WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM

DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation

Tea!er"s G#i$e
The aim of the Wise Up series is to turn students into competent communicators in English. Therefore, they
will be able to manipulate the system, selecting forms that not only make for the coherent text but also
meet goals and fit the ritual constraints of communication.
Communicative competence could be divided into other competences, such as
%in&#isti Competene: control of grammar and lexis
P!onolo&ial Competene control of phonological patterns
Soio'lin&#isti Competene control of social constraints in communication according to each
society
Inter#lt#ral Competene control of cultural aspects of a certain language regarding beliefs,
concepts, and mentality
Dis#rsi(e Competene control of discursive practices both in written and spoken discourse
Strate&i Competene control of strategies to deal with unexpected situations or information
within communication
!ost talks in everyday life use all these competences. Therefore, any method must analy"e these aspects of
communication in order to enable learners to create coherent discourse#written or spoken#that is
appropriate for any given situation within any given settings.
$n order to achieve such a goal, The %esearch & 'evelopment 'epartment came up with a method based
on the recent studies and beliefs of 'iscourse (nalysis. We understand that 'iscourse (nalysis represents
an insightful area to the analysis of language in use#linguistically and non)linguistically#in any given
situation within any given setting, which we believe to be necessary to promote learners* communicative
competence. To accomplish that, we have chosen to use real data in an attempt to provide students with
pedagogic material that is as lifelike as possible. Choosing to use authentic texts, we believe that we will be
putting learners in contact with those features of communication mentioned earlier +socio)linguistic,
intercultural, linguistic, and others, and preparing them for their future academic and professional life.
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WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
The method is based on the understanding that both written and spoken discourse must be analy"ed
through mode and medium. !ode is an overall analysis of the features of the text and tends to be
understood as a continuum. !edium is the actual system through which a message is conveyed +radio,
newspapers, lectures, .ournals, and others,. Through a combination of mode and medium, discourse will
take place.
$t was based on those beliefs that the content of each book was designed to ensure that all topics are
revisited several times from different perspectives and at deeper levels. This is only possible if it is looked at
through a layered perspective, which claims that the relationship between data and discourse analysis
should vary according to the goal of the researcher and the data itself. 'ifferent approaches must be used
at times in order to provide different insights into the same data as they examine the same issue from
different angles. ( layered view enables us to establish a dialogue between the various analyses, to share
insights, to bridge gaps between concepts, and, above all, to promote understanding.
TG Content
The T/ is comprised of four books and three C's containing the listening activities that take place in the
classroom. 0ooks -, 1, and 2 are divided into 3essons. Each lesson is comprised of two parts Unit Class and
Complementary Class.
T/ - 0asic -, 1, 2 4 3essons - to -5
T/ 1 $ntermediate -, 1, 2 4 3essons -6 to 27
T/ 2 (dvanced - and 1 4 3essons 28 to 95
0ook 9 contains ten modules. Each module contains ten classes in the book, one %eview Class, one !ovie
Class, one :ong Class, two exams +;ral and Written,, and one <eedback Class day.
T/ 9 C(3 +Classes for (dvanced 3earners,
The Teacher*s /uide contains the same information you find in the students* book plus
( key to all activities teachers should analy"e and compare their keys with students* answers, taking
the main ob.ective of the each activity into account
$nstructions on how to manage classes teachers are to follow the steps given in order to follow the
patterns established according to the method
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WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
Settin&s ) Pro*lem Sol(in&
=roblem :olving is seen as guidance on how to solve problems that may arise while the activity is being
carried out. Teachers should be aware that there is always a gap between the preparation of a class and the
real class. Therefore, not only do teachers need to provide solutions to solve these problems but also make
sure that the method is followed properly even when something unexpected comes up. <or example you
prepare a class for twelve people, but only six show up. ;ne of the absent students is your best student,
the one you always count on to answer the most difficult >uestions. What do you do? 'id you think about
that before running this class?
;bviously, it is impossible to predict all the problems teachers may face in the classroom. @owever, we
need to develop a sense of reasoning in our practice and make sure we have a plan to solve >uestions such
as the one mentioned. This is a skill we develop as we prepare and teach more and more different classes,
to different levels and audiences.
;ne of the most common problems teachers need to solve is the lack of interaction among students, which
affects aspects such as time, class development, and students* production. $n order to help solve this issue,
our method provides teachers with the most suitable :etting for each activity.
:ettings are types of classroom spatial organi"ation and grouping patterns designed to facilitate the
interaction among students and teachers. We understand that settings
increase interaction in the classroomA
expose students to different roles in communicationA
change the teacher*s role in the classroomA
motivate studentsA
increase student talking time +:TT,.
@ere are some hints for class preparation regarding :ettings
!ake sure all the settings are planned before your class, according to the number of students you
have.
'raw the pictures of :ettings on post)its and stick them next to the activity you are running so you
don*t get confused and don*t damage your T/.
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WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
(sk yourself what you should do if some students are absent or if students from other groups are
making up for a class they have missed. @ave a B=lan 0C for when that happens.
$n case your students are reluctant to participate in group activities or perform individual
presentations, explain that we try to perform lifelike situations such as interviews, presentations,
and interactions. Therefore, they are activities students already perform on a daily basis. We are
also working on their interpersonal skills and increasing motivation.
C!at
(ny class becomes alive once students talk and participate in it. Therefore, chats play an important role in
our method. (s we work based on output, we expect students to make mistakes not only when they write
but also when they talk. These mistakes are expected in order to shape their language production. <or that
reason, we can see chats as moments selected by the teacher to engage students in unplanned talks. While
preparing their classes, teachers should identify the >uestions that will naturally lead students to a chat.
!ost chats are suggested in the T/ according to the topic being studied. Teachers can plan >uestions and
talks before running their classes. $t is important to have the topic of the activity in mind when chatting.
That way, the group will not spend time talking without a purpose. There are two types of chat
Controlle$ C!at: !ostly yes)no >uestions. :tudents are not expected to expand their answers. $t is
commonly used in 0asic levels.
Open C!at: !ostly content >uestions. Teachers are supposed to encourage students to expand their
answers. $t is commonly used in more (dvanced levels.
$n order to avoid misunderstandings and wasting time, try to do the following
/et to know your students* routines and occupations. 'epending on what they do, some sub.ects
are simply uninteresting.
(void expressing personal opinions related to politics and religion, for example.
0e aware of the sub.ect. $f you don*t know much about it, do some research.
:tay focused, especially when you teach (dvanced students. (s they produce more information
than 0asic students, it is easy to lose focus of the main topic.
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WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
%in+s
3inks are supposed to provide methodological and emotional flow for the class. <or that reason, they must
make students perceive the goal of the activities and the relationship of that goal with the class and the
module.
$n view of that, teachers should
a, :tart their class by presenting the lesson goals previously written on the board. These goals can be
found on the top of the first page of the unit or in the discourse section, in the contents pages. They
should always be presented as tasks to be performed in the target language rather than as a list of
grammar or lexical topics. $t*s important to emphasi"e at this point that all the activities in the
/rammar (wareness, 3exical (wareness, =honological (wareness, %esearch and Cultural (wareness
sections are linked to the 'iscourse <ocus.
b, @ighlight the goal of each activity before starting them and link them to the purpose of the module and
the lesson. :tudents are used to activities that clearly contain a grammar purpose, so they usually
think
BDow $*m practicing the :imple =resent.C +e.g., :tudents filling in the blanks with either the :imple
=resent or the =resent Continuous.,
BDow $*m learning everything about prepositions.C +e.g., :tudents doing a long multiple)choice
activity.,
They are not used to doing activities that are aimed at developing the perception of implied meaning,
promoting intercultural awareness, exploring transactional talks and conversational constraints,
perceiving elisions and assimilations, analy"ing formality in narratives, argumentative strategies, and
others. 3inks must serve to show them how important these concepts are for their development.
(s we deal with real data, students might ask you, BWhy am $ reading a text about horoscopes?C or BWhy
am $ moving from horoscopes to relationships?C These >uestions are easily answered if they understand
why they are doing that. That*s why linking the activities by showing students their main ob.ective helps not
only to promote understanding but also to keep the flow of the class. !ost links are already suggested in
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WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
the T/, but in some activities you may not find them. $n this case, you should create a link related to the
activity main goal.
O#tp#t A,areness
@ave you thought about how to deal with your students* silence in the classroom? @ow do you overcome
silence when you teach 0asic levels, for example? (nd how do you deal with students who don*t seem
interested in a certain sub.ect?
;utput (wareness refers to the teachers* capacity to help students overcome silence, which may have
many reasons, such as fear of mistakes, shyness, time they need to think about what to say, and others. $n
the discourse approach landscape, the goal is to lead students from sentence level to discourse level. @ow
can teachers do that?
:ome ground rules have been established to help teachers in this task.
Ma+e room for pro$#tion that refers to the relationship between teacher talking time +TTT, and
student talking time +:TT,. Teachers should respect their students* natural flow of speech +>uantity
and >uality,, giving preference to student talking time +in pairs, in groups, talking to the teacher,.
Gi(e &ro#n$ to pro$#tion >uestions and tasks must be discourse)oriented. This can be achieved
by answering this >uestion which of the following will lead students to produce discourse instead
of sentences?
What did you use to do twenty years ago?
Tell us what your life was likelets saytwenty years ago.
Teachers tend to use grammar)oriented using >uestions that lead students to sentence production.
@owever, these >uestions don*t guarantee students are going to produce exactly what we expect them to.
Therefore, teachers need to focus on shaping language production, aiming at discourse investigation, as the
following extract explains.
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DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
S!apin& %an&#a&e Pro$#tion -Diso#rse In(esti&ation.
0y making discourse)oriented >uestions, teachers will hear a wide range of language constructions and
choices. $t is clear that teachers should intervene and correct the mistakes using the suggested correction
techni>ues, but is that all? (ren*t teachers also supposed to interact with correct utterances to encourage
students* discourse production? To shape discourse is to provide students with new tools apart from the
ones they already have. $t has nothing to do with correct or incorrect sentences. $t refers to constant
improvement. !ake comments such as, BCome on, make your statement more formal.C or BWhat are other
possibilities to make it sound more polite?C or BCan you think of other ways to state your point of view?C or
B;kayF3et*s say you are supposed to give me a definition of that same thing without using the verb to be.C
or B(part from the :imple =ast, can you use other verb forms to describe your life twenty years ago?C or
BGou knowFwhat you said might be interpreted in two different waysF @ow can you avoid this
misunderstanding?C or B(ll right, your sentence is absolutely correct, but it sounds out of placeFGou don*t
address a waiter that wayFCan you guys think of other possible sentences?C
Corretion Te!ni/#es
Correction Techni>ues are used by the teacher as a means of making mistakes a positive part of the
learning process. (ll mistakes should be used to help students deepen their understanding of the target
language. 0ecause of that, we do not use correction)on)the)spot. We understand correction)on)the)spot as
the techni>ue in which the teacher does not only spot the mistake at the moment it is made, but also
provides the correct answer straight away.
T0pes of Corretion Te!ni/#es:
Self'orretion: The teacher makes the student think about what he has .ust said and correct
himselfHherself. The teacher should repeat the sentence up to the point at which the mistake was made so
as to help the student perceive the problem. $t is the techni>ue of choice for previously taught items.
Teachers should use :elf)correction as a way to avoid fossili"ed mistakes as well, which are common in
(dvanced levels.
Gro#p'orretion: The teacher involves the whole group in the process of correction. $t*s usually more
appropriate for recently taught items in which most of the group shares the same doubts.
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DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
Rep!rasin&: The teacher reacts to a mistake without direct correction. @e interacts with what the student is
saying without interrupting or breaking the flow of the conversation.
St#$ent And we was all there waiting for the theater to open...
Tea!er You were waiting for the theater to open? Did you get there too early?
St#$ent Yes, we were waiting beause it was too early.
$t should be used in two situations
When the teacher doesn*t want to break the flow of the conversation, probably because the
activity focuses on a more communicative aspect.
When the student makes a mistake regarding a topic that hasn*t been studied yet and the teacher
believes it*s not the right time to explain it to them.
Pla0in& t!e 1ool: $t should be used to deal with misunderstandings in which the error the student has made
is mostly a semantic issue. $t resembles what happens in real life when we don*t understand something
somebody else says.
St#$ent !y sister went on holiday with your husband.
Tea!er !y husband?
St#$ent "h, no, her husband.
0esides the four techni>ues mentioned, it is important to highlight some hints and analyses regarding the
correction of Task)based (ctivities and Written (ssignments.
Corretion of Tas+'*ase$ Ati(ities: +individual, pair, or group work, While students are working in pairs,
groups, or individually for a presentation, what does the Teacher*s /uide mean when it says, Bvisit the pairs
and help students?C
We can include the following actions.
/ive them ideas and support regarding the task content and organi"ation.
$dentify mistakes and misuses and use /roup Correction +do not give them the answer,.
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WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
(s they present their work, you will spot new mistakes and misuses that you will have to
interact with as well. 0ut correction within the group is a must to help class flow and students*
development.
1ee$*a+ on t!e Corretion of Written Assi&nments:
$n order to properly understand the importance of this issue, it is appropriate to share :Irgio 0arreto*s
experience with his (dvanced - group#
$ had two wonderful, e%tre&ely dediated students in &y Ad'aned ( group. They always did all their
assign&ents. $n the &iddle of the &odule, so&ething alled &y attention# their disourse prodution
i&pro'ed onerning their Written Assign&ents length and )uality. *onetheless, the nu&ber of &istakes
inreased. As $ took a first glane at their prodution, $ was a&a+ed at their apaity to enode and organi+e
ideas. When $ took a seond, &ore areful look to spot &istakes and orret the&, $ was surprised by the
)uantity of &istakes that $ hadnt notied during &y first reading. Their disourse power distrated &e fro&
their &istakesbut $ needed to &ark the&, all of the&. That was the &o&ent when $ reali+ed the
i&portane of the ,Teahers *otes-. $ needed to tell the& that the &istakes were part of the proess. $
didnt want the& to stop taking risks, but $ knew the effet that the )uantity of &arks would ha'e on their
onfidene. The ,Teahers *otes- is the spae you &ust use to &ake your students aware of your opinion
about their prodution. $t gi'es the whole orretion a new &eaning. $'e already &entioned at so&e
&eetings that $'e notied that the Disourse Approah and the use of real data lead students to &ake &ore
&istakes. That happens beause we annot ontrol the input students ha'e in the lassroo&, so they
internali+e strutures, words, onstrutions, in their own speifi fashion. $ belie'e thats &uh better, &uh
&ore real than ontrolling e'ery single word they learn. We need to deal with the side effets. Teahers
&ust deide between being a &istake ather or a disourse analyst.
Spee!
:peech concerns the language used by the teacher during class, taking the level of the students into
account. :peech is made of linguistic and non)linguistic features +body language, visual language#
drawings, pictures#and others,. $n addition to that, teachers must carefully analy"e the language they use
in order to promote real)life communication in the classroom +which means avoiding the use of Bsaniti"edC
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DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
language in order to make themselves clear or understood,. :peech should be looked at as a tool to avoid
misunderstandings. Teachers should not be eager to make themselves understood at any cost.
Elements of Spee!:
2o$0 %an&#a&e $t helps personification of actions and things in general, being very important for students
at 0asic levels.
E0e Contat: $t is of great importance for students at all levels because it keeps them emotionally linked to
the class.
Stress an$ Intonation They set patterns of native)like talk, and give color and shades to words and
phrases.
Arti#lation: $t is extremely important when dealing with students at 0asic levels, but it should not be
confused with speaking unnaturally slowly.
Tea!er Tal+in& Time -TTT. $n order to understand the nature and role of TTT, we should ask the following
>uestion, BWhy do English teachers speak and what is their purpose while using language in the
classroom?C
@ere are some answers
To instruct teachers guide students as to what they have to do and how they have to do it, as
well as help them in case of misunderstandings.
To explain teachers explain language through examples, >uestions, role)plays, narratives, and
board record.
To motivate teachers motivate students. 0ut motivating is not only saying, B/o, student (JC
and B/reat, student 0JC We motivate our students every time we turn our classroom into a
place for a get)together. !otivation is much more related to the pleasure of meeting each
other than to an explicit motto.
Taking these elements into account, how much +and Bhow necessarilyC, do you speak? Teachers* use of
language in the classroom should always respect these three elements instruct, explain, and motivate. (nd
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DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
it should be based on two maxims naturalness and conciseness. 'o not use other assumptions such as
Bteachers should speak lessC or Bteachers must not speak all the time.C These rules will guide you to
unnaturalness +or, in other words, artificiality,.
Real'life %an&#a&e: Teachers should not invent a language to make themselves understood. To use real)life
language in the classroom is to respect students* trust. They believe that teachers will help them learn, so
they shouldn*t be misguided with the excuse of avoiding suffering and difficulty. With this attitude,
teachers will be in fact .ust postponing an inevitable reali"ation and making learning more painful.
We believe that real)life language must respect two main aspects that establish a rich dialogue
(ppropriateness of language selection determining which lexical items, grammar structures,
pronunciation patterns, sentence constructions are, in fact, used in real)life situations and are not
Bsaniti"ed classroom language.C
(ppropriateness to the audience while selecting the language to be used in the classroom, one
must also think, BTo whom am $ talking?C $f these issues are overlooked, teachers may fall into one
or both of these traps
Using appropriate language but not perceiving the nature of the audience +0asic,
$ntermediate or (dvanced?,.
B:aniti"ingC or inventing structures that follow mother)tongue patterns in order to make it
accessible to learners +0asic, $ntermediate or (dvanced,.
3oa*#lar0 In(esti&ation ) E4planation
Locabulary investigation is a procedure for the teaching of words and expressions and the use of
appropriate techni>ues, such as lexical groups, strong collocations, fixed expressions, and language chunks
to investigate +to use, the vocabulary. $t is very important to understand the difference between explaining
and investigating words and expressions.
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WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
Why do we investigate words?
Whenever a word or expression is explained, students automatically search for a correspondent in their
mother tongue. When words are investigated, we Bbreak that mirrorC and open up a range of possibilities
of different uses of these words. This helps not only to expand vocabulary but also to change a student*s
mindset towards learning a second language.
Which words should we investigate?
We should investigate the simple and common words. The more difficult, more complex ones should be
explained +see notes below about explanation techni>ues,.
:imple and common words play a bigger role in expressions, collocations, and chunks. Think about it which
word is richer in meaning and application, thing or trustworthy? Take a look at the dictionary.
Gou will detect that investigating thing will be much more profitable for your students. ;n the other hand,
if you select tr#st,ort!0 you will find a trustworthy person or a trustworthy companyF :o what? $s it
really precious information to promote students fluency? ;r will a simple explanation of its meaning do?
What techni>ues do we use to explain vocabulary?
0ody language
Lisual aids
Examples
Contextuali"ation
'efinition
Word games
What techni>ues do we use to investigate vocabulary?
3et*s use the words time and t!in& as examples to understand how we investigate vocabulary and use the
following techni>ues.
Stron& Colloations words that fre>uently co)occur
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WISE UP DISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM
DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
time loal ti&e . pri&e ti&e . ti&e bo&b . ti&e/onsu&ing
thing nie thing . lo'ely thing . good thing
%e4ial Gro#ps: words that share a community of meaning
time ti&e . hour . &inute . seonds
thing thing . stuff
1i4e$ E4pressions: short phrases that allow no variation
time ti&es up . were out of ti&e . take your ti&e . ti&e will tell
thing the real thing . theres no suh thing . a thing or two
Semi'fi4e$ E4pressions: short phrases with slots that allow variation
time 0a'e a 1good.great.lo'ely2 ti&e.
thing The 1interesting.i&portant.&ain.best2 thing is . &ake things 1easy.diffiult.hard2
%an&#a&e C!#n+s5Topi S!ifters bits of language that help speakers link ideas or prepare the
listener for what*s coming next
time At the sa&e ti&e...
thing The things is . A&ong other things...
Why do we use 0oard %ecord for Locabulary $nvestigation?
The use of 0oard %ecord indicates that the teacher wants to draw attention to the topic. 0oard %ecord
helps students use the words and expressions during class. 0ear in mind that when we don*t write on the
board, students tend to ignore the information explained or investigated, because they think it is not
important.
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DAY THREE: Elements of Class Preparation
Closin&
The Closing is directly related to the feedback the teacher gives at the end of a class to talk about his
students* learning process. Closings have a motivational goal to help students relate to the process.
Teachers are expected to warn students when they are not doing their best, to congratulate them, to guide
them on how to study, to remind them of tasks, and others. Up to 0asic 2, the Closing is to be done in
=ortuguese. Therefore, every time a teacher closes a class, students need to be aware of how far they can
go and how they are doing so far. <or that reason, never close a class by saying only, B@ave a great
weekend.C (s teachers, it is part of our responsibility to guide our students through their learning process.
There are four types of messages to be transmitted at the Closing.
Praisin& make your students aware of the fact that they are doing well.
Tellin& off make students aware that they are doing less than they could. @elp them organi"e their
studies.
Coolin& $o,n make students aware that some difficulties are part of the process.
C!eerin& #p make students aware that they are almost there.
(ll these elements are very important and should not be overlooked. Closings should also be about
discourse awareness. (s teachers are supposed to open their class showing students what they are learning
and the relevance of that topic to the process, they are supposed to close their class telling them what they
have seen, reinforcing the main goal of the class.
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