The Anatomy of a Good Lesson II

Many teachers still follow the traditional method of lecturing to teach English as a foreign language rather than making students actively engage in learning processes. This lesson focuses on different activities to engage beginners actively to learn English language.

2017

Young learners have very little opportunities in using English for communication in Indonesian classrooms. To overcome the problem, the teacher should think of interactive activities to encourage students in class. However, as teachers, they have to be aware in choosing the suitable activities for young learners. There are lots of activities for young learners such as: games, TPR (movement), music/songs, coloring, drawing, making things, and sorting/putting into categories. Well-chosen activities are helpful as they give children to have fun and at the same time allowing them to practice language skills. The activities that work in class should rules, instructions, time management, praises and rewards.This paper provides a brief overview ofinteractive activities that can be used to encourage young learners to participate more in class.These are the following selected activities that used for teaching English for young learners such as but first, mime a monster, five little elephants...

Active, constructive, and interactive are terms that are commonly used in the cognitive and learning sciences. They describe activities that can be undertaken by learners. However, the literature is actually not explicit about how these terms can be defined; whether they are distinct; and whether they refer to overt manifestations, learning processes, or learning outcomes. Thus, a framework is provided here that offers a way to differentiate active, constructive, and interactive in terms of observable overt activities and underlying learning processes. The framework generates a testable hypothesis for learning: that interactive activities are most likely to be better than constructive activities, which in turn might be better than active activities, which are better than being passive. Studies from the literature are cited to provide evidence in support of this hypothesis. Moreover, postulating underlying learning processes allows us to interpret evidence in the literature more accurately. Specifying distinct overt activities for active, constructive, and interactive also offers suggestions for how learning activities can be coded and how each kind of activity might be elicited.

Language has been the backbone of our civilization. Language is the sign of intelligence. No other animal on earth has been proven to have the ability to use language like people. Language allows us to express our thoughts to other people, thus making our intent perfectly clear. Without language, we would be forced to use grunts and hand signals that would make communication difficult, if not impossible. Language is the invention that made life all the easier, so that we do not have to guess other people's meanings. Language is a system of communication consisting of sounds, words and grammar, or the system of communication used by people in a particular country or type of work. Language can be used in many ways. Most often, it is used to exchange concepts with others. A simple conversation about the weather provides the opportunity for two people to share their idea about the current state; they may both be in agreement that the day is cold, and are able to acknowledge to each other that they, too, are cold as a result of the temperature. Or, if the day is nice, they may be sharing a mutual enjoyment of the weather. Language can also express emotion. The tone or inflection of the voice is a clear sign of a person's feelings. Also his or her choice of language may signal emotions above tone. A person may use profanity to express strong emotions. Language can help a person to clarify a thought. Searching for the right word or phrase can best express a thought. To simply say that an object is " nice " does not best suit a situation when a more descriptive word like " sublime, " " exquisite " or " beautiful " is a better indication of the degree to which one has associations with the object. Generally students are afraid of studying language specially English language because it is not our mother tongue and that is why student face difficulties in learning second language so ,pupil tend to learn language through a meaningful approach. Therefore for teachers as well students of language , learning methods are very important. Methods is nothing but a scientific way of presenting the subject, keeping in mind the psychological and physical requirement of the children. For effective learning of language the methods has to be good as content. There are various methods used in language learning. But activity based teaching – learning strategy is very useful in language learning. Now it is important to know what we mean by activity based teaching learning strategies and what includes in activity based teaching learning. Activity-based learningdescribes a range of pedagogical approaches to teaching. Its core premises include the requirement that learning should be based on doing some hands-on experiments and activities. The idea of activity-based learning is rooted in the common notion that children are active learners rather than passive recipients of information. If child is provided the opportunity to explore by their own and provided an optimum learning environment then the learning becomes joyful and long-lasting. The key feature of the activity based learning method is that it uses child-friendly educational aids to develop self-learning and allows a child to study according to his/her aptitude and skill. Under the system, the curriculum is divided into small units, each a group of Self Learning Materials comprising attractively designed study cards for English, science and Abstract

This chapter examines vocabulary learning activities and aims to shed light on what teachers need to consider when designing, selecting, and modifying activities. It looks at questions like: Which words should be learned in activities? To what degree are words likely to be learned in activities? Does the activity make efficient use of learning time? Which features of activities contribute to learning? How effective is an activity likely to be? A list of criteria for examining activities is described and two activities are evaluated and then modified to increase their potential for vocabulary learning. There are many different vocabulary learning activities. Many focus attention on linking form and meaning, some aim at learning the forms of words, and others focus attention on how words are used. The range of activities allows teachers the choice of using a variety of techniques to teach vocabulary. Teachers need to evaluate activities and select the ones that are appropriate for their learning context. They should select activities according to the following criteria:

Teoría y Praxis, 2007

There are countless definitions of the word game. The majority of these look similar, however, just few of them define a game as a useful "tool" or "resource" for teaching. Dictionaries, for instance, give the following concepts: Any specific contest, engagement, amusement, computer simulation, or sport involving physical or mental competition under specific rules, as football, chess, or war games. [Webster's New World Dictionary, 1991: 554.] A universal form of recreation generally including any activity engaged in for diversion or amusement and often establishing a situation that involves a contest or rivalry. [Safra, Yannias & Goulka, 1998: 105.] A form of play or sport, especially a competitive one with rules. [Pocket Oxford, 1992: 359.] An activity or sport involving skill, knowledge, or chance, in which you follow fixed rules and try to win against an opponent or to solve a puzzle. [Collins Cobuild, 1987: 596.] Moreover, some writers have defined a game as: A structure-that-has rules, goals and agreement of players on the surface, and wonderful hidden processes underneath. [Turtledove, 1996: 3.] An activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun. [Hadfield, 1990: 5.] The essence of many games lies in outstripping, in friendly fashion, someone else's performance, or (and adult learners often prefer this) in bettering one's own, as in the world of sport. [Lee, 1979: 1.] An agreeable way of getting a class to use its initiative in English and as it is gently competitive, it increases motivation. It is also a contrast to periods of intensive study.

An alternative approach to lecturing is interactive lecture. In some literature, interactive teaching is forwarded as a means to increase the effectiveness of lectures. In traditional method of teaching by taking lectures only knowledge and information is delivered by lecturer but effectiveness of learning by student cannot be insured. One of the methods to insure effective learning by student is involving them in Interactive teaching and learning environment. Some study results suggest that students may learn as much in interactive lectures compared with traditional lectures, but a traditional lecture may also result in active student involvement. Interactive lecturing involves an increased interchange between teachers, students and the lecture content. The use of interactive lectures can promote active learning, heighten attention and motivation, give feedback to the teacher and the student, and increase satisfaction for both. This paper describes general strategies that can promote interactivity during lectures as well as some of interactive techniques that can be used in class of around 60 students. In some literature much has been written about effective lecturing and presentation skills in engineering education but little has been written about the benefits and strategies of interactive lecturing for engineering teachers. The aim of this paper is to discuss common fears and concerns about using this method of teaching, to describe the advantages and indications for interactive lectures, to outline some of interactive techniques that can be incorporated into engineering teaching at all levels.