Concept checking is a useful technique for teachers in language teaching as it helps teachers find out whether their students have understood a new language point they have taught. Using concept checking, teachers can easily approach to communicative goals of the lesson instead of using traditional methods such as translation or explanation. This technique is especially valuable in the context of Vietnam, where language teachers are constantly searching for new and effective techniques which can assist their teaching. However, research on concept checking is still limited. This essay, thus, gives an overview of concept checking in language teaching, particularly in teaching grammar and vocabulary.
When a teacher introduces a structure or a new word, he or she usually presents it in a context, then, gives examples of use. After that, the teacher defines or explains that structure and its uses, or that word and its meaning so that students can clearly understand them. Traditionally, during the stage of explaining, the teacher usually asks questions such as: “Do you understand?”, “Is that clear?”, “Right?”, or “Can you follow me?”, etc. to make sure their students understand what they have said. I, as a teacher, did not notice that these have also happened in my classrooms all the time. However, I, in response, usually hear: “Yes” in most cases although their students may not understand at all. There are at least three reasons to prove that such questions are ineffective. First, they give a lie because they want to save face in front of their fellows. Second, they want to avoid further complications. Third, they do not want to hurt their teachers’ feeling. Therefore, such questions should be avoided. Detailed explanation cannot...
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...dents can actively use these words or not. This technique can help teachers review the productivity of their application of concept check technique.
As a conclusion, concept check is an effective and important technique in language teaching. It is not simply about checking understanding; it is the heart of teaching the language. I am, as a teacher, now more aware of this technique and trying to apply it to my teaching.
REFERENCES
1. Constantinides, M. (2010). What about your concept questions? The famous CCQ’s. TEFL Matters. Retrieved from http://marisaconstantinides.edublogs.org/2010/10/04/what-about-your-concept-questions-the-famous-ccqs/#.UvkDNWJ_srb
2. Greenwood, L. (2011). Do You CCQ? Using Concept Checking Questions in the ESL Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.bridgetefl.com/do-you-ccq-using-concept-checking-questions-in-the-esl-classroom/
These critical thinking questions can be used to help the students with oral language development and which can lead into literacy development The critical questions get the students to think about the world around them and how it is different for other person. A way that these questions could lead into a literacy development activity is to have the students write about things that they are grateful about or even write about a special moment or trip that they had with an adult. This questions help the students realize everyone is different and that we all come from different place and we should respect each other.
Dillon, Naomi. “LANGUAGE TEST. (cover story).” American School Board Journal 192.8 (2005): 10. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Feb. 2001.
Postman then introduces his second concept: questions. We must understand that the wording and language used to pose a question influences the answer we will receive. It is suggested that students need to learn to
Paul, R. and Elder, L., (2008). The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking-Concepts and Tools, 5th. Ed., Foundation for Critical Thinking Press: Dillon Beach, CA
As indicated by studies from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, students fall short when it comes to critical thought and reasoning (Jasparro, 86). Because of the current classroom practices of rote memorization, “students are generally deeply habituated to passivity and low-level performance,” reports Linda Elder, executive director for the Center for Critical Thinking, who promotes the integration of critical thought into current curriculum. “Most [students] have no conception of what discursive reasoning is. Most have spen...
Browne, M. N., & Keeley, S.M. (2010). Asking the right questions: A guide to critical thinking (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
English Language Learners range from Newcomers learning survival English and developing foundational literacy skills to Long-Term English Learners who have had 6 years or more of their education in English yet continue have significant language gaps. These students may speak English with little or no accent and still lack the vocabulary, grammar and grade level literacy to be successful in school. English language learners may remain silent in the classroom as they adjust to a new school, environment, and culture unless he is a native language comrade to interact with. The English language learners are concerned about decoding verbal and non- verbal communication as well as understanding the social culture framework of the school. Most of the time English language learners are observing during instruction, trying to repeat words used by others, memorizing simple phrases and sentences, tired by midday or be frustrated attending long lectures unaccompanied by visual and gestures, relying on first language translation used peer translation or bilingual dictionary, as the students begin to learner they become more involved in the classroom, they can respond non-verbally to commands, statements, and questions in simple form. As their oral comprehension increases, they begin to use simple word and phrases and may use English spontaneously. They can understand short conversation on a simple topic when reading students can understand a narrative text and authentic materials, although they will be below
Within this paper we will take a brief look at the Language Acquisition Principles and how they work on the behalf of ELL students. We will see how these principles can be applied within our own learning environment. There is much information from Walqui article that gives a brief overview of ELL students and how things looked in the past for these students. Now that times has change we will see how educators can make the requirements for ELL students better and more effective for teacher and students. Hopefully, as we look at ways of changing learning for our ELL students we must remember that every student learns differently. Even if you follow the principles from 1-8 we must keep in mind that everyone is unique and process things within their own time table.
In learning language, there are five important components in learning include a teacher, students, materials, teaching methods and evaluation. A teacher plays role as the sender of knowledge or information, learners play role as a receiver of knowledge from the sender, material is the knowledge will be transferred to the learners, teaching method is teacher’s management strategy in delivering the idea, the general principles or pedagogy teacher applies in teaching while the evaluation is the activity to collect the data then make it getting
...sources for Educators." PACTISS – Philosophers and Critical Thinkers in Senior Schools: Resources for Educators | You Can Upload and Share Your Resources as Well as Download What You Need. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .
Richards, J. C., Platt, J., & Plat, H. (2000). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied linguistics. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Thus, the book answers numerous practical questions that teachers have often struggled with; for example, how to increase the chances of academic success for language learners, how to use technology to teach language effectively, or how to teach language and content material concurrently. From the preface, the author makes it very clear that the book is designed to support language teachers in their journey as new teachers and throughout their teaching careers. In total, the book contains eleven chapters, which have been divided into four parts. The first part, "What Do Language Teachers Think About?" includes topics of foreign/ second language acquisition theories and language teaching methodologies. This part introduces the background knowledge readers will need in their journey as language teachers. The second part, "How Do You Teach a Language?" introduces approaches to teaching and learning that improve students’ writing, listening, speaking and reading abilities. Each chapter in this part includes suggestions for how students can be motivated and describes teaching and testing approaches to assess students ' language skills and academic literacy. The third part, "How Do I Know What to Teach?" is instrumental in helping teachers adopt teaching practices to particular teaching settings. The fourth part, "Where Do I Go from Here?" helps teachers gain a clearer perspective of what language teaching is all about; this section also considers teacher 's self-assessment and personal
Long, M, H. & Doughty, C, J. ( Eds.).(2009). The Handbook of Language Teaching. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
In conclusion, language learning has extensive area and to host a lot of methodologies and approaches. These kinds of approaches prove a huge of support to effective teaching and learning. Every approach has deficiency. Especially pre-methods approach like Grammar-translation and silent way methods. The importance issue is teacher aware of difference in these methods. In the past time or modern time are not the same but the teacher should set up to relative between to each other. All of the methods or approaches should be known but the most proper method/approaches should be chosen for cultivating effective language learners.
All methods in language teaching are a pre-designed set of description of how the teacher should teach the learner and how the learner should learn obtain from a specific theory of language and a theory of language learning. These theories are attain from the parts of linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and are the origin of theory and applying in language teaching. Language teaching methods is divided into many methodologies. For example: The Direct Method, Grammar-Translation Method, Audio-Lingual Method, Total Physical Response, Audio-Lingual Method, The structural Method etc. Each method has its own rules, history, and different from one another. For example: The direct method was the reply to the disapproving with the