoken language. Hearing and speaking a language is usually learned at a faster pace than reading is. I can remember when I was studying Japanese five hours a day, five days a week and having a very difficult time learning to communicate, My children were six and eight years old at the time and everyday they would spend time playing with the neighbor children. They would come back at night with more new vocabulary words than I had been able to learn in a week. Not only did they learn vocabulary words but they learned how to live and speak in the language. Of course I went to language school for two years plus made friends with the neighbors and began to live the language little by little, but I will never be as skillful in Japanese as my children are. Therefore, students learning a foreign language need practical language, such as speaking and experiencing culture before they need theoretical language, such as; reading and writing.2 But that is not to say that they don't need both. I feel that sometimes we teachers are so excited to teach language skills that we forget to teach students how to communicate.3 With the big class size that most schools have, it is easier to teach reading or translation than it is to give students the time to develop a discussion or a conversation in order to communicate. Therefore students who want to learn how to communicate go to language schools and spend extra money on things that should be taught in school. Without practical learning both in and out of the classroom learning how to live and communicate in a given language will never take place.4

One experience I vividly remember happened after having lived in Japan about four years. By that time we had assimilated in both the spoken and the cultural areas of the language. One day I went to the station to meet a couple who had just recently arrived in Japan. I could see them waiting by the side an. motioned for them to come. With my hand I put my fingers in a downward position and moved them back and forth. This gesture means "come here" in Japanese but this same gesture in the U. S. is a greeting. Therefore they waved to me as if to say "hi" and stood waiting until I could drive to the point where they were waiting. I didn't realize the reason they had not come when I had called to them with my hand gesture, but as we discussed the relationship between language and culture it came out that they had mistaken the meaning of my gesture for the American greeting. The mysterious part of this incidence is that I had not even realized I had used that particular gesture in a Japanese or American manner. It had just come naturally to me in that situation. If I were to have had that same experience in the United States I would have naturally used a different gesture with the same meaning because the setting would have been an American one. If a second language learner only learns to read and write a language without the speaking and cultural learning that is so important he or she will never become proficient in the language. As this couple has often mentioned since that time, with just that one experience they learned how to say "come here" and have never made that mistake again. They could have read how to say it in a book and spent time memorizing the way, but in just five or ten seconds that aspect of language was imprinted on their brain forever. Not only is it important to use practical ways to learn spoken language but also to learn to read. Before coming to Japan I spent several years teaching English to native speakers who had learning difficulties. These students could speak English as well as native speakers, but they had trouble with their reading and writing skills. They also had difficulty with the input and output of language, such as; organizing their thoughts into complete ideas and expressing their ideas completely. I found that many of the techniques I used to teach these students language skills I have also used in teaching second language learners.

As I have written in a previous paper the use of video in the classroom is a powerful tool in helping break down language learning barriers that are often built up in Japanese students after years of studying grammar and translation. Most students that reach the university level in Japan have what we foreign teachers call "foreign language phobia" from all the detailed studying of grammar points or from all the long hours of detailed word for word translation of some very difficult passage that has nothing to do with everyday life.5 Showing a video with a theme that is relevant to student's lives can create a keen interest in language learning that will never be created from translating a passage or teaching an important grammar point. Having students record a conversation that they make with friends will often result in the use of current spoken language with a display of a different attitude on the part of the students. Of course there has to be preparation by learning the vocabulary for a given topic and by learning the grammar to be used in the conversation. But, by the time most students enter the university in Japan most major grammar points have already been taught without the teaching of true communication. Everyone learns language by speaking and living it, and without these two vital components it just becomes an exercise in gaining knowledge without it becoming an active part of the person's life.6 Recently when assigning students to small groups to prepare a conversation to take place at a restaurant I noticed how eager they were to begin their preparations. The following week the class was all a buzz with noise and laughter as if they were excitedly waiting to perform. When each group took its turn it was obvious they were having fun trying to communicate not only with words but with gestures and facial expressions. One group even brought donuts to serve to the entire class after they had performed their conversation in a make believe "Dunkin Donuts". We all laughed when certain students would swagger like a typical American or someone would say some current slang that was particularly appropriate to the situation. Real learning was taking place in a very natural way. When I thought about why this kind of assignment is so much more successful than simply reading a conversation about a restaurant in terms of teaching language, I came to the conclusion that these students had seen English-speaking restaurant scenes innumerable times on T. V. and on the movie screen and could feel comfortable emulating what they had seen and making it their own language.

Going outside the classroom to learn a foreign language is also vital to the practical learning component. In the past few years I have been experimenting with taking students abroad for short periods of time to live the language. Even for short periods of time (two weeks each) these times have been intensive in that they have included immersing the students in English with home stays and spending the majority of the time with people who do not speak any Japanese. The first trip was to the States where English is the native language, but the second trip was to Thailand where English is a second language as it is in Japan. The students who went on these trips were first through fourth year students with varying degrees of English ability. Some were English majors but there were students from most departments at both the Women's junior college and the University. In preparation for each of the trips I taught an intensive ten week course in basic English including the culture of the country. When students think they will have a chance to speak and live the language the interest in learning increases significantly. The students prepared reports on the culture and presented them in Japanese, but with many English references in regards to names of people and places. Because I am from the States it was much easier to prepare the students for the trip to the States, but on the other hand I had to study about Thailand in order to be able to teach about its culture which made the students and myself on an equal level. I feel this added to the students' zest in their preparation because we were all learners. Preparation for trips such as these is very important and the extent to which students involve themselves in this determines whether they have a positive or negative learning experience.

The trip to the States began with a two day stop in San Francisco and a side trip to Yosemite National Park with a Japanese guide. This gave the students time to get over the shock of being in a country where Japanese is not spoken and to adjust their ears to hearing English spoken naturally. They then flew on to Chicago where they spent the rest of their time. Each host family agreed to keep two students making the students feel more comfortable. More learning will usually take place if only one student stays with each host family, but on the other hand some students can become frightened that no learning takes place and there is two weeks of silence. This is where it is important for the teacher to know each student extremely well and make that judgment carefully. One male student in my group requested staying alone with a host family and he was able to use his English significantly more than the others who stayed in pairs. Besides spending time with the host families I also set up a program at Judson College to have the students take part in the orientation for new students that is held at the beginning of a new school year. Although not all of it was appropriate I was able to choose what I felt the students would benefit from, such as; a karaoke party, roller skating, a boat ride, etc. The things that were most appropriate were those in a relaxed atmosphere where students could have fun trying to communicate with one another. Although the lectures on American college life, on how to study in the library, and on college financial aid were irrelevant for our visiting students, so I did not have them take part in those meetings. I also took the students to restaurants, the bank, shopping, sightseeing, etc. where they had to use English in order to meet their daily needs. Of course they made many mistakes, but they learned much more from this type of experience than they could ever learn in a classroom in Japan.

The trip to Thailand was different but the same kind of learning was experienced from being able to live the language in yet another setting. The students were exposed not only to English but to Thai and Karen language, Even though there were two other languages besides English the students never confused the two. They learned greetings and partings in Thai and Karen but for the most part used English as the main form of communication. They were very surprised that Thai people can speak English quite flue Tribal people speak two other languages besides English generally. Before we went to Thailand the students were worried about communication because Thailand is an Asian country like Japan and they couldn't imagine English would be widely used, When we arrived at the airport in Chiang Mai they were shocked to see Thai and English words written in the advertisements. They were also worried whether they could understand another second language learner's English pronunciation. I had been to Thailand previously and had no trouble understanding their pronunciation for the most part, but I am a native speaker and accustomed to hearing English spoken by second language learners. Therefore I had no idea whether they would find it difficult to understand the Thai's pronunciation of English or not. The students were greatly relieved to discover they could understand their pronunciation quite well because they speak more slowly than a native speaker. They relaxed and began to show a confidence in their speaking ability I had never seen before.

On our first night in Thailand we were invited to a dormitory for students from the Karen Hill Tribe. The students were approximately the same age as the Japanese students and dressed in tribal dress as our students dressed in yukata. As we arrived at the dormitory I could feel the tension building in our students but little by little as the Karen students began to ask questions in English our students answered quite adequately. The Karen students, using English, asked how to say simple phrases in Japanese making the Japanese students relax and before the evening was over the two groups of young people developed a lasting bond. As we left I could hear the tearful good byes being said from relationships having been made in English, a second a second language for both groups of students. This was truly an interesting phenomena and proved to me that living the language is an important practical aspect towards the mastery of a foreign language

From this point on these students took taxis and went shopping on their own using English to talk to the taxi drivers and bargaining with the shop keepers in English very successfully. After they returned from their daily expeditions they would talk over what they had said and how much they had paid for things and how they had bartered in English with great pride in their voices. One group of students went to a Buddhist Temple and met some priests who spoke English very well. After talking with them for a period of time a young priest came out who spoke Japanese. At first the students were thrilled to meet a Thai who could speak Japanese, but later became disappointed because there was no need to continue talking in English. As I listened to them talk I thought how interesting this experience was for them and how they were becoming citizens of the world.6 Whether these students were in a country where English is the first language or in a country like Thailand where English is a second language they had come to experience English as an important part of their lives.

We were able to spend valuable time with some English-speaking expatriates who gave the students another unforgettable experience. In one group of expatriates the students were able to experience an Australian, English, Swedish, American, Myanmarese (formerly Burmese) and Japanese speak English with various accents. This could have been very confusing to them, but they enjoyed hearing the different pronunciations and experiencing the international atmosphere of this kind of group.

Probably the most meaningful experience of the trip to Thailand was a homestay that took place in a remote village in northern Thailand. Accompanying the students were two of us who could speak English and Japanese; one person who could speak English, Japanese and Thai; and one person who could speak a little English, Thai and Karen. We did not know if any of the village people would be able to speak English but we did know that no one would be able to speak Japanese. When we first arrived we were all nervous, even myself. We were introduced to the minister who could not speak any English. His greeting was translated into Japanese for us and then we were taken to the various homes to be introduced to the families we would be staying with. The home I stayed in included a large family of three or four generations. The patriarch did not speak English except for a few words which he was quick to use with us. He soon introduced us to his grandson who began to use a few halting phrases of English. Since I was the native English speaker and the teacher I somehow felt I had to translate for the students. But they soon let me know that they now had confidence in their English and began to ask questions and talk with the young man quite comfortably. They even went outside with him and were introduced to some of his young relatives. He had begun studying English four months previous to our arrival and already was able to carry on a conversation remarkably well. He was able to explain how we were to take our bath in the river and to tell us he would take us there but would return to his house 'to rest' while we bathed. He told us the names of most of the trees and plants in his garden except for one. That was the mango tree which he said he could not remember. The students were able to communicate with these people on a different level than I was able to do as a native speaker. The family talked with the students using very basic English, but communication took place and the students left the village with great compassion and love for the people.

The purpose of our trip to Thailand was two fold; to use English and to do volunteer work. The students prepared five children's Bible stories in English drawing pictures to illustrate the stories (kami- shibai, in Japanese). They spent many hours looking for the best words to use in the stories and then practicing the stories with voice intonation and appropriate expressions. They were able to perform all the stories at least twice and one time they even performed for English speaking children at an international church. Of course they were most nervous performing for the international children, but as I watched the children and listened to the students I was impressed with the improvement in their language skills in the short time we had been in Thailand and how they had begun to make the language a part of themselves. Our visit to the English language Church was at the end of our stay and by then I was able to see a transformation in the student's thinking and being. Their body movements had even changed and they walked with their heads held high and a confidence I had never previously experienced.

The first trip of this kind we had taken to the States and ended with the students returning to Japan while I stayed in the States for six months. Therefore, I was not able to see how the experience affected the student's lives after they returned to Japan, I wondered how the Thailand experience would effect their lives and language when they returned to Japan. It has been very interesting to watch the difference in the students who went and those who didn't go. Because only seventeen out of 60 members of "The Fellowship" went to Thailand they could have gone unnoticed but those who went are much freer to speak English when I meet them or talk to them by phone. 1 r also have taken more of a leadership position in the club and are much freer to express themselves, even in Japanese. Many of the students who did not go have noticed the differences also and have made comments like, "He's changed since he went to Thailand" or "What happened to him in Thailand".

In conclusion, it has become apparent to me that more than teaching methods or curriculum, a language must be experienced. This does not mean that grammar, reading, writing and speaking do not all need to be taught, but it means that along with these skills the language must be experienced before it can become a part of a person's being. In order for a person to be truly skilled in a language it must become a part of his or her being or in other words, a person must live the language. It is a great challenge, as a language teacher, to try to give students various kinds of opportunities to live the language, but it is also very rewarding to be able to see a student make English become a part of his or her being.NOTES1) E.V. Gatenby writes in an article, "Conditions for Success in Language Learning" about a lecture delivered at Harvard University by George Ticknor (1791-l87l) entitled, "The Best Methods of Teaching the Living Languages" (1832) and how for the first time recognized the fact that there is no one method of teaching lan- guages, but that the teacher must vary his method according to the age and attainments of his class, and further, select and arrange his materials to suit the individual needs and capacities of his pupils. In this paper I have gone even further in this idea of saying thatstudent must be given the opportunity to live the language he is studying in order to make it a part of his being.

2) A.S. Hornby, in "The Situational Approach to Language Teaching" describes the learning of all the names of the animals in Aesops Tales, Tales of Robin Hood, Shakespeare Retold as having very little to do with language useful in practical affairs. He goes on to state that language is needed for situations and should be taught with situations as the starting point.

3) In "Conditions for Success in Language Learning", E.V. Gatenby says that often times the language teachers, exasperated by the inability of student to learn, or of himself to teach, a foreign language cuts out hearing, speaking and writing and concentrates on reading only.

4) In "Kenesics and Cross-Cultural Understanding" Genelle G. Morain writes that being able to read and speak another language does not guarantee that understanding will take place. He continues writing that words in themselves are too limited a dimension and the critical factor in understanding has to do with the cultural aspects that include many dimensions of nonverbal communication.

5) In an article entitled, "Technemes and the Rhythm of Class Activity" by Earl W. Stevick it is suggested that "exposure to the language" and morale is vitally important to the learning of a language. That if a student is to continue to feel motivated in learning a language he must feel a continuing sense of progress In the learning process. If a student sees no chance or development in communication skills he or she soon loses interest in studying.

6) Sylvia Ashton-Warner points out in her article entitled "Shaping the Curriculum" that 'learning to speak another's language means taking one's place in the human community'. In other words it means reaching out to others across cultural and linguistic boundaries. She also points out that language is far more than a system to be explained. It is our most important link to the world around us. It is culture in motion. It is people interacting with people. The most effective programs for learning should involve the whole learner in the experience of language as a network of relations between people, things, and events.

7) In an article by Anita L. Wenden entitled, "How to Be a Successful Language Learner: Insights and Prescriptions from L2 Learners" living and studying in where the target language is spoken helps the student to learn to live in the language. She writes further that going to a country where English is spoken as second language has some advantages in that it may be easier to become a part of that uses English as a second language.BIBLIOGRAPHYAshton Warner, S., (1983) "Shaping the Curriculum,"Communlcative Competence; Theory and Classroom Practice,88-225.

Breen, M. and C. Candlin, (1979) "The Essentials of a Communicative Curriculum in Language Teaching," 102-123.

Gatenby, E.V., (l950) "Conditions for Success in Language Learning,"English Language Teaching, 6, 143-150.

Locke, W.N., (1965) "Toward an Appropriate Technology Model of Communicative Course Design: Issues and Definitions,"English for Specific Purposes, 5, 2, 161-172.

Morain, G.G., (l977) "Kinesics and Cross-Cultural Understanding,"Toward Internationalization, 117 142..

Rubin, J., (l975) "What the 'Good Language' can TeachTESTL QUARTLEY, 9, 1, 41 51.Stevick, E.W., (l959) "Technemes and the Rhythm of Class Activity," Language Learning, 9, 3, 44 51.

Wenden, A.L., (1986) "How to Be a Successful Language Learner: Insights and Prescriptions from L2 Learners,"How to Be Successful Language Learner, 8, 1O3 -114.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. II, No. 2, February 1996http://iteslj.org/

http://iteslj.org/Articles/DeRolf-PracExper.html

Passive Grammar: We've Got It, Let's Use It!Michaela Borova and Bryan Murphybm_fld [at] uacg.acad.bgUniversity of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Sofia, BulgariaBryan Murphy became aware of passive grammar while working in Sofia and attempting to learn "survival Bulgarian". In one of his rare successes as a learner of Bulgarian, he sat down with his Bulgarian for foreigners textbook and discovered that a whole load of the language that had been opaque before was suddenly starting to make some kind of sense. This was true not only of words but also of grammar, and indeed of socio-linguistic features. While the concept of active and passive vocabulary is well-established, the parallel concept of passive grammar is less often considered. We believe that it is valid and has significant implications.What precisely is passive grammar? It is grammatical awareness that the learner has but cannot - yet - put into productive use correctly and consistently. It does not necessarily matter whether this awareness is conscious or unconscious. Conscious awareness may take the form of explicit, learned information, for instance that Bulgarian has three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Unconscious awareness may take the form of unformulated expectations about the language you're learning, such as that it will distinguish between present and past. As your contact with the language increases, these expectations grow and develop, becoming more complex and more refined. We are well used to "protecting" our students against negative transfer from their mother tongue in the form of "false friends", etc. We are less accustomed to exploiting the vast potential for positive transfer in a conscious and systematic manner.Why does this matter? Well, if we've got passive grammar, let's use it. In fact, as teachers, we already do so, though usually implicitly. Any spiral syllabus recognises it. The Total Physical Response turns it into a method. All multiple choice questions designed as grammar tests rely on it entirely. Attempts to develop reading and listening as skills draw up on it. Michaela has developed a type of exercise for use at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Sofia which makes use of it. She explains the role of auxiliary verbs in question formation, then asks her students to form questions using tenses they have not been presented with. She finds that, working in groups, they are usually able to form questions in the simple past from a knowledge of the simple present, to form questions using "would" from a knowledge of how to form questions using "can", etc. She finds that this kind of pre-communicative exercise ties in well with the learning styles prevalent among engineering students. In other words, they enjoy discovering that there is some logic in the mechanics of English. Moreover, it boosts their confidence in their capacity to handle the greater complexities that are to come.If we make the concept of passive grammar explicit, we can follow up some of its interesting implications. It is possible that grammar may have to be passive before it becomes active, in which case it makes good sense to build up the foundations of passive grammar. But, and this is a big but, there is no guarantee that passive grammar will ever become active. Bulgarians, for instance, have an enormous reservoir of passive Russian grammar, due to the similarities between their two languages, but not that many of them have had occasion to acquire communicative competence in Russian. Passive grammar, then, may be a necessary step toward active use, but it by no means a sufficient one. We are talking about a potential tool, not a magic wand.If you are still sceptical about the existence of passive grammar, let us see if we can tap into and develop your passive grammar of Bulgarian with the following exercises:Underline the verb in the following sentences:

Az iskam podarak.Te iskaha kolata.Nie iskahme tova.Toi iskashe vsichko.Vie iskahte mnogo.Vie vzehte kolata.Te nyamaha vreme.Iskaha li te kolata?

2) Which one word in each of the following utterances make them questions?A/ Te otvoriha li vratata?B/ Toi mozhe li da popravi pechkata?C/ Imame li vreme?

3) Re-write those questions as statements.

Answers:1) a. iskam; b. iskaha; c. iskahme; d. iskashe;e. iskahte; f. vzehte; g. nyamaha; h. iskaha?

2) li

A/ Te otvoriha vratata.B/ Toi mozhe da popravi pechkata.C/ Imame vreme.Full marks? If so, we are not that surprised.We need to add another rider here: you cannot build a course out of this stuff. It would be far too boring. These exercises are a bit like warm-ups for the brain, most effective if used sparingly.The implications we wish now to highlight concern non-native teachers, the nature of exercises, mistakes in exercises and slow learners.This concept upgrades the value of non-native teachers at a stroke. If grammar explanations have a role to play, which they do in building up passive grammar, then for beginners and elementary learners they are best given in those learners' own languageWhilst we do not deny the benefits of "negotiating meaning" in a foreign language, anyone who has done any real life negotiating will be aware that failed negotiations often generate more frustration than benefits. Regarding the information about a language that needs to be conveyed, we need to take seriously the questions What? When? How much? and How? Teaching about language can again have a place in language teaching, but it is a tool, not an end in itself. Nevertheless, it probably deserves closer examination, as a tool, than it has had in recent times.The concept of passive grammar suggests that it is not always necessary for grammar that is being presented to be immediately used actively for learning to take place. Yet most textbook exercises require this. Here is another exercise which, like the examples given above, does not.a. Underline the words in the text below that refer to the past.Yesterday, I crashed my car. Two days ago, someone killed my cat. Last Sunday, my spouse asked for a divorce. Never mind. A week ago, my lover and I robbed a bank. Tomorrow, we're leaving, and soon we'll be starting a new life in Australia.Underline the past tense verbs in the text above.Underline the irregular past tense verbs in the following text:A man walked into a pub. He went up to the bar and asked the barman for a glass of water. The barman took out a gun and pointed it at him. "Thank you," said the man.In terms of the basic psychology of memory, the above exercises require recognition not recall as a first step in the memory process. In standard TEFL terms, they require reception not production as a first step in the language learning process. The next exercise demonstrates more clearly that passive grammar also operates at the level of text grammar. It is a short, standard "jigsaw reading" exercise at intermediate or upper intermediate level.Put the sentences into the right order: The New Jersey teen became a vegetarian 15 months ago. Undeterred, Jacklyn ate buns filled with pickled slices instead. Don't make the mistake of offering Jacklyn Stewart, 15, a pork chop. At first her dad treated it like simple rebelliousness. Or, for that matter, a hamburger. He gave a barbecue and made a point of having only ground round for the grill - not a soy patty in sight.(from Newsweek)Answer: c, e, a, d, f, b.It follows from the ideas of passive grammar, recognition and reception that the "meaning" of learners making mistakes might not be transparent. We are talking specifically about mistakes in exercises. It is clearly no bad thing if a learner gets a production exercise right. But this does not mean that the learner has mastered the grammar point. They may have guessed the answer, they may have worked it out without understanding the grammar point, or, having solved the problem, they may immediately forget the problem-solving mechanism. Conversely, getting an exercise wrong does not mean that nothing has been learnt: it is possible that passive grammar has been imbibed, and, what's more, passive grammar going beyond the overt teaching point. Learning and teaching, indeed, are by no means symmetrical, and this is what enables people to learn languages, for linguists have not yet provided a full and accurate grammar of any single language, so that learners necessarily learn more than teachers can systematically teach.Which brings us back to Bryan, shuffling his teach-yourself-Bulgarian books: miffed at finding himself, despite all his experience of language learning and language teaching, a decidedly slow language learner this time around, but nevertheless aware, or at least confident, that with input, encouragement, motivation and, above all, time, he'd get there. Passive grammar means, above all, that we as teachers and learners can relax a bit about learning process: there's more going on than might appear on the surface. And if we can learn to exploit passive grammar effectively, we might be able to speed up that learning process.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. III, No. 8, August 1997http://iteslj.org/

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Borova-PassiveGrammar.html

Extensive Reading: Why? and How?Timothy Belltimothy [at] hsc.kuniv.edu.kwKuwait UniversityAbstractAn extensive reading program was established for elementary level language learners at the British Council Language Center in Sanaa, Yemen. Research evidence for the use of such programs in EFL/ESL contexts is presented, emphasizing the benefits of this type of input for students' English language learning and skills development. Practical advice is then offered to teachers worldwide on ways to encourage learners to engage in a focused and motivating reading program with the potential to lead students along a path to independence and resourcefulness in their reading and language learning.Introduction: The Reading ProgramAn extensive reading program was established at the British Council Language Center in Sanaa, Yemen. An elementary level class of government employees (age range 17-42) was exposed to a regime of graded readers, which was integrated into normal classroom teaching. Students followed a class reader, had access to a class library of graded readers, and had classes in the British Council library, which gave them access to a collection of 2000 titles. Questionnaires were used to examine students' reading interests, habits and attitudes, both prior to, and following the program. The class library contained 141 titles in the published readers of some major publishers (see inventory of titles in Bell, 1994). Familiar titles (e.g. popular Arab folk tales) were selected for both the class readers and the class library, so as to motivate the students to read. These titles proved very popular, as did the practice of reading aloud to the class.Students' reading was carefully monitored; formal and informal records being kept both by the researcher, and by the students themselves. Reading diaries and book reports were used, together with a card file system to document the program and record both the titles read and students' written comments on the books. A wall chart acted as a focal point for in-class reading, discussion and exchange of titles. Reader interviews were conducted throughout the program, which ran for a period of six months over the course of two semesters. Students became actively involved in running the class library; tables were arranged and titles displayed attractively during the periods set aside for the reading program. Students were taken into the main British Council library for one lesson a week, during which they participated in controlled twenty-minute sessions of USSR1(cf. Davis, 1995).With reference to research evidence, we now turn to the role of extensive reading programs in fostering learners' progress in reading development and improvement.The Role of Extensive Reading in Language Learning1. It can provide 'comprehensible input'In his 1982 book, Krashen argues that extensive reading will lead to language acquisition, provided that certain preconditions are met. These include adequate exposure to the language, interesting material, and a relaxed, tension-free learning environment. Elley and Manghubai (1983:55) warn that exposure to the second language is normally "planned, restricted, gradual and largely artificial." The reading program provided in Yemen, and the choice of graded readers in particular, was intended to offer conditions in keeping with Krashen's model.2. It can enhance learners' general language competenceGrabe (1991:391) and Paran (1996:30) have emphasized the importance of extensive reading in providing learners with practice in automaticity of word recognition and decoding the symbols on the printed page (often called bottom-up processing). The book flood project in Fiji (Elley & Manghubai: op cit.), in which Fijian school children were provided with high-interest storybooks, revealed significant post treatment gains in word recognition and reading comprehension after the first year, and wider gains in oral and written skills after two years.3. It increases the students' exposure to the languageThe quality of exposure to language that learners receive is seen as important to their potential to acquire new forms from the input. Elley views provision of large quantities of reading material to children as fundamental to reducing the 'exposure gap' between L1 learners and L2 learners. He reviews a number of studies with children between six and twelve years of age, in which subjects showed rapid growth in language development compared with learners in regular language programs . There was a "spread of effect from reading competence to other language skills - writing, speaking and control over syntax," (Elley 1991:404).4. It can increase knowledge of vocabularyNagy & Herman (1987) claimed that children between grades three and twelve (US grade levels) learn up to 3000 words a year. It is thought that only a small percentage of such learning is due to direct vocabulary instruction, the remainder being due to acquisition of words from reading. This suggests that traditional approaches to the teaching of vocabulary, in which the number of new words taught in each class was carefully controlled (words often being presented in related sets), is much less effective in promoting vocabulary growth than simply getting students to spend time on silent reading of interesting books.5. It can lead to improvement in writingStotsky (1983) and Krashen (1984) reviewed a number of L1 studies that appear to show the positive effect of reading on subjects' writing skills, indicating that students who are prolific readers in their pre-college years become better writers when they enter college. L2 studies by Hafiz & Tudor (1989) in the UK and Pakistan, and Robb & Susser (1989) in Japan, revealed more significant improvement in subjects' written work than in other language skills. These results again support the case for an input-based, acquisition-oriented reading program based on extensive reading as an effective means of fostering improvements in students writing.6. It can motivate learners to readReading material selected for extensive reading programs should address students' needs, tastes and interests, so as to energize and motivate them to read the books. In the Yemen, this was achieved through the use of familiar material and popular titles reflecting the local culture (e.g.. Aladdin and His Lamp). Bell & Campbell (1996, 1997) explore the issue in a South East Asian context, presenting various ways to motivate learners to read and explaining the role of extensive reading and regular use of libraries in advancing the reading habit .7. It can consolidate previously learned languageExtensive reading of high-interest material for both children and adults offers the potential for reinforcing and recombining language learned in the classroom. Graded readers have a controlled grammatical and lexical load, and provide regular and sufficient repetition of new language forms (Wodinsky & Nation 1988).Therefore, students automatically receive the necessary reinforcement and recycling of language required to ensure that new input is retained and made available for spoken and written production.8. It helps to build confidence with extended textsMuch classroom reading work has traditionally focused on the exploitation of shorts texts, either for presenting lexical and grammatical points or for providing students with limited practice in various reading skills and strategies. However, a large number of students in the EFL/ESL world require reading for academic purposes, and therefore need training in study skills and strategies for reading longer texts and books. Kembo (1993) points to the value of extensive reading in developing students confidence and ability in facing these longer texts.9. It encourages the exploitation of textual redundancyInsights from cognitive psychology have informed our understanding of the way the brain functions in reading. It is now generally understood that slow, word-by-word reading, which is common in classrooms, impedes comprehension by transferring an excess of visual signals to the brain. This leads to overload because only a fraction of these signals need to be processed for the reader to successfully interpret the message. Kalb (1986) refers to redundancy as an important means of processing, and to extensive reading as the means of recognizing and dealing with redundant elements in texts.10. It facilitates the development of prediction skillsOne of the currently accepted perspectives on the reading process is that it involves the exploitation of background knowledge. Such knowledge is seen as providing a platform for readers to predict the content of a text on the basis of a pre-existing schema. When students read, these schema are activated and help the reader to decode and interpret the message beyond the printed words. These processes presuppose that readers predict, sample, hypothesize and reorganize their understanding of the message as it unfolds while reading (Nunan 1991: 65-66).Practical Advice on Running Extensive Reading Programs1. Maximize Learner InvolvementA number of logistical hurdles have to be overcome in order to make an extensive reading program effective. Books need to be transported, displayed and collected at the end of each reading session. Considerable paperwork is required to document the card file system, reading records, inventories, book reports and in maintaining and updating lists of titles. Students should therefore be encouraged to take an active role in the management and administration of the reading program. In the Yemen program, students gained a strong sense of ownership through running the reading resources in an efficient, coordinated and organized manner.2. The Reader InterviewRegular conferencing between teacher and student played a key role in motivating students in the Yemen to read the books. This enabled effective monitoring of individual progress and provided opportunities for the teacher to encourage students to read widely, show interest in the books being read, and to guide students in their choice of titles. By demonstrating commitment in their own reading, teachers can foster positive attitudes to reading, in which it is no longer viewed as tedious, demanding, hard work, but as a pleasurable part of their learning.3. Read Aloud to the ClassIn the Yemen study, reader interviews conducted with students revealed the popularity of occasions when the teacher read aloud to the class. The model of pronunciation provided acted as a great motivator, encouraging many students to participate in classroom reading. Students gained confidence in silent reading because they were able to verbalize sounds they previously could could not recognize. This resulted in wider reading by some of the weaker readers in the class. Often thought of as bad practice, reading aloud should play a full part in motivating the emerging reader to overcome the fear of decoding words in an unfamiliar script.4. Student PresentationsShort presentations on books read played an absolutely crucial role in the program and students frequently commented on the value of oral work in class for exchanging information about the books. The reader interviews revealed that most of the book choices made by students resulted from recommendations made by friends and not by the teacher. This demonstrates that given the right preparation, encouragement, sense of ownership and belonging, an extensive reading program will achieve a direction and momentum governed by the learners themselves; a large step in the promotion of student independence and autonomy.5. Written Work Based on the ReadingEffective reading will lead to the shaping of the reader's thoughts, which naturally leads many learners to respond in writing with varying degrees of fluency. Elementary level students can be asked simply to write short phrases expressing what they most enjoyed about a book they read, or to record questions they wish to ask the teacher or other students in class. With intermediate students, book reports may be used, with sections for questions, new vocabulary, and for recording the main characters and events. At this level, summary writing is also a valuable practice because it allows learners to assert full control, both of the main factual or fictional content of a book, and of the grammar and vocabulary used to express it. Advanced students can be asked to write compositions, which, by definition, are linguistically more demanding written responses to the reading material.6. Use Audio Material in the Reading ProgramThe use of audio recordings of books read aloud and of graded readers on cassette proved very popular with the students in Yemen, and is advocated for wide application. Listening material provided the learners with a model of correct pronunciation which aided word recognition, and exposed students to different accents, speech rhythms and cadences. Student confidence in their ability to produce natural speech patterns and to read along with the voice of a recorded speaker is central to maintaining their motivation to master the language as a medium for talking about their reading.7. Avoid the Use of TestsExtensive reading programs should be "without the pressures of testing or marks" (Davis 1995:329). The use of tests runs contrary to the objective of creating stress-free conditions for pleasure reading because it invokes images of rote learning, vocabulary lists, memorization and homework. Extensive reading done at home should be under the learner's control and not an obligation imposed by the teacher. By their very nature, tests impose a rigor on the learning process, which the average student will never equate with pleasure.8. Discourage the Over-Use of DictionariesWhile dictionaries certainly have a place in the teaching of reading, it is probably best located in intensive reading lessons, where detailed study of the lexical content of texts is appropriate. If learners turn to the dictionary every time they come across an unfamiliar word, they will focus only on the language itself, and not on the message conveyed. This habit will result in slow, inefficient reading and destroy the pleasure that reading novels and other literature are intended to provide. Summarizing comments on the extensive reading done by his subjects, Pickard (1996:155) notes that "Use of the dictionary was sparing, with the main focus on meaning".9. Monitor the Students' ReadingIn order to run an extensive reading program successfully, effective monitoring is required, both to administer the resources efficiently, and to trace students' developing reading habits and interests. In the Yemen program, a card file system was used to record titles and the dates the books were borrowed and returned. Input from the monitoring process helps us to record students' progress, maintain and update an inventory of titles, and locate and select new titles for the class library. It therefore serves both the individual needs of the reader and the logistical task of managing the reading resources.10. Maintain the EntertainmentThis is perhaps the most important aspect of the program to emphasize. Teachers need to invest time and energy in entertaining the participants by making use of multimedia sources to promote the books (e.g. video, audio, CD ROM, film, etc.). They should also exploit the power of anecdote by telling the students about interesting titles, taking them out to see plays based on books, exploiting posters, leaflets, library resources, and even inviting visiting speakers to give a talk in class on a book they have read recently. In these ways, teachers can maintain student motivation to read and secure their full engagement in the enjoyment the program provides.ConclusionTsang's (1996) study, carried out in Hong Kong secondary schools, provided further persuasive evidence of the effectiveness of extensive reading in fostering learners' language development. He found that "the reading program was significantly more effective than the writing program" (1996:225) . Extensive reading programs can provide very effective platforms for promoting reading improvement and development from elementary levels upwards. Although they do require a significant investment in time, energy and resources on the part of those charged with managing the materials, the benefits in terms of language and skills development for the participating learners far outweigh the modest sacrifices required. If such programs receive institutional support and can be integrated into the curriculum so that they become agreed school policy, as suggested in Davis (1995), they will likely be more readily and widely adopted, particularly in countries where material and financial resources are adequate.Notes1. USSR is uninterrupted sustained silent reading.References Bell, T. (1994). '"Intensive" versus "Extensive" Reading: A Study of the Use of Graded Readers as Supplementary Input Material to Traditional "Intensive" Reading Techniques.' Unpublished MA TEFL Dissertation. University of Reading. Bell, T., & Campbell, J. (1996). 'Promoting Good Reading Habits: The Debate.' Network 2/3 (pp 22-30). Bell, T., & Campbell, J. (1997). 'Promoting Good Reading Habits Part 2: The Role of Libraries.' Network 2/4 (pp 26-35). Davis, C. (1995). 'Extensive reading: an expensive extravagance?' English Language Teaching Journal 49/4 (pp 329-336). Elley, W. B. (1991). 'Acquiring literacy in a second language: The effect of book-based programs.' Language Learning 41/3: 375-411. Elley, W. B., & Manghubai, F. (1983). 'The effect of reading on second language learning.' Reading Research Quarterly, 19/1, (pp 53-67). Grabe, W. (1991). 'Current developments in second language reading research.' TESOL Quarterly 25/3: 375-406. Hafiz, F. M., & Tudor, I. (1989). 'Extensive reading and the development of language skills.' English Language Teaching Journal, 43, (pp 4-13). Kalb, G. (1986). 'Teaching of extensive reading in English instruction at the senior gymnasium level.' Die Neueren Sprachen, 85, (pp 420-430). Kembo, J. (1993). 'Reading:Encouraging and Maintaining Individual Extensive Reading.' English Teaching Forum, 31/2, (pp 36-38). Krashen, S. D. (1982). 'Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition.' New York: Prentice Hall. Krashen, S. D. (1984). 'Writing: Research, Theory and Applications.' New York: Prentice Hall. Nagy, W., & Herman, P. (1987). 'Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition and instruction.' In Mckeown, M., & Curtis, M. (eds), The nature of vocabulary acquisition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. (pp 19-35). Nunan, D. (1991). 'Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook For Teachers.' London: Prentice Hall. Paran, A. (1996). 'Reading in EFL: facts and fictions.' English Language Teaching Journal, 50/1, (pp 25-34). Pickard, N. (1996). 'Out-of-class language learning strategies.' English Language Teaching Journal, 50/2, (pp 151-159). Robb, T. N., & Susser, B. (1989). 'Extensive Reading vs Skills Building in an EFL context.' Reading in a Foreign Language, 5/2, (pp 239-249). Stotsky, S. (1983). 'Research on reading/writing relationships: A synthesis and suggested directions.' Language Arts, 60, (pp 627-642). Tsang, Wai-King. (1996). 'Comparing the Effects of Reading and Writing on Writing Performance.' Applied Linguistics 17/2, (pp 210-223). Wodinsky, M., & Nation, P. (1988). 'Learning from graded readers.' Reading in a Foreign Language 5: (pp 155-161).The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IV, No. 12, December 1998http://iteslj.org/http://iteslj.org/Articles/Bell-Reading.htmlA Training Lesson Plan on Virtual Communities for EFLMaria Teresa Ciaffaroniciaffaroni [at] hotmail.comL. Lombardo Radice (Rome, Italy)This paper tackles a challenging issue: the use of Virtual Communities in EFL learning/teaching. It features an in-service training lesson plan meant to encourage EFL teachers to explore Virtual Communities in view of using them with students, thus helping them to engage in highly motivating activities.IntroductionThe in-service training lesson plan is designed for EFL teachers who are interested in technology as a privileged tool for enhancing language learning. It aims at enabling teachers to explore, build and use different types of Internet based communities in their teaching practice. The idea of the training course was spurred by some drawbacks commonly met in EFL learning situations: most EFL students do not live in an English-speaking environment, so they don't get much exposure to the language students are often placed in large groups and have only a few classes per week, thus they do not get enough practice in the target language learners as often as not have access to a limited range of resourcesWhen learners become active members of a virtual community they may: gain access to a larger amount of language resources get plenty of exposure to the target language learn how to interact, co-operate and share things with real people be able to cope better with problems engage in more individualized interactions with the teacher become more involved and independent learnersThe use of Virtual Communities may also provide some side benefits in terms of classroom management: using the computer will simplify management procedures, both for teachers and pupils all the interactions and materials produced will be recorded, making it easier to retrieve, analyze and share them marking and assessment procedures will be simplifiedWhen dealing with technology issues, there is always a double focus: on tools and resources on one side and on teaching principles and practices on the other.Section One : General FrameworkThe training course is made up of three sessions of about three hours each, covering different features of the target topic.1. What are Virtual Communities?The first session aims to introduce Virtual Communities to trainees and make them aware of their educational potential for language learning. This aim will be achieved through first-hand exploration of a few Virtual Communities. Though relatively new, Virtual Communities rely on some well established pedagogical principles. Recalling these may help trainees to feel Virtual Communities are less alien than they may believe. Finally, trainees are required to think about ways of using Virtual Communities with their students, so that they may feel encouraged to try a few activities out with students.2. How can Virtual Communities be Exploited?The second session focuses on tools relied upon by Virtual Communities. First of all, trainees will be asked to identify and classify them, according to suitable criteria. Then they will experiment with a few tools themselves. Finally, trainees will draft the outline of lesson plans for virtual activities with their students, using the tools they have just tried out. This is a highly practical session, mainly based on the assumption that learning by doing is one of the most effective ways of learning, provided you are able to reflect critically on what you do.3.Creating and Exploiting Virtual EnvironmentsThe third session is intended to let trainees explore and exploit Online Platforms, powerful learning environments. combining most of the tools presented and exploited in session two in a single package, and providing many more functions as well. The last part of session three will be devoted to devising possible teaching activities for the use of Online Platforms with students. At the end of session three trainees ought to be able to cope with at least some form of online interaction and have the knowledge to explore this field further.Section Two: ImplementationWARM UP (Not included)PRINCIPLESGoals Elicit trainees previous knowledge Introduce session topics Outline basic principles Virtual Communities rely upon Raise trainees awareness of collaborative learningTasks1. Prior knowledge of target topic.Trainer presents trainees the following quotation: " The question we need to ask is 'What do we want to accomplish in our courses, and can technology advance our teaching goals?' rather than, 'What can we do with technology?'" (Creed 1996). She asks trainees to comment on it. Then trainees are asked to write down their own definition of Virtual Communities. Trainees compare/discuss definitions in groups. Trainees report to whole group. Finally trainer shows the following definition of Virtual Communities: "A group of people who may or may not meet one another face-to-face, and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks." H. Rheingold. Trainees comment on it.2. Power Point presentation based lecturette: Constructivism; Situational learning; Collaborative learning. Q/A, clarification.3. Exploration of collaborative issues.Trainees discuss pros/cons of collaborative learning, providing examples from their teaching experience. Trainees report to whole group. Trainer sums up outcomes.Rationale

During this stage trainees will learn about the underlying principles of Virtual Communities. It is really important for trainer to know exactly what information trainees already have about the topic, so that trainer will be able to adapt, if not her materials at least her presentation. Many trainees may already be familiar with collaborative learning and may even have practiced it in one form or another. This may be useful to link the new topic to trainees experience and offer them the opportunity to reflect on the fact that even the newest approaches rely on a background of widely shared and codified principles. At this stage, it is also important to link principles and practice, so that trainees get the feeling that they are doing something really relevant. Trainer should pay special attention to keeping the right balance between her working time and that of trainees. Trainer may ask trainees to think about possible virtual applications of what they already do with students at a collaborative level.SAMPLES VIRTUAL COMMUNITIESGoals Present real examples of Virtual Communities Let Ts explore real Virtual Communities on their own Highlight main features/tools of Virtual Communities Think of possible uses for Virtual CommunitiesTasks1. Samples of Virtual Communities. Trainer presents selected list of Virtual Communities. Trainer explores one or two pointing out main features. Trainees choose one or two Virtual Communities and explore them. Trainees note down main features, materials, tools etc. provided in Virtual Communities. Trainees report to whole group on findings. Trainer sums up main points.2. Teaching/learning exploitation of existing EFL Virtual Communities.Trainees choose sample Virtual Communities and think about possible teaching/learning exploitation. Trainees share ideas in the group, choose one or more activities and outline lesson plan Trainees report to whole group. Trainer sums up.Rationale

In this stage trainees are actually given the opportunity to get hands-on experience. Trainees ought to leave with the feeling of having learned something usable. Trainer should choose simple sample Virtual Communities that can be easily and successfully explored, even by inexperienced people; they ought to offer all the typical features and tools usually provided by Virtual Communities. They also ought to be visually appealing and intellectually stimulating. The actual Virtual Communities exploration may be carried out either individually or in pairs. Technologically poorer trainees may initially be guided by trainer or by quite expert trainees. Trainer has to encourage all trainees to try things out on their own. If trainees do not try things out immediately, the chances are they will never be able to do so. It may be difficult to pull trainees away from their exploration, once they start, so trainer ought to keep an eye on time and gently lead trainees to the next task, teaching exploitation of Virtual Communities. For this second task Trainer has to take extra care with group formation, if she wants groups to produce useful outcomes. Groups may lack ideas, or they may resort to very trivial or over-trodden ones. It is trainer responsibility to supervise group work in order to stimulate, suggest, or encourage.Session 2TOOLS USED IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITIESGoals Gather feedback Refresh/revise previous session outcomes Analyze Virtual Communities in detail Identify tools Try classification of tools Highlight main tools Provide classification criteria Decide how to choose tools Set up an e-mail accountTasks1. Warm up. trainees exchange feedback on previous session focusing on any teaching exploitation they may have tried. Trainees report to whole group.2. Different types of Virtual Communities. Trainees to go over samples of Virtual Communities in groups and list tools for interaction, material storage, other functions. Trainees present and discuss findings. Trainer sums up findings on white board. Trainees classify communication tools according to suitable criteria. Trainees present and discuss classification. Trainer sums up outcomes on white board.3. Power Point presentation based lecturette.Different solutions to build up Virtual Communities. Classification of tools When, why, how to use them. Q/A, clarification.4. Setting up an e-mail account.Trainees brainstorm different ways of getting e-mail accounts. Trainees report to whole group. Trainer leads trainees through different steps of setting up a free e-mail account. Trainees set up an e-mail account for themselves.Rationale

The first stage is meant for the identification/classification of tools, the second stage is devoted to working with them. It is advisable to recall the core features of the previous session, both to gather feedback on acquisition/feelings, and to see whether trainees have tried out some activities with their students. Then trainees are asked to have a closer look at a few Virtual Communities. The task aims at enabling trainees to identify the main tools used for online interaction. Trainees ought to be able to find out the two main types of online interaction synchronous and asynchronous the second being by far the most widespread. They ought also to realize that e-mail and mailing lists are asynchronous interaction tools, while text or voice chat is the most used synchronous interaction tool. The last task is a highly practical one. Trainees are required to set up a free e-mail account for themselves.. There's a double aim: first to show trainees how to do it, so that they can to do the same with their students; secondly, to have trainees use the newly created accounts for the setting up of a mailing list.PRACTICE WITH VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES TOOLSGoals Set up a mailing list Learn how to participate in a forum Learn how to participate in chat Think about possible teaching applicationsTasks1. Setting up a mailing list/newsgroup.Trainer sets up a group on Yahoo or similar using trainees newly created e-mail addresses. Trainees observe procedure. Trainees explore functions offered by newsgroup. Trainees exchange messages and try out functions explored.2. Participating in a forum.Trainer elicits trainees previous knowledge of topic. Trainer shows previously chosen EFL related forum. Trainer explains different functions (sending messages, threading, using emoticons, attaching files etc.). Trainees explore/practise functions in pairs. Trainees send messages to forum and use functions explored.3. Participating in a chat.Trainer elicits trainees previous knowledge of topic. Trainer shows previously chosen EFL related chat. Trainer explains different functions. Trainees explore functions in pairs. Trainees engage in chat session with each other.4. Planning of teaching/learning activities. Trainees explore activities provided by trainer. Trainees share ideas in small groups. Trainees adapt outline lesson plan for their students needs. Trainees present their findings to whole group.Rationale

In stage two trainees are going to explore and use a few tools commonly found in virtual interaction, both in synchronous and asynchronous modes. Trainees are not expected to become confident users of Virtual Communities tools. The task is intended to raise trainees awareness and curiosity.. The newly created mailing list may be used to let trainees keep in touch and exchange ideas, suggestions and materials during and after the course. The procedure is the usual one: elicitation of trainees previous knowledge, demonstration of how to use different tools, actual practice with tools, devising and planning of teaching activities for students, featuring the newly presented tools. If there isn't enough time to get a usable outline of a lesson plan during the session, trainees may be required to complete it for homework. Trainer ought to devote extra care to pairing/grouping trainees, considering not only trainees level of technological competence, but also their interest or the type of school they come from, so that they may derive maximum benefit from their co-operation. Trainer will have to discreetly but carefully supervise group work, so that she may prompt trainees if/when they lack ideas and support them or lead them in a practicable direction.Session 3ONLINE PLATFORMSGoals Gather feedback Refresh/revise previous session outcomes Explore Online Platforms in detail Identify main tools/functions Highlight main types of Online Platforms and the tools they provide Learn how to choose Online Platforms Analyze, further explore samples Online PlatformsTask1. Warm up. Trainees exchange feedback on previous session.2. Different types of Virtual Communities.Trainer elicits trainees previous knowledge on topic through quick brainstorm activity. Trainer provides a list of sample Online Platforms. Trainees explore one or more Online Platforms in pairs and note down main features, functions, tools provided. Trainees report to whole group. Trainer sums up findings on white board.3. Power Point presentation based lecturette. Main features of Online Platforms Different types of Online Platforms (free, commercial ones). Tools Online Platforms provide (interaction tools, storage, testing, announcement, administration etc.). Pros/cons of Online Platforms. Open source, commercial platforms. Q/A, clarification.4. Comparing/contrasting Online Platforms.Trainer assigns different Online Platforms to small groups of trainees. Trainees explore them in detail to compare/contrast them, deciding on suitability for teaching purposes. Trainees report to whole group on findings. Trainer sums up findings on white board.Rationale

Session three is completely devoted to Online Platforms. The first task is meant to gather feedback. Trainer may start commenting on any interaction that has occurred on the group mailing list and then let trainees report on any attempts they may have made on their own or with students. The second task is focused on Online Platforms. Trainees may already be familiar with Online Platforms. Trainer has to elicit trainees previous knowledge to be able to adapt what she is going to say in her presentation in task three. The main aim of task two is to let trainees identify the tools they have experimented with in session two and realize they are grouped all together in Online Platforms. Trainees may also identify a few more tools/functions. In any case, Trainer may point out some more tools in her summing up. The Power Point presentation based lecturette is meant to further clarify what Online Platforms are, but also to offer hints on how they may be used for teaching/learning purposes. The main differences between free/open source platforms and commercial ones ought also to be pointed out. Task four is meant for further exploration of Online Platforms, offering trainees the opportunity to look for new features/functions, but also to let them think of possible teaching exploitation. At the end of stage one trainees should have gathered a few ideas on what kind of support for teaching Online Platforms may offer and what use can actually be made of them.EXPERIMENTING WITH ONLINE PLATFORMSGoals Exploit teaching potential of Online Platforms Apply what trainees have learned Share ideas, products, materials Gather feedbackTasks1. Devise a project/learning session for an Online Platforms. Trainees think about project/learning session and share ideas in groups. Trainees decide on common project/learning session. Trainees choose most suitable Online Platforms to implement chosen project/learning session. Trainees plan, draft and implement outline of a complete project or learning session using as many virtual tools as possible from the ones provided by chosen Online Platforms.2. Report to whole group. Trainees report on implemented project. Trainees point out pros and cons of using Online Platforms. Trainees comment on other groups projects. Trainer sums up findings.3. Conclusion. Trainer provides final meaningful quotation. Trainees are asked to briefly brainstorm course outcomes and/or ideas on further applications to gather feedback. Trainees fill in final evaluation questionnaire.Rationale

Stage two of session three is devoted to teaching exploitation of Online Platforms. Trainees think about a teaching project or learning session they would like to implement for their students, then chose suitable Online Platforms There are two main aims in task one: to let Trainees think about practical exploitation of Online Platforms and to let them use as many virtual tools as possible. It is trainer's responsibility to support groups with a few hints/suggestion. Grouping is very important for this task. Trainees ought to group according to common interests, so that trainees may find it easier to get focused. Task two is a report on group outcomes. Trainees may gather lots of ideas for further exploitation of Virtual Communities/Online Platforms in their teaching. Trainer may ask trainees to share their products uploading them on the group mailing list. Task three is meant as a course rounding up and leave taking, but also as a way of gathering further feedback on how trainees feel about the course and its outcomes. Trainees are not expected to have become expert in virtual interaction, but they may feel confident enough to explore the field further on their own and try out a few things with their students.ConclusionsThere are two basic assumptions behind the course presented in the in-service training lesson plan: on the one hand technology may offer the opportunity to create virtual communities where people can meet and share ideas, knowledge, opinions or just for fun; on the other hand virtual communities may prove extremely beneficial for language learning. It may be safely stated, as a final remark, that if learners become active members of a virtual community, they will get plenty of language exposure, they will learn how to interact, co-operate and share things with real people, thus increasing their interpersonal skills and their intercultural awareness.References Boetcher S. et al.What is a Virtual Community and Why Would You Ever Need One?Retrieved fromhttp://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitywhatwhy.htm, January 2004. Creed, T. (1996).Extending the classroom walls electronically.InNew Paradigms for College Teaching, Campbell W. & C. Smith, (Eds.) Edina, MN; Interaction Book Co.Retrieved fromhttp://www.ntlf.com/html/sf/Virtual Communities_extend.htm, January 2004. Graeme D.,Online Communities for Professional Development,Retrieved fromhttp://magazines.fasfind.com/wwwtools/, January 2004. Robbins, J.Contributions of a Virtual Community to Self-Regulated Learning in a Constructivist EFL Writing Course, San Francisco State University March 25, 2000.Retrieved fromhttp://jillrobbins.com/techno/outline.html, January 2004. Rheingold H.,The Virtual Community,Retrieved fromhttp://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/, January 2004.The paper is based on an assignment carried out at NILE /Leeds Metropolitan University as part of a teacher trainer co-funded bursary scheme by British Council/Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. X, No. 7, July 2004http://iteslj.org/

http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Ciaffaroni-Virtual.htmlDeductive & Inductive Lessons for Saudi EFL Freshmen StudentsMohammed Y. Al-Kharratykharrat [at] yahoo.comKing Khalid University, Institute of English & Translation (Abha, Saudi Arabia)AbstractThe importance of students' active involvement in the learning process is increasingly growing in this era of information explosion. Educators continue to unravel ways to assist learners in developing their cognitive potential. Deductive learning and inductive learning which help students articulate their mental processes seem to incorporate many of the research studies propounded by ESL practitioners. These approaches have proved to give students the ability to rationalize what information is needed and, thereby, to make them conscious of the intent and content of the lessons presented to them.Although these kinds of learning appear to be widely used across age groups, reported evidence of their use in college classes has rarely been found. This article describes the implementation of deductive and inductive methods for two lessons I actually observed of 30 Saudi freshmen students who participated in this study. This paper discusses the identification of the instructional goals along with the cognitive tasks by which students internalize the concepts taught. The study concludes with some pedagogical recommendations for ESL teachers to consider.IntroductionResearch into language learning has considerably enriched our understanding of the processes that take place in the classroom and the factors that influence them. Most researchers agree that, for optimal learning to occur, students need to exert a conscious effort to learn. Their teachers should activate the students' minds spontaneously and involve them in problem solving and critical thinking (Stoller, 1997). According to Anderson's (1990) cognitive theory, learners are better able to understand details when they are subsumed under a general concept. Anderson further states that the quality of learning depends on how well the basic concept is anchored. In short, greater stability of the basic concepts results in greater learning.A number of research studies have reported that learners need ample opportunities for communication use so that they can integrate separate structures into given concepts for expressing meanings. Spada & Lightbown (1993) hold that thinking skills operate effectively when students voice their analysis and take part in the learning process occurring in the classroom. Methodologists also argue that learners in the classroom should experience creative reflections through which the teacher probes their understanding to elicit answers for the questions he or she poses. In this way, students can lay the foundations for their internal representation of the target language, which can allow effective learning to function properly (Pica, 1994). Many researchers such as Chaudron (1988) further document the benefits of involving students in the learning process. These investigators found that students taught by teachers who actively involved them in lessons achieved at higher rates than those in traditional classes.The effectiveness ofdeductiveandinductiveapproaches, aiming at maximizing the students' opportunity to practice thinking skills, has been investigated in empirical studies.Deductivelearning is an approach to language teaching in which learners are taught rules and given specific information about a language. Then, they apply these rules when they use the language. This may be contrasted withinductivelearning in which learners are not taught rules directly, but are left to discover - or induce - rules from their experience of using the language (Richards et al, 1985). Harmer (1989) ascertains that these two techniques encourage learners to compensate for the gap in their second language knowledge by using a variety of communication strategies. A number of research studies, likewise, has reported that successful learners often adopt certain learning strategies such as seeking out practice opportunities or mouthing the questions put to other learners (Peck, 1988). Inductive and deductive models offer this chance to learners because these two models foster a cooperative atmosphere among students. According to Celce-Murcia et al (1997), the communicative classroom provides a better environment for second language learning than classrooms dominated by formal instruction.Thus, it is not at all surprisingly that deductive and inductive approaches have met with such enthusiasm; they are intuitively very appealing. Students can learn best once they have achieved basic comprehension and can accept feedback in the form of their production in meaningful discourse. There must be opportunities when students in the classroom use language to communicate ideas and not just listen to their teachers. Learning deductively and inductively is among the communicative approaches that encourage students to communicate fluently.In Section 1 and 2 that follow, I report briefly on the process of two lessons; one an inductive grammar lesson, the other, a deductive grammar lesson. This is then followed in Section 3 with a pedagogical overview of issues that arose from my observation of these two lessons.1. The Features of the Inductive Technique Used in a Grammar LessonThe lesson begins by confronting the students with a stimulating problem, and they are then told to find out how it can be resolved. The confrontation is initiated first verbally, then the teacher writes a group of words on the board linked to the oral discussion he conducts. As the students react, the teacher draws their attention to the significant points he wants to present through his questioning. When the students become interested in, and committed to the lesson, and begin to offer reasoned interaction amongst themselves and with the teacher, the latter is able to lead them towards formulating and structuring the problem for themselves. Finally, the students analyze the required concept and report their results. 1.1. The Lesson Plana. Concept to be developed:How adding "-ing" to an English word consisting of one syllable can change its spelling.b. Instructional Goals (i) Students will construct the rule that when adding "-ing" to words, the final consonant is doubled if preceded