Practise more with less tests /exams 13/9/2013
I believe a child can learn so much more
and better if they are not bothered by tests all the time in language
learning. Learning English in school
through stories besides some some planned learning of grammar and phonics.
Give the school the rights to choose the
English curriculum/ programme. I would
recommend Singapore English curriculum.
You may think the British one is even better, so go ahead with it, why
not? It is because all these programmes
go in depth and width to learn the language.
Personally, I have gone through
Pets series of books and some of another series called In Step. I have the full set of Pets series and 3
levels of In Step
For Pets series of books from 1A1B to
6A6B, for example, each level of the
books also goes with workbooks related to each unit and another revisionary
exercises also correspond to each topic/unit.
Besides, there are 13-15 readers to view/go with. You see how rich the language exposure
/experience.
In this case, children have the chance
to learn grammar and vocabulary in contexts in such a natural way. Grammar is also drilled in isolation, too but
related to the topic. There is always a
grammatical item/ two to emphasise in each unit/ topic.
I taught in an English tuition school
using Pets Series of books. I am
convinced that it is exactly as I believe.
Children need to go through all processes to learn the English language. It is a well-planned learning. Our Malaysian syllabi lack most of the things
for the development of the language.
It was a shock to me then.
After I resigned from a school, I
taught in an English language centre for a year. They used Pets series of books, workbooks,
revisionary exercises and readers for Level 1 and 2. For higher forms they had the access to the
library. Reading was highly recommended
to improve one’s English. I am convinced that learning a language has to
go through all these processes and exposure.
Our Malaysian syllabi lack most of these elements for the development of
the language. I was shocked then when I
had the chance to compare the two.
Ya, the centre also gave them 4 tests
in a year. Other time, children would
have the topic to view and exercises to do.
They had a lot of chances to hear spoken English in the language
centre. They had Spelling and Dictation
for each unit.
Once
I also gave tuition on my own. I used
the Pets series of coursebooks, some good exercises in the workbooks and the
revision exercises, of course all the readers for Level 1 and 2. Of course, I also gave Spelling and
Dictation, too.
Believe me, through Spelling and
Dictation, we can create the awareness of the clues of English spelling /phonics in general. Knowing how to pronounce the words enables our children to remember the words
easily and for life. For example,
Dictation
I hear with my two ears.
I can hear you clearly now, dear.
Though I am only 7 years old, I can tell you an apple from a pear.
That teddy bear near you is mine.
My mother wears a pearl necklace once
in a while.
Before you give them the dictation, give
them the spelling of the words and phrases a day ahead. Of course let them have the chance to learn
them. You may give them 10 minutes to
learn in class before you test them. If
they do not score well, don’t worry.
Spelling
1 ear 2
hear 3 clearly 4 dear
5 years 6 pear
7
teddy bear 8 near 9 wears 10 pearl
11
once in a while 12 neck
necklace
Creativity for English teachers can only become possible when we all
forget about scoring good results at the expense of good learning and processes/
exposure / experiences. Exam-oriented
teaching and learning makes life difficult and frustrating for all. Test less and learn more for the good of all. After all language learning or whatever is
life-long commitment to excel.
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