Saturday 17 May 2014

Best Practices: Teaching Regular and Irregular Verbs

I was observed by my principal in 4 Abu Hanifah two weeks ago and he was very generous with his evaluation (95%). I believe that the right kind of materials are important but more important is your delivery. It would be interesting to see how Teacher A and B deliver the lesson given the same materials and teaching conditions. Will there be differences in results? Which one will be more effective than the other in delivering the content? What distinguishes teacher A from B?

A research by Stronge, J.H, revealed that the most important quality a teacher should possess is verbal ability. The other qualities of a good teacher are listed below. The ones in red are the most important qualities that a teacher should posses. It's interesting to note that 'pedagogical skills' is not the top quality.



QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE TEACHERS
Stronge, J.H. (2007) 2nd edition



 



1.Verbal ability
2.Educational Coursework: pedagogical skills
3.Certification in the field area
4.Content knowledge
5.Teaching experience
6.Teachers of At-Risk & High Ability Students
7.Caring  (listening, understanding/knowing students)
8.Fairness & Respect
9.Social interaction with students
10.Promoting enthusiasm and motivating learning
11.Attitude towards teaching profession
12.Reflective Practice


"Verbal ability refers to a person's facility at putting ideas
 into words, both oral and written. This facility involves possessing not only a strong working vocabulary but also the 
ability to choose the right words to convey nuances of meaning to
 a chosen audience. Verbal ability also includes the ability 
to organize words in coherent ways." 


(Source: http://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-135842430/verbal-ability-and-teacher-effectiveness)


To me verbal ability simply means clarity of delivery and excellent communication skills- how a teacher, supported with good materials, deliver the content of the lesson effectively by taking into account students' learning styles and needs. Good verbal skills have a positive impact on student achievement.


All that said, here are the materials I used with 4 Abu Hanifah:

1. Mingle: a two-minute activity where students mingle and talk about their previous day activities
2. Song lyrics: Set fire to the rain (Adele)
2. Information Gap Activity: Crazy dictation
3. Tasks: Regular- Irregular Verbs


Happy teaching!


 

Those who can Do Those who can do more TEACH

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