CamTESOL Phnom Penh, Cambodia February 23

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CamTESOLPhnom Penh, Cambodia February
23 24, 2008Building Connections in Large
Classes for Bridges to the World

• Marguerite MacDonald, PhD
• Wright State University
• maggie.macdonald_at_wright.edu

2
Introduction

• In order to build bridges to the world, teachers
  must first create connections in their own
  classrooms.
• In this session we are going to
• Identify challenges in teaching large classes
• Discover how Team English can address these
  challenges

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Large Classes

• Large classes present many challenges to learning
  communicative skills, including addressing
  multi-level abilities, maintaining discipline,
  and motivating students.
• This presentation introduces Team English, a
  framework to help manage and motivate classes of
  40, 60, 100, or more students, while addressing
  the needs of different ability levels.

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LoCastro (2001)Barriers to Communicative
Teaching in Large EFL Classes

• Pedagogical
• More difficulties in carrying out speaking,
  reading, and writing tasks
• Difficulties in monitoring work and giving
  feedback
• Problems with individualizing work
• Difficulties in setting up communicative tasks
• Tendency to avoid activities that are demanding
  to implement

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LoCastro (cont.)

• Management Related
• Correction of large numbers of essays made
  virtually impossible
• Pair and group work often cumbersome to execute
• High noise level, affecting neighboring classes
• Difficulties in attending to all students during
  class time
• More acute discipline problems

6
LoCastro (cont.)

• Affective
• Difficulties in learning students' names
• Impossibility of establishing good rapport with
  students
• Concerns for weaker students who may get lost
• Crowd phenomenon students' not listening to
  teacher and other students
• Problems in assessing students' interests and
  moods

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Recommendations for Large Classes

• Teams (e.g., Niemeyer, 1997)
• Permanent groups (e.g., Sarwar, 1991)
• Peer tutoring (e.g., Shank Terrill, 1995)
• Competition (e.g., Din, 1998)
• Points (e.g., Caprio, 1989)
• Color teams (e.g., Littlejohn, 1987)
• Cooperative learning (e.g., Jacobs et al., 1998)

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Team English

• Combines a sports theme and techniques
  recommended for large classes
• Organizes students into semi-permanent teams of
  mixed ability
• Breaks teams into smaller groups of mixed or same
  ability for communicative activities
• Uses team uniforms with identifying teammate
  numbers

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Benefits of Team Englishs Unique Features

• Subdivision of teams into groups
• An additional layer of organization and
  accountability
• More effective mentoring
• Advantages of a small class
• Colored, numbered uniforms
• Easier student identification
• Faster organization of groups
• Greater team loyalty

10
Size of Teams

• Teams should be large enough to form a variety of
  different groups within the team. We recommend
  teams of approximately 9-15 students.
• With very large classes (200 students or more)
  teams of up to 20 students may be necessary.
  Another solution is to form two leagues, each
  with half the teams, forming another layer of
  organization.
• The number of teams will be influenced by the
  number of strong students in the class, as each
  team needs at least one strong student.

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Size of Teams (cont.)

• Teams with 9 students allow 28 different
  combinations of 3 triads within the team.
• Teams with 12 students allow 55 different
  combinations of 4 triads within the team.
• Teams with 12 students allow 165 different
  combinations of 3 tetrads within the team.

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Team Formation

• To begin with, the teacher selects the students
  with the strongest leadership and English skills
  to be captains.
• The teacher can also select vice-captains to
  assist the captains.
• The teacher then lists the remaining students
  from highest to lowest English ability.

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Team Formation (cont.)

• The teacher forms the teams beginning from the
  top of the list, assigning one student to each
  team (for example, to the red, blue, green, and
  yellow teams).
• Then continuing down the list, the teacher
  assigns the next round of students to the teams
  in reverse order (yellow, green, blue, red).
• For the third round, the teacher again reverses
  the order (red, blue green, yellow), and so forth
  until all students are placed on a team.
• The teacher can then shift the students from one
  team to another to address any conflicts or
  imbalances.

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Team Formation (cont.)

• If the teacher does not know the ability of the
  students, teams can be composed randomly for a
  period of a few weeks.
• Later, teams can be re-formed, balancing ability.

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Uniforms

• Uniforms can be
• Plastic folders cut along the fold with the front
  and back joined by ribbon
• Corrugated plastic placards
• Reinforced nylon or plastic cloth cut in the
  center to go over the head like a pinnie
• Headbands
• Sashes
• T-shirts
• Any other identifier that can display team color
  and teammate number

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Uniforms (cont.)

• Uniforms should be lightweight and sturdy.
• Numbers can be stenciled with felt pens or other
  permanent markers, or printed on laminated paper.
  
• Ideally color and number should be visible from
  front and back.

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Numbers

• Numbers should be assigned consistently, so that
  each number represents a student with a similar
  level of ability across the teams. In this way,
  different ability level groups can be formed
  easily according to the purpose of the activity.
• The captain is usually 1 and, if included, the
  vice-captain is 2.

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Random Ability Numbering

• For a random-numbering ability pattern, the
  captain, 1, is a higher ability level student.
• In a team of 12, team member 5 might have a
  lower ability level across all the teams.
• Team member 11 might have a mid ability level
  across all the teams.
• In the example given, 1, 5, and 11 would form
  a heterogeneous group while for homogeneous
  grouping they would be in different groups, with
  others of their same ability.

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Sequenced Ability Numbering

• For a sequenced ability numbering, in a team of
  12, 1 would have the highest ability level and
  number 12 the lowest.
• In this example, 1, 2, 3 would form a
  homogeneous group while 1, 7, and 12 would
  form a heterogeneous group.

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Re-Forming Teams

• Teams should be re-formed every semester so that
  student ability can be reassessed and new numbers
  can be assigned.
• Number assignment is then done in the same way as
  described previously.

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Quiet Signal

• It is important to identify a clear signal for
  quiet that everyone can see, such as a flag,
  raised hand, mark on the chalkboard or overhead
  projector, etc.
• I wave a red football flag, which I carry with me
  as I travel around the class.
• Students are rewarded for becoming quiet
  immediately, penalized for not doing so.

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Accountability

• For group work, all members must know the answer,
  know how to perform the task, or be able to
  report on the discussion.
• When a group is presenting, all members of the
  other groups must be able to echo what is being
  said.

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Mentoring

• More advanced team members, usually the captain
  and vice-captain, mentor students with lower
  ability levels.
• Mentors are motivated to assure that all team
  members succeed so that the team succeeds.

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Points

• Teams receive points for providing answers to
  questions, completing tasks, giving echo
  responses, becoming quiet on time, getting ready
  or putting things away, etc.
• Teams are not rewarded points or are penalized
  points for going off task, not becoming quiet on
  time, making incorrect challenges, not providing
  the echo response, not getting ready or putting
  things away promptly, etc.

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Population

• Team English can be used with students from
  pre-kindergarten through university and adult
  levels.
• For adults, teams can draw on other themes than
  sports nursing students in different hospitals
  business students in competing companies etc.

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Pilot Studies

• Initial study at a prestigious private school in
  a city relatively near Bangkok, Thailand, working
  with classes of 50-60 mathayom 1-6 students
  (grades 7-12).
• Subsequent use in teacher training through a
  contracting organization
• On-going study in rural southeast Thailand
• New study in northeast Thailand

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Pilot Study in Rural Southeast Thailand(See
MacDonald Smith, to appear)

• Ian Smith, Project Leader
• Teacher Plus Foundation
• E-mail iansamit_at_gmail.com
• Blog http//tpfproject.blogspot.com/
• Ban Chamkho School, Rayong Province
• Anuban (pre-kindergarten and kindergarten)
• Lower Prathom (grades 1-3)
• Upper Prathom (grades 4-6)
• Lower Mathayom (grades 7-9)

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Pilot Study (cont.)

• Approximately 300 students
• Usually 40 students in a class
• Transitioning from teacher-fronted to
  student-centered classes
• Very low-level students
• After nine years of instruction, students
  ability ranging from 10-20 words, a handful of
  set phrases, and the ability to name some letters
  of the alphabet, to a vocabulary of 500-1000
  words and a high-beginning reading fluency.

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Ban Chamkho Teams

• Always four teams red, blue, green, and yellow
• Four sets of materials created by the project
  leader and teachers
• Use of both captains and vice-captains
• Sequenced for ability, in a class of 48 students,
  for each team of 12, 1 most advanced, 12 least
  advanced

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Ban Chamkho Activities

• Ban Chamkho uses several original activities to
  keep students focused and actively engaged.
• Teams learn the formations and their
  responsibilities before an activity is undertaken.

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Team Coaching

• Each team forms two adjoining circles (usually
  odd numbers/even numbers) with the captain and
  vice-captain sitting near each other, each
  coaching one circle but sharing materials.
• Teammates sit in a formation so that the lowest
  level students are closest to the coaches.

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Team Coaching (cont.)

• Mid-level students are responsible for keeping
  students on task.
• Coaches work with students to prepare for a new
  activity or to prepare to repeat a previous
  activity for improved results.
• The teacher circulates around the room coaching
  the coaches.

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Blue Team Coaching
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Lucky Dip

• This activity can be used to address many areas,
  including pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary,
  etc.
• Either the teacher or a designated student picks
  a random card from a set, identifies the word or
  phrase that the card represents, and calls it
  out.
• The teams must listen for the item, choose a
  corresponding card, and bring it to the teacher.

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Lucky Dip
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Matching Relay

• This activity can be used to practice vocabulary
  recognition in preparation for reading, writing,
  listening, and speaking.
• For each team, the teacher sets up two tables at
  opposite ends of the classroom.
• Each team places a set of written vocabulary
  cards face down on one table and a matching set
  of picture cards face up on the other table.
• The team gathers around the picture card table.

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Matching Relay (cont.)

• One student from each team runs to the opposite
  table, picks up a word card, reads it, and calls
  out the word to the teammates.
• The rest of the team must locate the
  corresponding picture card.
• A team member runs with that card and hands it to
  the teammate at the opposite table.
• That student clips the two cards together and
  returns to the main group.
• The student who has brought the picture card
  picks up a new word card, and the cycle is
  repeated until all team members have
  participated.

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Ban Chamkho Points

• Teams compete for points, receiving rewards for
  reaching certain benchmarks.
• Teams are awarded points for being the first to
  be prepared, providing correct answers, the first
  to clean up, etc.
• Special points are awarded to address different
  ability levels.

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Encouragement Points

• For some activities, students receive bonus
  points for successfully completing a task or
  providing an answer, based on their ability
  level.
• For example, in a team with 12 students, 1 and
  2 are the captain and vice-captain and receive
  no bonus points 3, 4, 5, and 6 receive 1
  bonus point 7, 8, and 9 receive 2 bonus
  points and 10, 11, and 12 receive 3 bonus
  points.

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Graded Task Points

• In some cases, activities have several levels of
  difficulty.
• Students receive more points for more difficult
  levels.
• For example, in the Lucky Dip activity, students
  can draw a card from an Easy (1 point),
  Medium (2 points), or Difficult (3 points)
  container.
• The level of difficulty is determined by the
  difficulty in pronunciation, vocabulary,
  spelling, grammar, etc.

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I Dont Know. Help Me Please . . . Points

• For certain activities, the value of the points
  is raised by one, so that an Easy answer is
  worth 2 points, a Medium answer 3 points, and a
  Difficult answer 4 points.
• If a student doesnt know the answer, he or she
  can consult a teammate.
• The teammate can whisper the answer to the
  student, but the student who requested the answer
  must be the one to provide the answer to the
  class.
• The team receives one point for this correct
  answer.

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Teamwork Points

• At the end of class, the teacher awards teamwork
  points for working together with everyone
  participating and staying on task.
• If teams have gone off task or have not included
  all members in the activities, the teacher awards
  fewer points.
• The teacher tallies the team points for the day.

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Red Team Celebrating
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Ban Chamkho Video Clip

• Anuban 2 class
• Teacher training session
• Class size slightly smaller than prathom and
  mathayom classes
• Team English used in 25-minute weekly sessions
  for a semester.

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(No Transcript)
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Demonstration

• The person in the aisle seat
• Takes a set of uniforms but DOES NOT pass them
  out.
• I will count to three.
• At three the person in the aisle seat takes 1
  and passes the uniforms down the row
• The next person takes 2, the next 3 and so
  forth until everyone has a uniform.
• After everyone in the team has a uniform, the
  team stands up.

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Demonstration (cont.)

• Form the following groups
• 1 2 3 4
• 5 6 7 8
• 9 10 11 12
• 13 14 15 16
• If there are two in your group, stay together and
  one person take the third persons
  responsibilities.
• If there is only one, join the group closest to
  you.

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Demonstration (cont.)

• As a group, determine how you could adapt an
  activity for Team English. In each group
• 1 5 9 13
• Think of an activity you would like to use in a
  large class. Ask your group for help if you need
  it.
• 2 6 10 14
• Take notes and summarize the discussion at the
  end of the activity.
• 3 7 11 15
• Lead the discussion, making sure everyone
  participates.
• 4 8 12 16
• Keep the group on task.

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Demonstration (cont.)

• Move around to re-form groups as follows
• 1 5 9 13
• 2 6 10 14
• 3 7 11 15
• 4 8 12 16
• Beginning with 1 2, 3, 4 then 5, 6, 7, 8, etc.
  briefly describe the activity you developed in
  your original group.
• 9 10 11 12 lead the group
• 13 14 15 16 keep the group on task

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Demonstration (cont.)

• In the same group, discuss what problems you
  might have trying to use Team English
• 5 6 7 8 lead the discussion
• 1 2 3 4 take notes
• 13 14 15 16 summarize the discussion with the
  help of 1 2 3 4
• 9 10 11 12 volunteer to provide the information
  if called on.

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Pedagogical Solutions

• LoCastros Pedagogical Barriers
• Team English Solutions
• More difficulties in carrying out speaking,
  reading, and writing tasks
• Carrying out speaking, reading, and writing tasks
  by having students work in groups
• Difficulties in monitoring work and giving
  feedback
• Monitoring work and giving feedback by holding
  teams accountable and circulating throughout the
  classroom

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Pedagogical Solutions (cont.)

• Problems with individualizing work
• Individualizing work by assigning appropriate
  tasks to each ability level of the group
• Difficulties in setting up communicative tasks
• Setting up communicative tasks by using groups
  and communicative materials
• Tendency to avoid activities that are demanding
  to implement
• Activities not overly demanding to implement
  through team organization

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Management Solutions

• LoCastros Management Related Barriers
• Team English Solutions
• Correction of large numbers of essays made
  virtually impossible
• Correction of smaller numbers of essays due to
  group authoring
• Pair and group work often cumbersome to execute
• Pair and group work easier to execute through the
  team organizational framework

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Management Solutions (cont.)

• High noise level, affecting neighboring classes
• Lower noise level by using signals to quiet
  students
• Difficulties in attending to all students during
  class time
• Attending to all students by circulating during
  class time and working with captains
• More acute discipline problems
• Fewer discipline problems because of team
  pressure

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Affective Solutions

• LoCastros Affective Barriers
• Team English Solutions
• Difficulties in learning students' names
• Learning students' names through number and color
  association
• Impossibility of establishing good rapport with
  students
• Establishing good rapport with students by
  talking with each group and being a facilitator
  rather than a dictator.

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Affective Solutions (cont.)

• Concerns for weaker students who may get lost
• Mentoring weaker students by using more advanced
  students
• Crowd phenomenon students' not listening to
  teacher and other students
• Avoiding crowd phenomenon through team structure
  and accountability
• Problems in assessing students' interests and
  moods
• Assessing students' interests and moods by
  talking with captains and individual students
  when circulating during group work

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Conclusion

• Team English provides a way to form connections
  in the classroom. In turn these connections can
  lead to bridges around the world.

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Questions or Comments

• Do you have any questions or comments?

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References

• Caprio, M. (1989). Myths surrounding language
  instruction in large classrooms. The Language
  Teacher, 13(1), 39-40.
• Din, F. S. (1998). The functions of class size
  perceived by Chinese rural school teachers. (ERIC
  Document Reproduction Service No. ED424045)
• Jacobs, G. M., Gilbert, C.C., Lopriore, L.,
  Goldstein, S., Thiyagarajali, R. (1998).
  Mosaic, 5(2), 13-16.
• Littlejohn, A. (1987). Using group work with
  large classes. Practical English Teaching, 7(3),
  38-39.
• LoCastro, V. (2001). Large classes and student
  learning. TESOL Quarterly, 35(3), 493-96.
• MacDonald, M. G. Smith, I. L. (To appear).
  Every student wins Using Team English with
  large, multilevel classes in Thailand. In B.
  Baurain P. Le Ha (Eds.) Multilevel and diverse
  classrooms. Alexandria, VA. TESOL.
• Niemeyer, S. (1997). Classroom surveys. English
  Teaching Forum, 35(4). Retrieved August 5, 2007,
  from http//exchanges.state. gov/forum/vols/vol35/
  no4/p41.htm.
• Sarwar, Z. (1991). Adapting individualization
  techniques for large classes. English Teaching
  Forum, 29(2), 16-21.
• Shank, C. C. Terrill, L. R. (1995). Teaching
  multilevel adult ESL classes. ERIC Digest.
  Retrieved August 7, 2007, from http//www.ericdige
  sts.org/1996-1/adult.htm.