Month: April 2023

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MY DIARY AS A (FUTURE) TEACHERđź–‹

By Dorotea Blažinić, 5th year of the Faculty of Education in Osijek, module C

When I was a kid, I kept a diary. It was kind of a game for me, and I never took writing
seriously. During one school year, I was writing about anything and everything. I wanted to be a teacher, a lawyer, or an actress. Then I grew up and tried to be a teacher.


Fifteen years later, the second diary was created. My diary as a (future) teacher. So, dear
diary…let’s begin.

Dear diary,
here I am, once again. I’m a little late, I know. A lot has happened over the past few years. One of the biggest news is that I’m becoming a teacher. Just like I wanted when I was younger. I became a teacher a few months ago. Informally, without a degree, but with all my heart and all the knowledge I have gained. I work in two kindergartens. I have four groups of children, a total of 45 of them, my first students. Together, we practice our English while we play, dance, laugh, occasionally weep, fight, and argue. Even though I’ve been doing this job for a while, and it’s a great one, there are still many things I know now that I didn’t know before. I was aware of these issues in theory; I just didn’t anticipate running into them so soon. So, the following is a list of everything I wish I had known earlier:

Not every lesson is going to be perfect.
On some days, I would arrive at work fully prepared with a variety of materials, including cards, cartoons, brand-new games, songs, and dances. I had hoped it would be the perfect lesson, but it just didn’t happen. And it’s nobody’s fault. Sometimes things just turn out that way.

Textbooks are not sacred.
I hid behind textbooks and pre-written lesson plans for the first month of my teaching career. To know what to say when and how to engage my students in an activity, I memorized lesson plans by heart. One day I simply forgot my book at home. I had to improvise the whole lesson. At the end of the lesson, my students hugged me for the first time.


“Teacher, this was the best day ever!”


Of course, I still use the textbook and follow the topics it covers, but I do a lot of things myself. I invent games and songs and gather ideas from the Internet (especially TikTok where there are amazing teachers with great activities and ideas). I am slowly getting to know my students and their interests, so I adapt my activities to that, as well. I’ve stopped hiding.

Don’t allow parents to intimidate you.
After I finished my very first lesson and was ready to leave, a group of five mothers stopped me and began yelling at me. The fact that all the kids were in the same group did not satisfy them, and the classroom where the classes were held was too tiny for them. They also had issues with the program. I tried to clarify that I had nothing to do with the issues mentioned, that all I was here to do was provide lessons, and that they should direct their concerns to the program supervisors. I sobbed the entire way home and felt like I had to give up since this was not the career for me. I was miserable. I didn’t want to give up, though, at the first obstacle. I carried out my duties as efficiently as I could, and I never ran across that group again.

Your salary belongs to you, not to your job.
When I received my first paycheck, I was overjoyed. Though I wanted to go out and buy a new coat, I decided that my pupils required certain supplies that would make my next lectures simpler. I went shopping and purchased crayons, stickers, erasers, and pencils. Nobody expressed gratitude. So, I stopped.


Recently, we were talking about the weather, and the textbook’s assignment called for the kids to color the sun yellow. The problem is that in my group there are eleven students, but I only have one yellow crayon. Of course, we didn’t do that together. I changed the whole activity because of the lack of materials, and the coloring task became the homework task.


Sadly, the classrooms are so unequipped – sometimes I have more students in the classroom than chairs. Despite my best efforts, I am just unable to meet all their needs. Because of this, I focus my lessons on games, dancing, and acting – activities that don’t need a lot of additional resources that I don’t own. I may be selfish, but my salary is mine, not my employer’s salary.

Flashcards are priceless!
To be entirely honest, I used to find flashcards to be really dull when I was a student. Now that I have this experience, I can say that I give them maximum attention while creating activities. With them, I am able to achieve anything! From the most basic exercises, such as just naming words (which was the only time my teachers used flashcards; perhaps this is why I didn’t enjoy them), to a variety of activities, like memory exercises, acting out the words, passing the cards around a ring, the yes/no game, and others. Croatian “kartice priÄŤalice” served as the inspiration for the game that has recently proven to be the most fascinating for us. We play in a way that each kid draws a card while seated in a circle. They come up with a sentence using that word after correctly naming it in English. Although I usually translate the sentences into English, the majority of the sentences are delivered in Croatian. The following student picks the card again, names the word, and uses it in a sentence that relies on the one from the previous student. The students really enjoy this activity since most of the stories we tell don’t make any sense, which makes them entertaining and humorous. This activity allows me as a teacher the chance to assess how well the students have mastered the vocabulary while simultaneously providing me with the chance to further develop the vocabulary via the telling of the story.


Recently, a group of my students used this game to create a hilarious story that goes something like this:

Be yourself!
My students seem to be very curious about me and pay close attention to even the smallest changes I make. As an example, I wore a ring to class a few days ago. The students asked me for the name of my husband after the class. I chuckled and asked them why they believed I was married. You have a ring, they said in response. I told them I don’t have a husband and that the ring belonged to my grandmother. Then they asked me: “How can you be a teacher if you don’t have a husband?”.


I decided to take advantage of their attention and told them the story about my winter holidays. I shared with them my experiences playing board games, decorating the tree, and baking cakes with my mother. When I told them the story of me running with my three-year-old godson, falling, hurting my knee, and ending up in a hospital, they were extremely intrigued. I chose words they were familiar with and demonstrated unfamiliar vocabulary (especially the part with racing and falling).


Even after I told them the story over a month ago, they continue to ask me about my knee in every lesson. They remembered this story the best out of all the ones I told them or had them read from the textbook because it was an experience that had happened to them, it was something personal and interesting to them, and it was also very humorous because it had actually happened to their teacher.


I believe it’s acceptable to occasionally reveal your own life to students and share personal
experiences. We, therefore, encourage them to speak as well, although mostly in Croatian, and I am pleased with their efforts to include as many English words as they can.

You are much more than just a teacher.
The first time they told me they loved me, I didn’t know what to say. I was also confused when they hugged me for the first time. Over time, I understood what it means to be their teacher. The teacher is the one who dances with them, sings, makes funny noises, comforts them when they are sad, scolds them when they are obedient, praises their progress, hugs them when something hurts, and talks when something bothers them. Every day when I open the door, I know that many emotions and love await me. Now I know what to say when they tell me they love me and I already have a box full of their drawings, drawings “for teacher” or “for tiÄŤr”.
A teacher is everything and much more than that.

Prepare to have your heart broken.
As wonderful as this job is, there are days when your heart breaks. When you notice that one of your students is sad and later confides in you that their dad no longer lives with them or that their mom is very heartbroken. Such situations leave me speechless. I mostly thank the student for having the confidence to tell me what’s bothering him, and I try to convince him that everything will be fine and that I’m always there if he needs my help.


My heart will likely break the hardest, though, the day my students leave me. Even if there is still a long way to go before that day, I often think about it. We have been so close over the past months that hardly a single day goes by that I don’t mention “those kids of mine.” They were my first after all, therefore they will always have a special place in my heart. We learned together, and I am really appreciative of all the affection they show me. They have no clue how much of an impact they have had on my life or how proud I am whenever they make a simple gesture or express a few words (or sentences) in English.

Dear diary,
this is only the beginning. I’m appreciative of the chance I get to develop my skills with my
amazing pupils. If not for the lectures, my professors, my mentors, and practice, all of this would have been more challenging. Everything I learned was and still is really beneficial to me. Some days are tougher than others, but I am certain of one thing: I chose the right path.

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Assessment of the speaking of young learners as a double-edged sword

By Dorotea Blažinčić, 5th year of the Faculty of Education in Osijek, module C

The ability to speak a language is a vital part of language learning. As a result, assessing the
speaking abilities of young learners is a key component of language instruction. Because there is no one-size-fits-all approach to assessing speaking with young learners, this assessment of speaking can be seen as a double-edged sword. On one hand, assessment can raise the profile of speaking, provide learners with opportunities to engage in meaningful language use, and promote communication and collaboration skills. On the other hand, it can be used to measure achievement and can lead to a focus on form over function, the use of inappropriate assessment tasks, and the promotion of negative attitudes and behaviors. This essay will examine a range of issues related to the assessment of speaking for young learners, drawing on the insights of McKay (2006), Linse and Nunan (2005), Lynn Cameron (2001), Shaaban (2005), and Nation and Newton (2009).


To begin, McKay (2006) emphasizes the importance of assessment for raising the profile of
speaking and providing opportunities for meaningful language use. She argues that assessment should be used to evaluate the impact of teaching on student learning, rather than just to measure achievement. Assessment can help to identify areas where learners are having difficulty, as well as areas in which they excel, and can provide feedback that can be used to inform instruction. Furthermore, assessment can provide learners with opportunities to engage in meaningful language use and can promote communication and collaboration skills.


McKay (2005) also outlines five key principles for assessing the speaking abilities of young
learners. These principles focus on using appropriate tasks and activities, making use of
formative and summative assessments, providing feedback, involving learners in assessment and evaluation, and finally, considering the social, cultural, and linguistic context of the language being assessed. When assessing the speaking abilities of young learners, it is important to use tasks and activities that are appropriate for the age and level of the learners. This means selecting tasks and activities that are not too difficult but will still provide the learners with the opportunity to demonstrate their speaking skills. For example, when assessing the speaking abilities of beginner-level learners, activities such as “describe a picture” or “tell a story” are appropriate, while more advanced learners can be asked to engage in more complex tasks such as “deliver a presentation” or “lead a discussion”. Formative and summative assessments are also important for assessing the speaking abilities of young learners. Formative assessments are ongoing
assessments that occur throughout the learning process and provide feedback on the learner’s progress. Summative assessments, on the other hand, are used at the end of a course or unit of study to measure the learner’s overall performance. Formative assessments are particularly important in assessing the speaking abilities of young learners as they allow teachers to provide ongoing feedback and adjust their teaching as needed. Providing feedback is also an essential part of assessing the speaking abilities of young learners. Feedback should be both positive and constructive and focus on the areas in which the learner can improve. It is important to make sure that the feedback is clear and easy to understand, and that it is given in a supportive and encouraging manner. The involvement of the learners in the assessment and evaluation process is also important. Learners should be encouraged to participate in the assessment and evaluation process by giving their opinion on their performance, as well as providing input into how the assessment should be conducted. This will help to ensure that the assessment is meaningful for the learners and that it is an accurate reflection of their speaking abilities.

However, Linse and Nunan (2005) caution against the use of assessment to measure achievement. They argue that assessment should not be used to simply measure knowledge and skills, but rather to measure how learners are using language to communicate and collaborate. If assessment tasks are used simply to measure achievement, learners may become focused on form and may lose sight of the communicative purposes of language. Furthermore, if assessment tasks are too difficult or complex, learners may become frustrated and demotivated.


Similarly, Lynn Cameron (2001) argues that assessment tasks should be appropriate for the age and language level of learners. She emphasizes the importance of using tasks that are both meaningful and achievable for learners, as this will enable them to engage in meaningful language use. She also argues that assessment tasks should be used to measure a range of language skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, rather than just focusing on one particular skill.

The speaking assessment, as it relates to Shaaban (2005), is designed to be an effective tool for evaluating a student’s language proficiency. It is designed to help teachers to assess a student’s ability to communicate effectively in the target language. This method of assessment allows teachers to evaluate the student’s ability to communicate, as well as their ability to express their ideas concisely and accurately. Through this method of assessment, the teacher can evaluate the student’s ability to understand, comprehend, and express themselves in the language. The assessment is conducted by having the student engage in a conversation with the teacher, or another student, in which they are required to answer questions, give opinions and explain their ideas. The assessment does not focus on grammar or vocabulary, but instead on the student’s ability to effectively communicate. It focuses on the student’s ability to understand the questions, their ability to respond appropriately, their pronunciation, and their ability to express their ideas fluently. The assessment also looks at the student’s ability to provide appropriate examples, and to respond to the questions promptly.

Finally, Nation and Newton (2009) argue that assessment should not be used to create a negative environment in the classroom. that assessment tasks should be used to promote positive attitudes and behaviors, rather than to create a sense of competition or to reward one learner over another. He also emphasizes the importance of providing feedback that is constructive and encouraging, rather than simply focusing on mistakes or deficiencies.

In conclusion, assessing the speaking abilities of young learners is an important part of language instruction. It is iimportant for teachers to be aware of the potential pitfalls of assessment, and to ensure that assessment tasks are appropriate for the age and language level of learners. By following the best practices outlined in this essay, such as using appropriate tasks and activities, making use of formative and summative assessments, providing feedback, involving learners in assessment and evaluation, and considering the social, cultural, and linguistic context of the language being assessed, language teachers can ensure that their assessments of speaking are meaningful and effective.


References:

â—‹ Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge University Press.

â—‹ Linse, C., & Nunan, D. (2005). Practical English language teaching. New York.

â—‹ McKay, P. (2006). Assessing Young Language Learners (Cambridge Language
Assessment). Cambridge University Press.

â—‹ Newton, J. M., & Nation, I. S. P. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking.
Routledge. 5

â—‹ Shaaban, K. (2001, April). Assessment of young learners. In English teaching forum
(Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 16-23).