PHILIP SILVESTER

12:20 PM (2
hours ago)

to me
Hi Samir
Firstly, apologies in my responding to your earlier emails. Thank you (once again!) for sending me such a well-presented,
comprehensive and high quality set of professional training materials. Thanks, also for sending me the photos of the
workshop. Maybe the 'photographer' can try to capture the emotional mood of the meeting/peoples' excitement etc?
As you know, I am not a Languages specialist - so I attach a range of assessment tools, documents and reports from the
UK which I hope may be of help to you. I'll try to answer your specific questions, later....
PowerPoint Presentation
I really liked the fact that you linked your imaginative and detailed presentation to your previous workshops and that you
involve the teachers in giving their opinions a great deal. You also offer lots of practical (and appropriate!) examples - this
is a solid and consistent strength of your materials
You (correctly in my view) allow time for the teachers to articulate and express their feelings before pursuing the
training. Also - you emphasise the need for preparation and encourage your colleagues to really focus (as precisely as
they can) on what they are trying to achieve/test.
I think the importance you place on ANALYSIS of the test results/process is excellent. The teachers need to identify
weaknesses/strengths in their own coverage of key concepts, develop a typology of outcomes (strengths/weaknesses),
analyse the class's results as a whole and (if time allows) try to analyse each student's results in some depth. Of course,
students need to be encouraged to do this for themselves (and - possibly - through paired activities). Students also need
to be reflecting upon their likely performance before and after the test - in parallel with the teacher.
I really like Slide 19 (it would be a good idea to number the slides, for ease of reference by the audience).
Is it possible to create or develop any formal assessments/tests that students could take in pairs or in groups?
Remedial Work - Teacher's Handout
Once again, your materials are synchronised and integrated, guiding the learner through the workshop with great skill, in
my view. I particularly liked the part where you encourage the teacher to encourage students with the highest and the
lowest marks (each student needs to be comparing their performance with how they have done previously - at the
individual level).
Is there any place/time for individual reflection with each student, or is this unrealistic? Again, I do think that it is very
important for each student to be encouraged to reflect upon their own performance before (i.e. prediction) and after (i.e.
reflection/analysis) each test/assessment.
In the section where you explain the 'Visualisation of mistakes', could the students be more actively
involved? Could they offer examples and write them on the board? Could they work in pairs or groups constructively criticising each others' work?
Again, the analysis of test results/pupil performance is one of the most important things a teacher can do (I do believe that
this important function/responsibility is not always given enough importance by teachers/schools). Excellent.
Feedback Sheet
I am not sure how many teachers attended this session - was the attendance good? %? How diod it compare to previous
meetings etc.?
You work hard (and this is GREAT!) to elicit teachers' worries/concerns early on in order to properly focus the training
workshop and address some 'real' issues. Maybe teachers could be encouraged to arrive with written concerns/examples
(post-it notes?) at the start of each session - to encourage them to think more deeply about the training/their needs before
they attend the session?
Again, I love your emphasis on PREPARATION and ANALYSIS. Excellent!
The final part of the Feedback sheet has a stronger flavor of 'sharing work' and using it to inform our next workshop
together. I think that this developing emphasis is a really positive change.
I n general terms, exams and tests in the UK enable the teacher, the student (and to some extent the school, the
parents, the Inspector and the Local Authority) to know how well they are performing compared to
themselves/others/national and local benchmarks.

It is vitally important that the teacher checks on the learning of his or her students - tests/exams are a really
important way of doing this. At the same time, such occasions provide an opportunity to shed light on how well
the teacher is teaching, the abilities of the students, how well students are learning/performing, any patterns in
terms of pupil outcomes etc. etc.
I hope this helps a little
Best wishes
Phil

By

Mr Samir Bounab
Teacher Trainer at MONE
At
Yellowdaffodil66@gmail.com