Giving the students a task meant they wouldn't be focusing on their language (hence providing naturalistic data) and it would also mean that I would take a back seat - leaving them to finish the task on their own!
While I was planning, I did realise some limitations of the project:
1. I requested this class specifically as a way to help me implement some of the strategies we have been learning...and also as a way to gather data for the SLA project. I volunteered to spend my free period with the kids, and their moms are thrilled they are getting some "TESOL influence." The only problem is that we don't always have 30minutes - sometimes it's less.
2. The time limit meant that I wouldn't be able to finish everything in one session.
3. There are only two children in the class...so I was worried that would may cause them to not interact with each other - because they could 'easily' check things with me. (this did happen a few times...)
SO - how did it go?
It's my Director's birthday next week - and she is one of their teachers - so I asked them to plan a birthday party for her. I have to admit - that was kind of sneaky because in a way, I am 'bribing' them with the promise of a pizza party...
However - whatever their feelings, I will say that they seemed really excited by the idea - and remained really focused on the task!
I began by putting a few "birthday party" items into a basket (candy, a party hat, spoons etc.) and I covered it with a scarf. As a Schema Activation activity, I told them they would look at the items for one minute and during that minute they should try to remember what was inside, and also, try to remember the details of what was inside. They loved this idea, and took it quite seriously. After a minute, I covered the basket again and asked them to work together to write down a list of everything they could remember. I was thrilled to see them working together to check spelling, add in details of color, flavors etc. They really did help each other!! (AND...I was really quiet!!)
After checking up on items they missed, we talked about what the items were for / when we would use them, and at first they mentioned words like "eat" but then with a little more wait time, "birthday party" was elicited and I tried to include some communicative comments about their own birthdays. They described their own birthday parties and I think we did well to keep things 'dialogic-esque.'
I will admit - my instructions were not that concise. Also - they had a few questions and a few "outbursts" of what they wanted to plan, so it did take me a 'few goes' before I got them to begin the activity --> This is something I want to work on for sure (not only the instructions, but also me being able to control the class - I mean, there were only two of them...perhaps I should be thinking that concise instructions won't end in a loss of control...)
The actual interaction between them was definitely not perfect, but I really tried to avoid "butting in." I noticed they used a lot of L1 at times, so I tried to remind them... On the whole, though, they got a list down. We had a short presentation - but again, this wasn't as "well-oiled" as I had hoped, because I don't think I made the presentation very specific - in fact, I hardly mentioned it - so in terms of my TBL cycle - I wasn't clear about what kind of product I wanted. I told them a list - but I didn't tell them about the presentation.
We didn't get around to the grammar section, nor the opportunity to redo the presentation...I may try this on Thursday - and let you know how it went!
On the whole, I feel excited about the potential TBL has for this class!
Their proficiency is not that high, but today I really saw them working as a team to meet the goals I'd set (albeit poorly..) Here is a list of "questions" or "comments" that are floating around my head...
**I found the students used a lot of L1. I'm wondering if the "excitement" or the feeling of "being in the moment" means they are more likely to use L1? Is this a drawback of TBL, I wonder?
*I'm not sure I did very well during the presentation part...I asked some questions - and asked them to review things...some of them were a result of me not making the instructions clear (for example, I had to ask them to think about how many of each item they thought they needed...) I'm wondering if my questions at this stage were appropriate?
**This is a "serious" limitation - in my head, I don't think I had really though out the grammar section. I was going to work with plurals - because I know that is a weakness of theirs, but in all honesty, I went in not entirely sure of how I was going to introduce that... Also, I found it quite difficult to note down 'real time grammar mistakes' they were making. There were...so many. I am wondering how to choose "what" to focus on in the post-task activity.
**This was so fun! I had fun, and I think the kids had fun...but...it did take a while to plan! I feel like I may have spent too long on the "planning" and "buying of fun stuff" etc. that I lost focus of the REAL goal... i.e. the grammar. I feel like this is a MAJOR learning for me - not to get too caught up in the 'fun' of it, and to plan more...intentionally.
Also - linked to this... I guess I'm wondering whether the children would be as excited with a TBL activity that doesn't involve the belief of "4 pizzas and 4 boxes of chicken" coming their way (yes...that was the initial number for me to buy...)
I'll update as I go!
I know this wasn't a perfect TBL - but I did try and stand back (and I think I did well), and also, I came out of it with a lot of learnings - so all in all...it was a really valuable experience for me! My Teacher talk time was certainly reduced within the lesson, however...I did notice that when I did speak it wasn't concise...nor as simple as it could have been. SO some progress...but still some to go!
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