Teaching English to Primary Students of Diverse Characters - Research Paper Example

Teaching English to Primary of Diverse Characters Introduction According to most of the modern day educational theories and measures of child psychology, ground of a curriculum development is based in provoking children towards the study matter. Particularly for the students of primary level, designing the curriculum requires letting them implicate in activities composed of interesting factors, which should guide them towards the purpose of educational program or the curriculum. Famously, as stressed in Tyler, “It is what he does that he learns, not what the teacher does". This idea asserts the key to an education program: provoke the kids to do. Therefore, a curriculum must have the qualities that provoke the children to involve in the study. It must not force them to participate. In a step-by-step procedure, we are moving onwards to critic a curriculum format discussing various aspects designed to stimulate child’s learning and his interests in the study material. In the current curriculum, it is found that more stress is given to the tactics that allure and involve students in various activities. We see that unlike mathematics and other technical subjects, language is more likely to be learned from a combination of imitation and innovation. And from the early classical schools of language, modern methods have improved a lot with much involvement of psychology and cognitive theories. Earlier classical method of language-learning, known as Grammar translation method (Rippa), holds a lot of deficiencies to turn a curriculum into an invitation for learning. Moreover, in case of language, studies suggest that very structural and bounding pattern fails to provoke interest in kids, but a competitive and utility oriented curriculum will serve the same with positive possibilities. In our current curriculum, major part includes the modernistic approach of language teaching while typical grammar-translation methods are not used that frequently. As we move onwards to the curriculum, we face a framework for kids to attract them towards utilising the language with expressive sentence structure. Its emphasis is towards compilation of a study which rests more on audio-visual and cognitive learning of language. Over the basis of over mentioned various assumptions of curriculum development and design, we move forward to see what factors are to be taken into account while analysing the working curriculum. Assessment of curriculum An assessment is the foundation for a working curriculum. It is also the primary investigation that provides all the data leading to the development of the curriculum. Assessment must not be confused with routine process. It consists of behavioural and tendency patterns of kids leading towards the whole design. “Languages” can and have been developed to define the content of academic subjects. The content language for an academic subject should be exhaustive in its inclusion of all possible types of content, and it should be common in the sense that the same language is used across studies and purposes (As cited in Porter). While building a curriculum, it is the responsibility of the designer to take care of immediate and domestic effects. Being particular to the students is also necessary because many factors affect the students, which are not directly known to the teacher. For example, ‘increasing dominance of Internet in society’ or ‘use of violent dialogues in movies’ influence the children to opt the language as an imitation of norms. As we see, asserted in Ramsden, assessment of a curriculum is more about the analysis and less about just inquiry: Assessment is about several things at once - It is about reporting on students achievements and about teaching better through expressing to them more clearly the goals of our curriculum. It is about measuring student learning; it is about diagnosing misunderstandings in order to help students to learn more effectively. It concerns the quality of the teaching as well as the quality of the learning. (p. 107) In our case, primary level of study consist students aging from 5 to 12 years. Neurologically as well as psychologically, this is the age where a child’s brain is shaped very rapidly. Also, as child’s learning is very much attained through imitation, his observant nature and questioning attitude towards his environments are to be taken as major keys to his behaviours. As we look toward the curriculum for language learning, various theories of linguistic and language-science suggest that language is learned by relating symbols and words with the objects. At the early primary level of education we look forward to see how various games and tactics tempt children towards a healthy competition. The overall methodology is given underneath: 1. Developing interest in verbal expressions This part includes a number of poetries, rhymes, and little prose with strong expressive messages which children find amusing in the classroom and remember for a considerable time. Some examples are Aesop’s fables and Arabian nights. Such stories can impress long lasting images over kid’s mind to allow him think about the story, and drag out the essence from it while enjoying the sequences and flow of storytelling. 2. Provoking utility of language to express A separate timing and designed structure is designed to invite kids for expressing their personal experiences. They are also invited to express their opinions about the activities and events around their places. It is extremely necessary to allow kids express themselves in front of each other. Such methods are experientially well known to reduce and eliminate the hesitation and, resultantly, making kids more proactive. 3. Enhancing an acceptable environment In a classroom, obviously there are a number extrovert kids taking participation in all activities. And on the other hand, there are kids who are shy and introvert in nature. To put both the types on a similar platform, it is managed to build a healthy environment around them allowing all kids share their ideas and opinions with other kids feeling like a part of the community. 4. Analysing the appealing factors Another important part during the development of the curriculum is to study how the class is responding to the inputs from teachers and books. Over some different aspects of teaching programs, student may have different opinions, and their way of responding may differ over a number of patterns. It is essential focused to understand their responses while conducting a proper study so assure that the flow keeps suiting the students over the time without getting distracted. 5. Letting the students come with their creative inputs It is another important part to provoke students towards making use of the language in their creative expressions. Periods and segments of their study are provided with the formats for creative utilities of language. There are number of methods to enhance their creative expression. ‘Group discussion’ ‘common story building’ and ‘supervising/leading other students during innovative games’ are some of the suitably used methods. The teachers choose to treat students according to their behaviours. For example shy students need more attention to bring out their involvement in open expression; it is a key responsibility of teachers to bring them in the game. For the fulfilment of designing a socio-educational environment, the kids are allowed to learn through the games and sporty instincts. As we are here dealing particularly with the primary kids, we have to keep in consideration that their tendencies will be more towards the playful environmental strategies than a direct preaching. Content can differ from one student to the next, even within a class. In elementary school, instruction is sometimes individualized, with students moving at their own pace through a set of tested objectives. Other times, students are grouped according to estimates of ability, with different content taught to different groups. (Porter) Unlike the children of older age, kids of primary level are supposed to involve less in direct learning and lectures than their playtimes. Thus, a program for the teachers is mandatory to find out the resolutions of their difficulties in keeping their spirits in their class. Scope and Sequence As we have mentioned earlier, primary children are rapid learners. And consequently, it is very much quick in younger children to grab the inputs of education. It may result into a shaping of their personality depending on the scope projection and curriculum design. Sequencing of the curriculum seems responsive to the development of the kids. It means that the numerous parts of the curriculum are in synchronization with each other. A curriculum is bound to a timeline which demands a proper beginning and ending to each segment. Those beginnings and endings must not be routines. Each part of the curriculum needs to step up students over their verbal, written and creative expression skills. This curriculum goes through several phases requiring numerous presets and aftermaths. Onwards, we are pertaining to the language learning schedule that consists of a number of essential common sequences of the English language curriculum. 1. Introductory part As we begin with the students to forward towards given educational structure, we find at the very early stage that students generally arrive in the classes with no primary setbacks. Even in a very early age, this analysing power is found to reside in all types of kids. Thus, it is essential for the primary part of the study to consist many ‘interesting’ factors combined with plentiful notions providing kids with the idea for how and why the study of those topics is important. In general, it can be said that the primary part is introductory, alluring and welcoming. It involves the exposure of the utilitarian perspective of study while maintaining the relevancy with the upcoming parts of the curriculum. 2. Unpacking of the basics Normally, it takes the kids a few weeks to a month while they maintain the tempo for learning with a steady pace managing with homework and class work. At the early stage of curriculum, after a healthy and sporty environment is achieved, it requires unfolding the basics of every topic without burdening them. Normally, in case of language, kids are introduced with puzzling facts of grammar, interesting points from etymology of words, interesting inventions in the history of language and some arguments over how the language developed. Although, each of those topics can cover a full study course, use of some basic points empower their roots of language. 3. Extension and forwarding Once kids are well aware of their topics, the curriculum moves forward to let them know more about the subjects riveting a good command. It is the phase which involves chapter-segmented classes, home-works and sessions of question-answers. However, after the unpacking phase, gradually the scope of the study is opened to its full. During the middle session the studies are on their highest pitch, students prepare their notes and learn most of the lessons. Resultantly, this is the heaviest session of studies too. A curriculum design must take care of relaxing the students during middle session. It should involve a relaxing weekend balancing among the lessons. As a whole, balancing of the topics is attained with a management of lighter and heavier topics comparatively. Overall burden from all topics and resultant homework does not fall on students in a shortage of time making them baffled and stressed to match with the tempo of study. 4. Collaboration and Revision The regular sessions finishes much before the exam times to allow a proper time for the revisions and collaborative study. The finishing session is a very essential part of the curriculum; it relaxes and energizes students. It is also the session which makes them exam prepare. Basically it is a session for enhancing the grip and casting the education on minds firmly. Revision is a very important procedure that is supported by the teachers. There is a collaborative session allowing a number of students come together and express outputs of their learning. While some theories may differ, collaborative process is not competitive here because a head-to-head competition may stop the kids from open expression. 5. Finishing and Guidelines The final part of the curriculum includes a finishing of the study session to move towards the exam. This is another part which holds much psychological importance. Exams have very diverse effects over various students. There are a number of stresses and anxieties attached with exams troubling students before exams. Such distresses may start well before finishing session starts. Therefore it is the task of finishing session to provide confidence to the kids improving their self-confidence and allowing them to face the exam as a healthy and sporty competition. Final parts of curriculum are also responsible for proper guideline of exam preparation. In case of language, such guideline involves a number of important points segmented in parts. Dealing with primary students, it is essential to allow kids elaborate their teachings from the section and contents of their notes to assure that when they use their study materials, they can instantly revise and re-engage in the course. Activities and Instruction While traditionally education had been laid upon theories of casting and moulding, it is the modern educational theories- after John Dewey- that focuses over the requirement of allowing kids to choose from their motives. As the curriculum designing is concerned, the target of education is to develop individual thought-process in students, as Taba simplifies: One scarcely needs to emphasize the importance of critical thinking as a desirable ingredient in human beings in a democratic society. No matter what views people hold of the chief function of education, they at least agree that people need to learn to think. In a society in which changes come fast, individuals cannot depend on routinized behaviour or tradition in making decisions, whether on practical everyday or professional matters, moral values, or political issues. In such a society, there is a natural concern that individuals be capable of intelligent and independent thought. Maintaining with this idea, the curriculum is a process of teaching methods of critical analysis and rectified thinking. Curriculum instruction defines the major activities to take place during all the sessions including classroom periods. Based on the development of individual instincts, when we face classroom diversified in many students, it was essential to help them come up with their own expressions with given language. For such a psychological and behavioural target, a rough format of traditional grammar-translation structure could not satisfy because it would only generalize students in categories instead of treating them as individuals. In teaching, the knowledge base is the body of understanding, knowledge, skills, and dispositions that a teacher needs to perform effectively in a given teaching situation, e.g., teaching mathematics to a class of 10 year olds in an inner-city school or teaching English literature to a class of high school seniors in an elite private school (Wilson, p. 106). When diversity is general among students, teaching of language becomes more proportional to inviting tactics and expressive methods compared to traditional enforcement of study material and text books in forms of home work and mandatory exercises. Moreover, when we are dealing with the primary students, it is completely inappropriate to treat them with a burden of exercises preformatted in a curriculum. Rather, innovative sessions are important to lead students towards language as form of expression. There are two approaches described in Brown: Cognitive style is the relationship between personality and cognition. While the style of learning is defined when cognitive styles are specifically linked to the educational context. Learning styles are divided into two styles of reflective and impulsive style. Reflective methods include a number of techniques which invites an opinion, a reaction or a solution from students over a given case. For example, some preferred reflective methods use the dialectical arguments over language and active-passive transformations. Impulsive methods generally include tactics of allow kids to come up with their points and opinions on numerous issues. Based on a mixture of both types, hereby, some of the major factors of the curriculum are listed below: Self expression sessions: Welcoming student to express their opinions and ideas over a subject. Includes: opinions over a tale or a fable, a memory from their life, speech over a relevant social issue or suggestion for betterment (...of environment, of mannerism etc.) Group Discussion: Making the students participate in discussions over single topics; allowing each student to express an opinion and to provide its anti-thesis. The teacher involves as a stimulant. He circulates the discussion among students provoking various students to take part in the arguments. Word games: Involving students to solve puzzles through games, suggest synonymous, make accurate sentence out of a mismatched set etc. Personal assignments: Personal attentions on students and personal assignments accordingly. Essays, diaries and notes over their particular issues and opinions mostly. Psychological expression: letting student speak on their personal subjects with personal detailing. It contains their opinions over social issues as well as about their class, parents, their own problems and strengths etc. Looking to all the framework of the curriculum, it seems based in the modern methods of language learning. The overall curriculum takes in attention that students must not feel burdened of the study material. In fact, their involvement and enthusiasm is taken as a key to define the success of the curriculum. Progress Monitoring In many mathematical and physical measures, a progress can be measures in numbers and figures such as graphs. However, when we are dealing with diverse students we cannot define strictly what symptoms can be called progress. It is mainly because of the expose of children’s abilities in different fields. For example, if one student has learned written prose up to a praiseworthy level while other has become a better speaker, it would be hard to find out who has learnt most. This dilemma is, however, mitigated with the use of exams and grades; describes Vygotsky: We are forever doomed to retain the false notion that behaviour is the sum of reflexes. At the same time, “man is not at all a skin sack filled with reflexes and the brain is not a hotel for conditional reflexes that happen to pass by” We can take it as the ground to assert some of the basic measures of progress that can help us monitor the curriculum progress. A number of exams over the under-mentioned standards and measures show the success of the curriculum; the enhancement of student’s power to utilize the language comes out in their written and verbal expressions which prove the beneficial framework and structure of a curriculum based in modern psychological methods of language-learning compared to traditional methods. Here are the basic parameters which define the efficiency and outcome of the curriculum framework. Student’s expressive powers: checked over the patterns of open expression like group discussion and expressive speeches Written expressive ability : mainly checked over essays and other structured writing Formal writing: Applications, formal essays and reports Identification : putting competitive patterns for unseen passages for dragging out the meanings, and relating to other texts they can remind Vocabulary: Though word games and puzzles including competitive exams Etymological understanding: Through matching prefixes, suffixes and examining the ability to identify the words from same origin Complete language assignments: Include a series of numerous patterns based upon over given measures. Conclusion Concerning to all those structural inputs of the curriculum, it is a primary factor to consider the diversity among the children. Students obviously belong to different social classes, different races, economical backgrounds, family environments, religious ethics and educational background of their parents. All such factors pay very much to define the personality and behaviour of the students. While it is not a duty of the teachers to try to alter their earlier nurture, they are responsible to let them evolve in a symmetric social structure of civilization. That means, a teacher has the innate responsibility to bring the kids out of their shell of personal or family background letting them feel as a part of a community that learns the ethics of civilization in common. On the other hand, it is important to allow the kids understand their own responsibility as well as the joy of becoming the part of community to adopt the norms against their offensive and rebellious instincts that may arrive out of their earlier nurture and social environment. After all, a curriculum made for a variety of students has to be designed by taking care of the fact that it must not oppress the inherited thought-process of the kids; there must not be methods and means to suppress the open expression of the kids- even if sometimes it seems to be offending the very structure of the curriculum. The current curriculum takes care of inheritance form children’s social and parental belongings and provides them full opportunity to improve their skills in an environment that is facilitated for language learning. A reduced use of traditional grammar-translation methods can result into a lighter home work and smaller sizes of personal notes, but overall sufficient availability of classroom interaction and revision session can overcome it. Works Cited Brown, H. Douglas. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. James, R., McInnis, C., Devlin, M. Assessing learning in Australian Universities. Melbourne: The University of Melbourne Design and Print Centre, 2003. Porter, Andrew C. Curriculum Assessment. 2004. Ramsden, Paul. Learning to Teach in Higher Education. Routledge, 2003. Rippa, S. Alexander. Education in a Free Society. New York: David McKay Company, 1971. Taba, Hilda. Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice. 1962. Tyler, Ralph. Basic principles of curriculam and instruction . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949. Vygotsky, L.S. "Consciousness as a problem in the psychology of behavior." 1925. Marxist.org. . Wilson, S. M., Shulman, L. S., & Richert, A. E. "‘150 different ways’ of knowing: Representations of knowledge in teaching." Exploring teachers’ thinking. London, 1987. 106. Read More