Annotated bibliography - Term Paper Example

Welcome to my Education portfolio! The reason as to why I became an English teacher is based on the fact that I want to make a difference. I feel motivated learning the best way to implement new ideas and pedagogical strategies to keep up with the changing needs of diverse students attending our evolving classrooms. Despite my exposure to many other fields, I believe that education is the field where I can make the greatest impact. This portfolio is a culmination of my work as an English student and experience as a non-normative speakers’ teacher. Through my student teaching expertise and course work, I have discovered a lot about learning, teaching, students and most crucial of all, myself as an educator. All over the world, most students are heartbroken by their peers, tutors or even parents by being told that they can’t make or they are typically not good enough. Teaching is an extremely exhausting profession but I have come to realize that it requires understanding, patience enthusiasm and compassion. These things are among the many am ready to provide daily. My hope is that you find is that you find practically everything you wish to about my views on education, my teaching style, my philosophy and many of learning aspects that I have achieved so far. Hopefully, by going through this portfolio you will come to comprehend the teacher in me. My goal and vision is to elaborate strengths that make me efficient, passionate and useful part of any teaching team out there. 1) My teaching philosophy I strongly believe in treating all students respectfully and equally (this implies treating students differently as per their needs and giving each student a chance to succeed on their own terms), group works, field-trips and extra-curriculum activities, fairness, making learning meaningful to the students, student-centered learning and realization that teaching and learning is a continuous process therefore to help generate and improve my ideas and teaching strategies I have to undertake researches and study widely (Crookes 72). 1.1). Treating all students respectfully and equally In the sense that different students are gifted with different abilities and capabilities, different students should in the same sense be subjected to different learning speed, work load and attention. I have learnt that most students are left lagging behind in class work or even end up getting mixed up completely in existing school curriculum and end up not gaining anything from classroom due to these capability differences. By recognizing that all individuals have different levels of intelligence levels, some students needs follow up to regularly check on their progress and assist them where necessary, provide extra work or refocus the teaching strategy to meet their needs. By putting great consideration on what students walks with into classroom, I am in a better position to figure out where they are, what they need and the ways and strategies to help them achieve academically. Handling each student with respect means that as a teacher you have to understand each and every student’s needs, weaknesses, strengths, likes and dislikes. Understanding your classes’ needs will help you in designing and implementing teaching methods and strategies. As a teacher I managed to discover and uncover my students’ needs through various methods which includes; Administering regular assessments Administering regular and fair assessments that covers what is expected as per certain level of education helps the teacher understand his students’ strengths and weaknesses in terms of performance. Depending on the performances of the students, the teacher is able to identify the subjects which students need help in. For example if the student performs well in math but performs poorly in language the teacher is able to identify that the student is good at logic but the left side of the brain is dominant and needs help with writing and reading. Observing students interaction with others By understanding that students best expresses themselves as they interact with fellow students during play time or group activities, a teacher should initiate regular group activities and game time for his/her students. Some of group activities that I did usually initiate in my classroom were, group discussion, spelling competitions, reading competitions and pronunciation competitions. Keenly observing students as the go through these challenges in groups will enable you as the teacher identify the weak and strong students in certain areas. Providing students with survey questions about themselves A serious teacher should always provide students with self-evaluation questions the first weeks of start of the classes. These questions should consist of questions addressing their background, their interests and other things that can help in understanding the students. The question method is very effective as it does not bias students who are not outspoken but can clearly express themselves in writing. The written surveys are better compared to spoken surveys as they can be used as references later and helps identify students interest so the teacher can incorporate them in his/her lessons to make the lessons more enthusiastic to the students. The surveys also helps the teacher understand the students background more vividly thus the teacher can handle the students more respectfully depending on the financial background or the regional background the student comes from Participating and subjecting the students to lots of extra-curriculum activities Learning English is a continuous process that goes beyond the classroom work to the real world. In light of this, the teacher has to develop and encourage his/her students to participate in English learning oriented games and extra-curriculum activities. Taking learning outside the classroom is fun for all students as some find it more boredom studying just in classroom. I regularly employed icebreaker games as kind of English oriented games to help understand the students and to identify level of coursework understanding (Crookes 112). 1.2). Student-centered teaching I strongly believe that for students to succeed not only in English but any education subject, the teacher has to change the method of teaching from teacher oriented to students oriented since student-centered method helps to boost the confidence of the students on their teacher by shifting the focus from the teacher to students. This helps in creating an interactive relationship between the teacher and the student. Student-centered method entails the teacher doing much of listening than both speaking and instructing the students. This helps the students express themselves clearly without the fear of harsh treatment by the teacher and through this the teacher can be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of his/her students thus he/she can help the students accordingly. Student-centered teaching involves active learning, in which students answer questions, solve problems, develop questions of their own, discuss, brainstorm during class, debate or explain. In addition, student-centered teaching involves cooperative learning, whereby students get to work in teams/groups on projects and problems but under the conditions that foster individual accountability and positive interdependence. Lastly, student-centered involves inductive learning and teaching, where students are subjected to problems or questions and then the course material is learnt with light to the problems/questions. Some of inductive methods that I regularly employed during my expertise includes; problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, just-in-time teaching and discovery learning. In my learning and expertise I strongly believe that student-centered teaching is a more superior method than the traditional teacher-centered teaching. Some of the student-centered teaching strategies that I regularly employed include; alphabet brainstorming, assigning group ,members work roles, analyzing stereotyping and visual images, give one, get one, iceberg diagrams and listen to learn/learn to listen-developing deeper conversations. Alphabet brainstorming This is an efficient method to help students transfer ideas from head to paper. The method facilitates student’s brainstorming structure through asking/requesting them to develop different ideas beginning with different letters of the alphabet. The activity of developing ideas is appropriate for the whole class, small groups or even individual students. It is an effective and quick way to develop thoughts, evaluate learning and estimate prior knowledge. Procedure of alphabet brainstorming Firstly, the teacher selects text or topic that acts as the focus of alphabet brainstorm. The topics are selected on the basis of familiar events or themes to the students. Secondly, depending on the purpose of the brainstorm you can undertake it as a class-warm up activity, class activity to enhance students recalling power or as an exit card or debrief activity. The purposes of the alphabet brainstorm include; evaluating already existing students’ knowledge of a topic, reviewing of materials already covered, initiating a discussion shortly after students read a text or watch a film. Thirdly, stick 26 posters along the classroom wall each poster containing a different alphabet. Depending on the nature and purpose of students can work in groups, individually or class activity to generate and write ideas on the topic/theme corresponding to each alphabet on the posters across all alphabets. Finally, after the whole activity is over, the teacher debriefs the class on the activity about what was not included? What was not included? What was included? What themes/ they discovered? Assigning group members work roles As a teacher you should assign particular students specific roles to effectively structure the group work. Assigning each student a role to play in the group helps in enhancing students’ responsibility and discourages laziness and tendency to be reluctant in group contributions. Assigning roles to each student also helps in ensuring accountability by distributing responsibilities among group members. In addition, students have chances of developing different roles as they practice different group responsibilities. Procedure of assigning group work roles Firstly, for each task the teacher should identify which roles are required for the task. The roles include; timekeeper, facilitator, presenter and recorder. Secondly, the teacher should clearly indicate the expectations of each role. That is, provide vivid instructions for responsibilities that are associated with each assignment and perhaps prepare a list of what it looks like when the role is perfectly performed and when it is imperfectly performed. Lastly, debrief the whole exercise after the submission or completion of group work. This is done by asking students to reflect and comment on the experiences while working in the groups. Which roles were most challenging? Which roles they were most comfortable in? And any new ideas that may arose about new roles they feel they should be assigned. Analyzing stereotyping and visual images This strategy helps students develop; critical thinking skills (specifically with respect to visual images), historical context awareness, conceptual learning techniques and facilitate their interpretive and observation skills. Procedure of analyzing stereotyping and visual images Firstly, the teacher should look and also encourage students to look keenly on the pictures so as to clearly identify various aspects of the picture. The aspects include; shapes textures, colors and the position of objects/people. Secondly, the teacher should encourage students to write down what they see in the picture without interpreting and identify as many questions about the picture as possible. Lastly, hold a class discussion about on the questions about the picture and help students identify the intended audiences and what the picture/cartoon is trying to imply. Give one, get one strategy I realize that this strategy is very crucial during the student learning process since it stimulates their thinking as they try to tackle essential questions over the course of the study. The teacher should help students in developing multiple ideas and means of tackling the same questions so as to stimulate their thinking in trying to find the answer. The strategy also enhances students sharing their work or ideas with fellow students. This fosters students to become active readers or listeners. This is a very effective skill for acquiring new information. Procedure of give one, get one strategy Firstly, have students divide a piece of paper into two columns labeled give one and get one on the left and right columns respectively. Secondly, depending on the question you ask the students; have them write their views about the topic on the left column. The views should not necessary be written in full sentences. Then students should walk around the classroom to share their views with other students. The new views they get from peers should be written on the right column of the paper. This is a repetitive process. Finally, debrief the whole class about the whole procedure. Debriefing includes trying to identify what students have learnt by asking them questions and engaging them in a discussion to know if they wish to learn anything extra from the whole procedure or the main topic/theme. listen to learn/learn to listen-developing deeper conversations strategy I recognize that application of this strategy during and through my classes helps students develop discussion skills, specifically their capability to listen to each other. Procedure of listen to learn/learn to listen strategy The teacher should first give the students time to select and determine topics which they feel should be discussed. From these topics encourage students to highlight key issues they feel comfortable discussing. Divide the class into small groups. The students choose their own group facilitator to help in coordinating group discussion. Before the students begins the exercise the teacher should help the students understand that the whole procedure is about giving each and every individual in the group to air his/her views/reaction about the topic without interruption by other students in the group. As the students airs his/views other members of the group should pay attention. Students should not repeat what have already been said by other members of the group rather come up with different ideas of the same topic. Secondly, after each member of the group has presented their ideas, the teacher should allow the student to hold a group discussion reflecting on the issues that arose during individual presentation. The teacher should help the students acknowledge that group discussion is about understanding the diversity in students’ views and perspectives rather than criticizing other students’ views. After the discussion students should act as a single entity in compiling a list of views that arose in the discussion. Lastly, the teacher should facilitate a class discussion in which groups gets to present their key ideas got from the discussion (Crookes 163). 1.3). Extra-curriculum activities Being an English teacher I strongly advocate for extra curriculum activities as part of learning process as they provide students with positive gains and I recognize that play is part of students since work without play makes Jack a dull boy. Most of these activities will act as motivators encouraging students in fulfilling their curricular goals. Extra curriculum activities foster students’ confidence growth which in turn facilitates students ease in displaying in displaying their abilities and skills in classroom practice. These activities provide a conducive environment for learning language and encourage students to enhance their English level. Some of extra curriculum activities I employed during my expertise include, sports, debate, art and music. In addition, these activities enhances students bond with school which in turn leads to students positively connecting with the school. The positive connection will lead to students’ efficient learning since they will develop confidence in knowledge perception. Moreover, these activities provide students with a chance to interact with peers and connect more readily with each other thus leading to increased class engagement. On the other hand, extra curriculum activities fosters positive attitude in students. Students who perform well in extra curriculum activities develop high self esteem due to their accomplishments which is a key role in enhancing their success at school. Extra curriculum activities provide a real life setting where students can put the knowledge learnt in class into practice. Effects of extra curriculum activities on English learning Through my experience teaching non-normative speakers I discovered that extra-curricular activities have positive effect on the process of learning English. Firstly, these activities provide second language learners with a learning environment. Direct method like students engaging in an exclusive English debate helps in promoting students’ competence in communication and their proficiency in the language. The direct methods involved help in exposing students to the target language more often. This exposure facilitates students’ success in the language. The main aim as an English teacher is to help students improve their communication skills. Extra curriculum activities are just the best tools that the teacher should employ since they provide students with an environment to where students can have a chance to share opinions and ideas. Through role plays and games students struggle to achieve a communicative competence. These activities greatly contribute to the development of students’ communication skills. 1.4). Learning is a continuous process Ability to learn is one the best trait a teacher can have. We as educators have to be active learners so as to mould lifelong learners in classrooms. I take every opportunity as a golden privilege for me to learn as well. Whether learning from my own reflections or learning from my students, I have discovered that my career growth is directly attributed to being an active classroom learner (Crookes 210). As an educator I recognize that I should never stop learning because education is a changing sector that is full of diversities. To help improve and generate new teaching strategies that help in my teaching career I should never stop learning. Although I can comfortably teach lower teaching levels, I like higher challenges as they help me expound my teaching skills through teacher-student interaction. Through this interaction, I can help students uncover challenging concepts and understand their language more efficiently. 2) Reflective analysis Journal 1 One of second language acquisition studies is the study of error analysis. According to Corder, there is a distinction between errors and mistakes. Errors are more “systematic”, which they occur frequently. Second language learners do not have the ability to recognize it as an error. On the other hand, mistakes are similar to be slipped of the learners’ tongue and they do not occur frequently. Learners have the ability to correct their mistakes (Gass 91). During my English writing class observation, the teacher opens the class by discussing the common errors that the students have at their quiz. She discussed that they have to pay attention to the part of the speech of the words, including verb agreements. The students then received their quiz feedback and were required to be in groups of two students to correct their quiz errors, discussed and share their ideas. The teacher then turns to the textbook and discusses the features of the essays. She explained that the essay is divided into five paragraphs, introduction, three body paragraphs and the conclusion. She provides an essay and asks the students to figure out words and explain what their parts of speech are. In this way, students will practice more about the part of speech and then can be able to choose the appropriate word when they write essays. Reponses to observations The kind of approach the teacher takes in her class is very effective since it a student-based approach. The teacher firsts by identifying and correcting major mistakes students made in their quiz before handing them back to them. This provides all students with general of what correct format of the quiz is so when given the chance to discuss with peers to correct their mistakes they can correct them more comfortably. Each student is able to contribute confidently to the discussion since they don’t have the fear of the teacher in case they are wrong. This strategy boosts students’ concepts mastery power thus in the upcoming quiz same mistake cannot be repeated. The teacher later introduction of a new topic and leaving some assignment for the student to tackle is another way to foster students’ responsibility to take charge of their success and achievement in education. As the students research on the assignment they will better understand the concept and have a chance to explore what the teacher might have not covered during the class. Journal 2 The teacher opens the class by welcoming the students after a long weekend. She also, tells them about her own activities that she does during the weekend. She asks the students about their activities and encourages them to use “present perfect” which relates to their assignments. The students’ activities were all in door since the weather was too cold. An interesting point, the teacher tends to teach her students an idiom that relate to current specific weather, feeling or emotion. She teaches them “spring fever” and explains that waiting for the spring as response to her student’s examples. The opening class takes approximately 10 minutes. The class turns to traditional lecture where the teacher checks students’ assignment. Students receive feedback about their assignment answers. The teacher corrects students’ mistakes and provides more examples about the present perfect tense to be more understood. This takes around 25 minutes of the class, and the last 15 minutes was for the students to practice the tense with each other. The closure begins when the students have conversations with each other to create new sentences using the present perfect tense. I believe that “ESL students can understand the basic grammar rules of language only if they are able to create a lot of new sentences” (48 Richard &Lockhart). At the mid of the class, students were confused about the tenses and were asking many questions including (why, when, and how). However, at the last 15 minutes of the class, students were able to understand the rule by performing new sentences and conversing with other students. Responses to observation The teacher is very effective and efficient in her delivery. Creating a friendly learning environment between the teacher and the students is very importance for the success and educational achievements for the students and the teacher. The teacher begins her class by creating a friendly learning environment. Giving her own weekend story to the students helps alleviate students’ confidence thus students can feel free to contribute to the discussion by talking about their weekend too. The teacher then employs a very productive way of teaching, situational/object relation teaching strategy. In this strategy students get to understand the concepts better as they relate learning to the experiences they had over the weekend. The strategy also helps boost student understanding and mastery power. The students ends the class by initiating a discussion among the students to help them understand the concept more clearly as they practice forming sentences with peers. This helps student improve their learning and communication skills. Journal 3 The teacher opens the class by checking the attendance. It starts as a very traditional class: the teacher evaluates her students’ comprehension understanding by true/ false statements which based on the previous reading passage. Even though it is a very traditional class, the teacher tends to modify and simplifies her words. For example, she modifies “smart idea to good idea”. This activity takes approximately 35 minutes. The students were asked to check skim the reading passage in order to be able to answer the true/false activity. The class involves a very small number of students (6 students) which allow the teacher to make sure every student has the opportunity to participate and explain their answers and receive their feedback. An interesting point, students apply their beliefs of language learning. A student believes that there is a link between reading and writing skills “reading more improve our writing skills”. The student has a special “beliefs about the four language skills” (Richards &Lockhart 53) that language skills are related to each other. Reading will enhance his writing skills whereas listening improves his speaking skills. The teacher also encourages finding some examples that her students would use in their writing class as “in addition”. The closure begins by letting each student to read a paragraph of the reading passage. Responses to observations Although the teacher is a traditional oriented teacher, she incorporates both students-based and teacher-based strategies in her teaching. She begins by evaluating the students’ concepts mastery by asking the students questions and later gives each and every student a chance to read part of the passage as she closes her lesson for the day. This helps students improve on their reading and communication skills. The teacher also has a class with a manageable number of students. Working with a manageable number of students is widely encouraging since the teacher is able to keep truck of each and every student performance and help each student participate actively in class activities. This helps the teacher attend to each and every student as per their needs. Journal 4 This is a middle level class, where students have the ability to speak, understand and willing to discuss some issues in order to practice their English. The teacher opens the class by asking “how many languages are spoken in your country?” students response in one or two words. However, students from the same country have conflicting answers. So, they extend their responses. For example, there were four Saudi, three Vietnamese, and two Turkish students. The Saudi students said there is only one spoken language in Saudi Arabia but the Saudi girl argues them that there is another spoken language. English is used in different places including hospitals and universities. She also adds that there are different accents in Saudi Arabia. The student tends to show that there are many dialects in Saudi Arabia but she did not find a term to explain. In ENG 416 language and society, language and dialects were discussed and defined from different perspectives. They were also represented as “ambiguous terms”. For example, Haugen points out that ´language refer to either to a single linguistic norm or to a group of related term, and dialect to refer to one of the norms” (Wardhaugh 23). These definitions are more complex for ELS students especially lower and middle level students. So, the teacher explains the difference between languages and dialects with very easy and basic definitions provided with simple examples as she explained that “there is one language and there are many dialects of that language for example, Arabic language has many different dialects”. This discussion takes about 30 minutes of the entire class which introduces textbook reading passage topic “Native American”. The teacher turns to explain who they were, and where they lived. She also, provides examples of current museums which represent these people. The teacher then closes the class by assigning the students to read the reading passage at home and discuss main ideas and difficult terms next class. It seems that the teacher is more facilitator; she writes a topic on the board “how many languages are spoken in your country?” Letting the students to participate, discuss and share their answers and ideas. She is there to facilitate, correct and explain unclear terms or issues. Reponses to observations The teacher enhances formation of different ideas and perspectives of the same topic/theme. By doing this, the teacher facilitate students’ development of analytical skills of a situation or a problem. This strategy helps the students enhance and grow their knowledge base. Journal 5 During my English class’s observation in Saudi Arabia, the teacher was working on improving comprehension skills. She began by distributing comprehension worksheets to the entire class. Then she gave a brief summary of what was expected of the class. She then asked the class to read the entire comprehension. While some were reading the essay, other students had read the essay. She involved those students in a small group discussion while the rest of the students completed reading the comprehension exercise. Later she asked the students to read the questions and answer them. While students were doing this, she observed the entire class for students who were experiencing difficulty. She helped them out. As some students finished early, the teacher began discussing the answers. She even asked students to exchange their work to get a feedback from other student. In this way, the pacing of the lesson was such that every student was involved in the lesson. The teacher ended the lesson by reading the questions aloud and discussing the answers. According to the teacher, she had divided the lecture into four parts. The first part was introducing the lesson; the second part was involving the students into the lesson. The third part was the most important as students completed the learning activity. The final part was closure where the teacher took feedback from her students. Response to observations The teacher employed student-centered teaching strategy in helping her students improve their communication skills through comprehension reading. Further, she allows the students to discuss amongst themselves their views and findings of the easy fostering group interaction where students get to learn from each other. This teaching approach is very effective in helping students to understand certain topics or issues that are unclear to them. Journal 6 The teacher opened the class by building a great friendly relationship with her students. I noticed that she always opens her class by greeting and welcoming her students. The teacher then insured that her students fully understood the grammar rules and feel comfortable before the upcoming exam. She also modified her questions “do you feel ok” and “are you confused about the last class”. Some of the rules were not understood so she quickly explained and clarified unclear them. The class planed for a grammar revision where the students were asked to answer a written grammar exercises. The teacher tended to check her students answers with her feedback. However, time flies when the teacher was not able to check all the answers. So, students were recommended to email her for unclear questions. The teacher had a “quantity” planning decision where she tended to handle her students the grammar exercise sheet and is expected to be fully answered at the class. However, interactive decision was made when she asked her students to “email for unclear questions”. Responses to observations The teacher is very effective in her curriculum delivery with the help of student-centered teaching strategy. By creating friendly environment the first thing during her classes, enhances students’ confidence and courage. The fear of the teacher is eroded by the friendly environment created by the teacher thus the teacher and students can interact freely through the class. This free interaction between the teacher and students provides the teacher with a chance to identify students’ weaknesses and strengths and knows where to help the students. This approach facilitates students understanding and mastery of the curriculum. Samples of curriculum to support my story Quiz 1 Unit 8 SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE 1.Children .................... (make ) a lot of noise. 2.Sarah ......................... (like ) slow music very much. 3.I ....................... (brush ) my teeth twice a day. 4.She ............................. (do ) her homework regularly. 5.Susan ............................ (drink ) milk for breakfast. 6.They ................................. (get up ) at 7:00 in the morning. 7.My father ......................... (arrive) home at 7:00 p.m . 8.Betty and Mary .......................... (go ) to bed at 9:00p.m. 9.This train ............................. (stop ) at Gebze. 10.We ........................ (play ) football all the weekend Circle the correct answer 1.Robert /I like walking in the rain. 2.Susan /I usually comes home at 4:00 pm. 3.Jane / Mary and Sue always cleans her room. 4.Bill / You come to the class late. 5.I / Helen brushes her teeth every night . 6. Jenny / I swim very well. 7. Betty / You sings well. 8. They / My uncle live in New York Use the correct form of the verbs in brackets 1.Mr. and Mrs. Brown ............................ (live ) in Canada . 2.Tim ........................ (get) up at seven o’clock everyday. 3.Tom always ........................... (have ) breakfast at 7:30.4. They usually ........................... (have ) lunch in the cafeteria.5. The train ......................... (leave ) the station at 8:00 a.m . 6.Mrs. Brown ......................... ( do) all the work at home. 7.Peter ......................... (work ) in a supermarket at the weekends . 8.Hana ............................. (come ) from Germany. 9.My roommate ........................ ( hate ) cold weather. 10.Sarah ............................ ( read ) a fairy tale before she sleeps. 11.I ....................... ( write ) letters to my friends in my spare time . 12.My father sometimes ........................... (cook) for us. 13.My brother always ............................. (watch) television . Change positive sentences into negative. 1.I get up at 7:30 every morning .2.She drinks coffee everyday. 3.My brother usually does his homework. 4.We go to computer course at theweekends. 5.Mrs.Fun speaks French. 6.My cousin and I like pop music. Quiz 2 A) Grammar : Do as shown between brackets 1) They are eating breakfast. [Ask a yes/no question]. 2) She does the laundry on Mondays. [Ask "When"]. 3) Ali is driving the car. [Ask "Who"] 4) I am watching T.V. [Ask "What"] 5) They are my sisters. [Ask Who] 6) She is 15 years old. [Ask "How old"] B) Correct the following sentences 1) I drink a milk every morning. 2) Layla gos to school by bus. 3) I usually puts on makeup before going to a party. 4) Rice are good for you. 5) They has a big house with a garage and a beautiful garden. 6) There is two tables in my bedroom. 7) They go to school now. C) Grammar : Choose the correct answer 1) We [clean – cleans – cleaning] the house every Tuesday. 2) I am [take – takeing - taking] a nap this afternoon. 3) She never [go – goes – is going] shopping with her kids. 4) [How much – How many] meat do we have? 5) [Are there – Is there] any bananas in the fridge? 6) I am [studing – studying - studiing] English this year. 7) [This – These - That] pants are beautiful. F) Fill in the blanks with the correct word from the box : /1 bookstore –handsome – TV – elevator – lobby – hospital – freezer – scientist – cute 1) My sister is_ _ _ _ _ . She is 3 years old. 2) Al-Hammadi is a good _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. 3) There is a big _ _ _ _ _ _ in the kitchen. 4) Im too tired to use the stairway, I am going to use the Quiz 3 - Conversations A) Complete the conversation between Nora and Amal. They are talking about houses and caves: Nora: Would you tell us about something about life in the past? Amal: …………………………………. Nora: Where did people live thousands of years ago? Amal: They…………………………in………………………………… Nora: What did they cover the floor with? Amal: They ………………………….the floor with………………….. Nora: Are they comfortable? Amal: ……………………………………… _ Reading 1 The camel is an animal with a large neck and small ears. Its teeth are strong. So when the camel gets angry it opens it mouth and uses them to bite its enemies. The color of the camel can be white or dark brown. It has long legs and it can travel quickly. The camel lives in the desert without problems. The camels feet have thick soles to protect them from the hot sand. They are brown and flat. This helps the camel to walk on the sand. The camel also has a hump on its back. In the rainy seasons the camel stores food in its hump. Then it can go for days with no food. However, the camel has tow stomachs. It can fill its stomach with water so it doesnt need to drink so often. Finally, the camel is sometimes called the ship of the desert. 1 Does the camel live in the desert? 2 Why do the camels feet have thick soles? 3 What does the camel sometimes called? 4 what are the colors of the camel? B) Choose the correct answers: 1. In the rainy seasons the camel stores food in its: a. stomach b. feet c. hump 2. The camels teeth are a. weak b. strong c. bad C) Write if the following sentences are [True] or [False  ]: 1. The camel has three stomachs. ( ) 2. The camel is an animal with a small neck. ( ) 3. The camel faces many problems in the desert. ( ) 2 Today, supermarkets are found in almost every city in the world. The first supermarket was opened fifty years ago. It was opened in Ney York by a man named Michael Cullen. In supermarkets, goods are placed on open shelves. There are usually special shelves in supermarkets for inexpensive items just in front of the check-out counter;chocolate, magazine, books and so on. Most customers who go to a supermarket buy from a shopping list. When they reach the check- out counter, the customers feel happy because their shopping is finished. To give comfort to customers, many supermarkets provide parking areas and stay open until very late at night. 1- Who opened the first supermarket? 2- Why do many supermarkets have parking areas ? 3- Was the first supermarket opened fifty years ago ? B) Choose the correct answers: 3. When the customers finished shopping, they feel b. Sad. c. Happy. d. Nervous. 4. The first supermarket was opened in b. New York . b. France. c. Egypt. C) Write if the following sentences are [True] or [False  ]: 4- chocolate , magazine, books expensive items ( ) 5- There are supermarkets in every city in the world ( ) 6- Most customers who go to a supermarket buy from a shopping list ( Sample of student survey 1.) My full name is _________________________________ I like to be called_______________________________ 2.) The month I was born in is ________________________ 3.) Do you have any pets? What are their names? _____________________________________________ 4.) My favorite color is _____________________________ 5.) Do you have any siblings? If so how many? _____________ 6.) What is your favorite book? _______________________ 7.) What is your favorite food? _______________________ 8.) My favorite activity is ____________________________ 9.) If I were an animal I would be a _________________________ 10.) What is your favorite subject and why? _______________________   11.) What is the subject you like the least and why? __________________   12.) Places you have traveled ___________________________________ 13.) Do you like to work in groups or by yourself? ____________________ 14.) Have you been to a history museum, other museums, or historical site? What was it? ________________ Conclusion Education is a very involving career that demands for full attention for both the teachers and students. As an educator you should form a interactive and learning environment with your students so as to identify their needs, likes, dislikes and interests as this the only way you can able to help students with ease. Understanding your students mostly comes about when the teacher switches from traditional lecturing to student-centered teaching strategy. This strategy is most appropriate in teaching since you get to engage students in discussions that are not always based on the teacher. The students also gets to know and understand each other better through holding group discussions in which they get to exchange ideas and views. Students appreciate the diversity of other students and understand that learning process is not a matter of competition and criticizing other students’ views rather it is an interactive process with the teacher as the facilitator. The teacher needs to use items and teaching aids that help facilitate the understanding and the mastery skills of the students. The aids may include; pictures, music, diagrams and charts. The method employed by teachers during their teaching process should be one that best favors students’ interests and helps create a friendly learning environment. A friendly learning environment helps students bond with the school thus enhancing their quest for knowledge. On the other hand, teachers should not stagnate and be comfortable with the level of educational knowledge they have at the moment rather they should research and study more books so as to identify and explore different teaching strategies that may help facilitate students’ learning process since education is a diversifying sector. Works Cited Crookes, Graham. A Practicum in Tesol: Professional Development Through Teaching Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. Print. Wardhaugh, Ronald. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Malden: Blackwell, 1998. Print. Read More