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The University of Southampton
Video Resources for English Language Teacher EducationEFL lessons

General english (l 1) Age 16-19

This is a general English class for students aged 16+ in an ESL setting. Students come from a variety of language backgrounds, and mostly are studying concurrently for their school-leaving exams (‘A-Levels') in diverse subjects. Some students attend both upper-intermediate and advanced classes. The lesson is centred on the topic "The Mind".

Materials used

Crace, A. & Acklam, R. (2010) New Total English: Upper Intermediate. Pearson Longman. (Student Book): Chapter 10 "The Mind"

ELT: Upper-Intermediate (Neil) from Julia Huettner on Vimeo.

TEACHER EDUCATION TASKS

"Acting the part": Teacher roles and accompanying language use

Aim: to explore the diverse roles taking on by a teacher in a class and the ways in which specific teacher language use supports these roles

Before viewing, discuss the following questions with a partner:

Now observe Neil's lesson and make a grid of the phases of the lesson with the main teacher role associated with it. See the example below

 

Time                     Role                                                      Task

12:02- 15:05        organiser/classroom manager               organising group work

After having done this, choose at least two roles and watch these sequences again. Now focus on the language (and body language) used by the teacher when he enacts these roles

For the extract above, for example, this could be:

Language (and body language) used

Always target language, use of orders in various degrees of politeness/indirectness (can I put you in groups, gestures, what I'd like you to, spend about 3 or 4 minutes discussing) , use of accompanying gestures

 

Look at the forms and functions of language that learners are confronted with by the teacher. Discuss with your partner what the potential learning opportunities are. Especially if you are used to using the L1 in some of these roles, discuss what the opportunities and challenges are of using the L2 to enact these roles.

Role of teacher

 

Story teller, organiser, manager, facilitator, transitions between

 

Listen to Neil talk about his upper-intermediate and advanced classes!

Neil talking about his classes from Julia Huettner on Vimeo.

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