Nationwide
Workshops
November
2009
Developing Writing for ESOL Exams- Claire Ross (British Council)
A Practical Approach to ELT- Rene Karam (ATEL Advisor)
PICTURES
http://picasaweb.google.com/atelebanon/ATELRegionalWorkshopsNov2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjo7ojapNqWSw#
Dear
Colleague,
ATEL sincerely greets you and wishes you a successful
academic year.
Since the aim
is professional development to improve the teacher’s performance, ATEL decided
to launch a new series of regional workshops for English language educators at
all levels in
Two workshops will be offered this year between
November 7th and November 14th:
1- Training Teachers for ESOL Exams given by a
professional trainer provided by the British Council
2- A Practical Approach to ELT given by Mr.
Rene Karam, ATEL Advisor.
N.B.The two workshops will be offered in parallel.
See schedule.
ATEL workshops are FREE of charge a) for ATEL members
when showing their 2009 membership cards, and b) for those who become members
during the workshop by paying 25,000L.L.
Non-members will be charged 10,000L.L. per workshop.
You are kindly requested to fill in the registration
form below. The registration form should be mailed maximum 3 WORKING days prior
to the workshop.
You can mail your form to: ATEL P.O.Box: 90-1479, Jdeidet-El-Metn,
Or Fax it to: 01-490226, Or email it to:
atel_lb@hotmail.com.
Administrators and coordinators are most welcome to
attend.
Certificates of attendance will be distributed immediately
after each workshop.
For more information, please
contact 03-728473 or mhajj@ndu.edu.lb
Best regards,
ATEL Higher Committee
October 10, 2009
Parallel Workshops:
1-
“Training Teachers for ESOL Exams”
- Professional trainer
from the British Council
2-
“A Practical Approach to ELT” (English Language Teaching) – Rene Karam, ATEL Advisor
|
Date |
Time |
Place |
|
Saturday, Nov. 7 |
9:00 → 12:00 |
College des Soeurs de Saint Coeurs Zahle’-
Rassieh |
|
Monday, Nov. 9 |
3:30 → 6:00 |
Evangelical School Saida |
|
Tuesday, Nov. 10 |
3:30 → 6:00 |
NDU- Barsa North |
|
Wednesday, Nov.11 |
3:30 → 6:00 |
Nabatieh |
|
Thursday, Nov. 12 |
4:00 → 6:30 |
|
|
Friday, Nov. 13 |
3:30 – 6:00 |
National Library Chouf |
|
Saturday, Nov. 14 |
9:00 – 12:00 |
College des Soeurs de Saint Coeurs
Bauchrieh - |
COUNCIL
Developing
Writing for ESOL Exams
By
Claire Ross
An Introduction to Cambridge ESOL
Exams
This was the topic of the regional ATEL workshops which were delivered in November 2009. Powerpoint presentations from the workshops are available on the ATEL website.
The aim of the workshops was to introduce the writing of the Cambridge PET exam, evaluate practical writing activities to use in the classroom and explore different ways of assessing writing.
PET Section 1 – Sentence
Transformations
Focus: Grammatical control/reformulation
Example question
|
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same
as the first. Use no more than three
words. It took us a long time to decide where to go. We spent a long time …………………… where to go. |
Classroom activity
Dictogloss
- Write a short text around a topic using PET structures and simple linkers.
- Read it out loud at a normal speed. Students listen but don’t write anything.
- Read it again. This time, students write down key words.
- Students reconstruct the text in groups.
- Students compare with the original text.
This student-centred approach to grammar is motivating as students like to know how much they got right. You can use texts from your coursebook or invent your own, adapting it to the level of the class. It covers a wide range of grammar and lexis in one lesson and so is good for exam preparation.
Assessment
For this section of the PET exam, accuracy is everything. The answer must be exactly right to be awarded a mark and spelling is very important.
PET Section 2 – Short
Messages
Focus: Content and communication
Example question
|
An English friend of yours called James gave a party yesterday, which you enjoyed. Write a card to send to James. In your card you should:
|
Classroom activity
Peer evaluation
- Students write a first draft of their message
- Students swap texts, read their partner’s text and answer the checklist questions.
- They then hand them back and use the feedback to improve the original version.
This activity helps students focus on the process of writing, where we continually revise and improve our work before settling on a finished product. It encourages collaboration and a focus on content, rather than accuracy. This is not to say that accuracy is not important in writing, but this activity gives students the opportunity to think about the message that they are communicating. You could follow this activity with a focus on accuracy if this is important for your class.
Example checklist questions:
Is the message clear and simple?
a) Yes, I could read it easily.
b) Some bits were not very easy to read, for example…
Are there any errors?
a) Yes, but I can still understand the message.
b) Yes, at some points the message isn’t clear.
Assessment
In the PET exam, students must include all three content points and observe the word limit (35-45 words).
PET Section 3 – Extended Writing
Focus: Range and control
Example question
|
Your English teacher has asked you to write a story. Your story must have the following title: The most important day of my life Write your story in about 100 words on your answer sheet. |
Classroom activity
- Ask students to write their five favourite English words on a piece of paper.
- Students have 3 minutes to think of a story using these words (in any order)
- Students tell each other their stories in pairs or groups
- Students write their story
This is a motivating and fun activity where students have plenty of preparation time before they start to write. You could use it for vocabulary revision, choose words based around a theme or ask students to pick words for the class to use.
Assessment
This section of the PET writing exam is assessed according
to the range of language (simple-complex), organisation and accuracy.
www.teachingenglish.org.uk
What do busy teachers need? Lesson plans, worksheets, teaching tips,
weblinks, articles about teaching? These
are all available on the free award-winning*
global home for English teaching on the web.
The site is organised into four main areas:
Try … this collection of resources for the classroom
- Resources for the classroom written by ELT specialists from the
- British
Council, the BBC and
worksheets, flashcards and podcasts to use in your class.
Think … about the way you teach and the principles which underpin your teaching
- Articles about all aspects of teaching methodology and ideas for teaching.
Talk … about your teaching and the issues that concern you
- Join our global network of English teachers. Discuss areas of interest in the forums, ask for and get advice.
Transform … your teaching career
- Access training materials, information on UK ELT courses and qualifications for your professional development.
Why register?
- You can interact with English teachers all over the world through discussion forums and opinion polls, add comments to different parts of the site and create your own personal blog.
- You get a free regular newsletter bringing the very latest content straight to your inbox
*highly commended in the 'Excellence in Learning & Skills’ category of the E-government National Awards 2008.
Claire Ross
Country Project Manager – English
British Council