SIMCE Inglés 2010....what is the next step?

Today we got the results of this Chilean test http://www.simce.cl/index.php?id=941. It is important to reflect on the importance of measuring and ranking what the students are learning. There are new attempts by the MINEDUC to provide both quantitative and qualitative information; however, the ranking is the  information sticked in everyone's mind when finding out the results. It is important to find a balance between the skills to be developed, the syllabus in force and the instrument which is used to measure the student's performance. To sucessed in this type of examinations, it is important to make explicit the componets of the syllabus: the objectives, the content, the procedures in the classroom and the assessment. To attempt the best achievement possible we need to aid the learners during the different processes, considering the specific factors without forgetting the final aim.

Only 11% of Chilean teenagers can understand basic communicative needs. This corresponds to level A1 in the CEF. http://www.linguanet-europa.org/pdfs/global-scale-grid-en.pdf. Most of them are from private schools.  Having qualified and commited English teachers is a must. Take the challenge of being part of a change. English Simce 2010, results

http://noticias.123.cl/noticias/20110324_72732c21436b4b1c7ace2e61b1e45b8e.htm

http://latercera.com/noticia/educacion/2011/03/657-353598-9-simce-de-ingles-el-11-de-los-alumnos-comprende-frases-y-textos-breves.shtml

Methodology II (Night Class)

Hi again!
This is the list of bloggers,
http://jlblogdaquinudla.blogspot.com/ José Luis D'aquin

http://pablinglishblog.blogspot.com/ Pablina Ortega

http://mf-realia.blogspot.com/ Marisol Farias

http://updatedenglish-claudy.blogspot.com/ Claudia Rozas

http://englishishappening.blogspot.com/ María Mercedes Yeomas
http://methodologyexperiences.blogspot.com/ César Riquelme
http://diefword.blogspot.com/ Danny Oyarzún
http://teachingisabout.blogspot.com/ Kiria Lastra
http://rebekpino.blogspot.com/ Rebeca Pino

Language and Literature, The Mackay School

Hi Class!
This is the list of blogs up to now....

http://englesmackay.blogspot.com/  Matthew Faille

http://mneuweiler.blogspot.com Matías Neuweiler

http://youssef-postmodernism.blogspot.com/ Youssef Eltit

http://english2013.blogspot.com/  José Manuel Zulueta

http://rodrigo-sifon.blogspot.com/ Rodrigo Sifon
http://vgandaraf95.blogspot.com/ Vicente Gándara
http://mercry3018.blogspot.com/ Matías Valenzuela

http://englishib2013.blogspot.com/ Héctor Zuñiga

http://postengmack.blogspot.com/ Stefan Search
http://leyton0.blogspot.com/ Jose Tomas Leyton  

What about the rest? I hope to have the complete list soon.

Remember that the next post is what we have done with the novel Hard Times today in class. I hope you do your best :)

      

Syllabus Design, Methodology II

Counting the pages and activities proposed in a textbook or printing some pages with grammar and vocabulary is not a real syllabus. It implies considering the needs of the students, the context of the school, the skills to be developed and the materials available. This is a public document so it needs to be clear enough to be understood by any person. It is a general overview and a clear list of the skills, contents, materials and procedures to be followed by the teacher.

Check this site to get further information in your syllabus design.

http://www.englishraven.com/ttools_syllabus.html

Methodology 1 Day Class List of Blogs

List of Bloggers
http://its-mymoon.blogspot.com/ Yasna Roa
http://nataly-jovovich.blogspot.com/ Nataly Pinto
http://christopher-ibacache.blogspot.com/  
http://methodologyniko.blogspot.com/
http://merythodology.blogspot.com/  María del Castillo
http://methoangelo.blogspot.com/ Angelo Messina
http://englishduck.blogspot.com/ Patricio Onetto
http://methodologyjudith.blogspot.com/ Judith
http://susana-ilovemethodology.blogspot.com/ Susana Zapata
http://methodology1katy.blogspot.com/ Katherine Valenzuela
http://methodologyone.blogspot.com/ Neptali Vásquez
http://chelo086.blogspot.com/2011/03/methodology-1.html Marcelo Véliz
http://athanvillaiaz.blogspot.com/ Axel Villagrán
http://denissemethodology.blogspot.com/ Denisse González
http://dannymug.blogspot.com/ Danny Ulloa
http://thisisnotamethodologyblog.blogspot.com/ Francisco Norambuena
www.progressonmypath.blogspot.com Giannina Herrera
http://englishmethod1.blogspot.com/ Francisca Quezada

The Product approach for writing

I absolutely agree with the process approach to teach writing, specially if we talk about beginners. The second language learner is in an interlanguage continum; therefore, he or she is experiencing many interactive processes. These depend on several internal and external factors, in this way, evaluating the production of a text as a product in one specific moment may be unfair and stressful for the learner. When I started teaching, the product approach was the only one I knew, therefore, that's the one that I used. In some way this is more objective to evaluate because you may determine some criteria, for example, grammar, text features and vocabulary to use as parameters, without considering the emotional or social factors that you may observe during the process. Now, as I know both of them I prefer the process approach. I can see that my studets feel more comfortable and motivated in this way.

Ideas from Pre-writing

When I start writing I usually brainstorm and cluster my ideas on a piece of paper. Once I have this sort of sketch, I look for material to support my paragraphs. I also use a lot of questionnning.

Most of my students find pre-writing useless. Students want everything to be instant nowadays. Another problem is that they understand pre-writing and writing as separate stages, i.e. they may use different techniques during pre-writing but start textualizing following new ways of thought. This is very personal and it is connected with the student's learning style.

Overall, I think that pre-writing is very important to activate previous knowledge and retrieve information from the long term memory.