Eva Said:

My opinion on Bill Gates (Essay and tomorrow due) Rate 1-10?

We Answered:

I really didnt fell like reading the whole thing, but i could tell by half way through that you know what youre doing, it sounds really good. One thing i noticed in the first paragraph is that you shouldnt use "and" at the beginging of the sentance and it isnt really necesary there anyway. I would rate it at a 8.5-9 out of 10, definitley better then some of my work!

Rick Said:

can you check this one for me please?

We Answered:

Hi Nana !

Rationale

Describing the Lessons

Throughout this paper, I will rationalize the strategies that I used to plan interactive activities that were designed for two connected lessons on listening and speaking skills. These activities are based on my experience during teaching practice. This rationale also will be supported by approaches that related to teaching, listening and speaking in EFL classrooms. The lesson entitled , “Animals and Animals’ Sounds” is planned for grade two students.


The Integration of Four Skills - Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing

Real success in the teaching of English language in EFL classrooms is possible when we integrate the four skills which are listening, speaking, reading and writing. Teachers should bear in mind that the importance of this combination in terms of the development of the young language learner in acquiring the language skills. For example - if you are giving them a listening comprehension, it might help them to develop their reading skills as they follow the listening. As stated by Pergoy & Boyle (1997, P.102) “When you assist students with listening comprehension, you assist them with reading comprehension.”

There is the integration of three skills in my listening lesson plan. They are writing in the worksheet while they are listening and they are speaking after listening in the miming game. The reason of that I did not go through the reading skill was because of the childrens’ ages. They still cannot read very well. However, I believe that the four skills complement each other.

Moreover, in the speaking lesson, I incorporated two skills which were the speaking and writing. As far as I can assess, students need to enhance their learning by practising the same subject in different ways and other skills.



The Role of Informal Interaction

Most teachers tend to use the academic and the formal English language in teaching, which is something vital and essential in modeling the language. Even so, I think it is crucial for us as teachers to change this from time to time, especially in specific conditions and circumstances. For example, when we want to explain a new word for the students we use the informal language. According to Harmer (2001) teachers need to add some informal words in their talk with a student in a way to deal with the difficulties in representing a new piece of English.

What is more, it is a way that the teacher uses this informal interaction to make sense of humor and have a good relationship with her students. In my two lesson plans there are some chances to see informal interaction. For instance, when the teacher acts like animals and sing the song with the students, she uses the informal interaction and ties to break the ice between her and the students.


The Main Purposes for Listening

Actually, there are many purposes for listening skill activities in learning a second language. They are used to develop the language features such as pronunciation, vocabulary and tenses. As remarked by Girard, Ellis & Brewster (2004, p. 99) wrote, “Teachers should make sure that the learners are clear about why they are listening, what the main purpose of the activity so that it builds up their confidence”. In my listening lesson plan, my purpose is to teach students new vocabulary with a good pronunciation of the new words, and that would be occur by repeating the word for them as they listen to it.


Planning for Pre-, During- and Post- listening Activities

Listening is a considerable part of activity for learners in EFL classroom. Teachers should be aware that the learners, as they listen to a task, gain many splendid skills in processing their aural abilities. According to Harmer (1998, P.98) “The major reason for teaching listening is because it helps students to acquire language subconsciously.”

Pre-listening is the stage where the teacher prepares her students for a listening text that she is going to give. It also provides the learners with a useful background and knowledge of the listening text. It is the stage which “Ought to make the context explicit, clarify purposes and establish roles, procedures and goals for listening.” (Rost, p. 232) as cited in Pospieszynska (2000). In my lesson plan, there is a good pre-listening activity which prepares students for listening to the story. I present the new vocabulary that is included in the story so that they become familiar with the words when they listen to the story. To double check, I present a big picture that contains animals and allow them identify the animals they have learnt. By doing so, I am ready to move to the next stage while they are listening.

According to Underwood (1989, p.45) “While listening activities are what the students are asked to do during the time that they are listening to the tape.” During this stage learners are required to finish some tasks with the information they have extracted from the text. Listen