5 th International Teachers’ Conference Singapore 28-30 October 2009

1. 5th International Teachers’ ConferenceSingapore 28-30 October 2009 Teaching Science and Languages English as a Second Language

2. Workshop SessionsEnglish as a Second Language • Session 1: Teaching and Learning • Teaching and assessment to support language learning • Session 2: Reading • Encouraging active learning of a receptive skill • Session 3: Writing • Supporting the development of writing skills and exploring the link with reading

3. Workshop SessionsEnglish as a Second Language • Session 4: Listening • Encouraging active listening as support to the development of speaking skills • Session 5: Speaking • Building students’ confidence and utilising the link with the other skills • Session 6: Science and Languages • Developing language skills to support other areas of the curriculum

4. Session one: Teaching and Learning • - Introductions • - Expectations • - Aims of the sessions

5. Aims of the sessions • - To gain an overview of teaching methods and assessment strategies to support learning • - To be able to translate ideas into classroom-specific activities

6. Diversity in learning and learners • What? • How? • Why? (Activity 1)

7. Effective language learning • Exposure • Use • Motivation • Instruction (Activity 2)

8. E2L Syllabus: Introduction • Not a first language • Practical communication • Language of study

9. E2L Syllabus: Aims • Practical communication • Further study / employment • Skills acquisition • Personal development (Activity 3 – Handout 1)

10. Assessment Strategies • Formative and summative assessment • Teacher assessment and feedback • Self assessment and target setting • Peer assessment and feedback • Group/class assessment and feedback • Use of assessment grid (Activity 4 – Handout 2)

11. Session two: Reading • Encouraging active learning of a receptive skill

12. The six componentsof fluent academic reading • Automatic recognition ability • Vocabulary and structural knowledge • Formal discourse structure knowledge • Content/world background knowledge • Evaluation processes/strategies • Comprehension monitoring (Activity 5)

13. White’s four stages for active reading • Stage 1: arouse the students’ interest • Stage 2: give them points to search for • Stage 3: encourage discussion • Stage 4: develop into writing (Activity 6 – Handout 3)

14. Assessment Objectives: Reading Candidates will be assessed on their ability to: • R1: understand and respond to information presented in a variety of forms • R2: select and organise material relevant to specific purposes • R3: recognise, understand and distinguish between facts, ideas and opinions • R4: infer information from texts (Activity 7 – Handout 4)

15. Session three: Writing • Supporting the development of writing skills • Exploring the link with reading

16. “Some L2 learners consider writing to be the easier of the two productive skills to acquire because it allows them time to consciously access and edit language elements at different levels” (M. Saville-Troike 2002) (Activity 8)

17. Supporting the developmentof writing skills • Providing students with topics that are relevant and interesting to them • Ensuring students have some previous knowledge or experience of the topic • Giving students some sort of motivation for writing • Providing students with time to prepare (Activity 9)

18. Assessment Objectives: Writing Candidates will be assessed on their ability to: W1: communicate clearly, accurately and appropriately W2: convey information and express opinions effectively W3: employ and control a variety of grammatical structures W4: demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of appropriate vocabulary W5: observe conventions of paragraphing, punctuation and spelling W6: employ appropriate register/style (Activity 10 – Handout 3)

19. Session four: Listening • Encouraging active listening • Supporting the development of speaking skills

20. Encouraging active listening and exploring links with other skills • http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish • Pre-listening (link with reading and speaking) • While-listening (use of questions) • post-listening (link with speaking and writing)

21. Assessment Objectives: Listening Candidates will be assessed on their ability to: L1: understand and respond to information presented in a variety of forms L2: recognise, understand and distinguish between facts, ideas and opinions L3: select and organise material relevant to specific purposes L4: infer information from texts (Activity 11 – Handout 5)

22. Session five: Speaking • Exploring the link with other skills • Building students’ confidence

23. Creating opportunities for speakingin the classroom • Free discussion • Role play • Classroom language • Gap activity • Integrated speaking (Activity 12)

24. Assessment Objectives: Speaking Candidates will be assessed on their ability to: S1: communicate clearly, accurately and appropriately S2: convey information and express opinions effectively S3: employ and control a variety of grammatical structures S4: demonstrate knowledge of a range of appropriate vocabulary S5: engage in and influence the direction of conversation S6: employ suitable pronunciation and stress patterns (Activities 13 to 15 – Handouts 6 & 7)

25. Session six: Science and Languages “ There can be no science without reading, talking and writing. “ (Jonathan Osborne)

26. The Language of Science • Vocabulary • Grammar • Language in science learning • The language barrier • Language development strategies

27. Science across the World • http://www.scienceacross.org • Supporting languages • teaching strategies • Language for thinking • Key words/phrases recognition (Activities 16 & 17 – Handout 8)

28. Content Integrated Language Learning • Joint lesson planning • Requirements of both subjects • Content and language • Cross-curricular support • Learning outcomes (Activity 18 – Handouts 9 & 10)

29. The beauty of language • A world of opportunities • Communication • Study / employment • Transferable skills • Personal development