Cram lesson

Lesson 2

Age group: 6th Form

Grammar focus: Present simple (aff)

Vocabulary focus: vocabulary related to celebrations

Duration: 80 minutes lesson 
Physical location: school facilities
Topic: celebrations/festivals/traditions

Warmer:
The teacher will ask the students what they did at the weekend having into account that on 31st October  it was Halloween and that tradition/celebration/festival from the USA is being adopted in Argentina.
He/she will ask whether they wore customs, whether they went to collect candies with some friends around their neighbourhood, whether they gathered in someone's house to listen to some horror stories or some tails, etc.
Then, the teacher will ask them what other traditions and/or celebrations they know and he/she will write them on the board.

Web:
(On the computing room)
The teacher will ask them to sit in pairs and/or small groups. There must be 10 groups.
Then, they will have to choose one of the ten celebrations from a site they are going to explore.
Here are the 10 celebrations:

• Holi festival
• Burning Man Festival
• The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
• La Tomatina
• The Carnival of Venice
• Oktoberfest
• Loy Krathong & Yee Peng Lantern Festivals
• St Patrick’s Day
• Running of the Bulls
• Mardi Gras

The link provided by the teacher has the information of every celebration.
Here it is:
https://www.pandotrip.com/top-10-celebrations-around-the-world-1937/
They will collect that information to use it later with a tool called "Cram".
Here they have a link of a tutorial for the tool:

(One member of each group will have to create an account on the tool to do the activity)
After reading about the chosen celebration, they will gather that information to make a brief description about it (where it takes place, when, maybe how long it lasts, etc.) and they will create a flashcard for their corresponding celebration using the tool with the name and the description.
The idea is to share the flashcards on one set.
(The teacher will provide feedback, assess the students and help them in case they need to edit the flashcards).

What's next: 
Now, each pair/group will talk about their celebrations and then the teacher will test them through the test option from the tool.
Finally, if there is time; they will spend the rest of the class using the tool with the game option to see how much they remember of every celebration.
The idea is that they learn about celebrations around the world and also that they work alone and collaboratively.


Evaluation criteria:

1. Did the students provide the information required by the task? How accurate were they?
2. Did the students make mistakes whike gathering the information of the celebrations? If so, how serious were them?
3. What word or expression did they find difficult to understand? Were they able to work out those meanings on their own or required the teacher's help and/or the use of online dictionaries?   

Theoretical Framework

Triple E framework by by Liz Kolb

This framework provides specific guidance for teachers in integrating meaningful technology mindfully in their classroom activities. This theoretical framework encourages teachers to go beyond an instrumental use of technology and consider how it can extend and enhance learning goals. 

The framework is based on three components: Engagement, Enhancement and Extension.

1.     Engagement: the teacher needs to motivate or engage students to start the learning process through the use of technology and prove them that technology can be use not only to have fun but also to learn. Technology can promote a change in the students from passive to active social learners.
  

2.     Enhancement: this component focuses on the added value of using technology tools which goes beyond engagement in content. It refers to how technology can aid, assist and scaffold learning in a way that could not be achieved by traditional methods.

3.     Extension: The idea is that the teacher becomes able to connect what happens in the classroom with the real world and through the use of technology the teacher can make these connections. Technology allows the students relate the classroom activities to their everyday lives.
The use of technology can promote the idea of working in an online project in a collaborative way even with distant partners.

The Pedagogical Implications of Web 2.0 (A new way of Learning and Teaching)

Face-to-face instruction often assumes the teacher’s ownership of knowledge and transmission of it to the learner, while online learning should be built with the student at the centre of the learning environment. A social-constructivist approach helps focus resources and support for learners to enable them to actively use new material rather than passively absorb information presented to them.

 Social constructivism presumes that learning is a process of individual interpretation and meaning making based on a variety of experiences, and that knowledge is constructed from these experiences (Jonassen, 1991). Additionally, social-constructivist learning processes state that social interaction or social constructivism is not merely supportive of but an essential ingredient in cognitive development (Duffy & Cunningham, 1996).

This approach values authentic activities that allow learners to explore, discuss, and construct concepts and relationships relating to real-world problems and projects.

Collaborative learning is a key concept between instructors and students, and “two-way interaction is critical in learning a second language” (Ariza & Hancock, 2003, p. 2).

 Learners Teach to Learn

The ability of learners to manage their own learning is a key competency that studies have shown to be related directly to successful participation in online learning environments. Porter and Sturm (2006, p. 105) used the following self-management survey to evaluate learners competency level by asking them about how well they thought they did in the these areas: 

1. Staying focused or concentrate on what they are doing 

2. Sticking with a task or problem 

3. Figuring things out for themselves before asking for help
4. Asking for help when they're stuck

5. Making decisions for themselves 

6. Solving problems by themselves 

7. Feeling they can do things and accomplish things 

8. Organizing their work and life 

9. Learning things on their own 

10. Setting goals for themselves 

11. Managing their time 

12. Evaluating their own progress and how they are doing 

13. Trying or learning new things 

14. Learning on their own without help 

15. Accepting responsibility for themselves 

16. Seeking constructive criticism of their work 

17. Trying to actively try new things

Global vs. Local: Does it matter?Teaching materials are used in specific teaching contexts (schools, universities, language schools, and so on), with specific learners (according to age and degree of L2 competence), and to meet specific needs (for example, to build a general communicative competence in L2, to train call centre staff in reading or speaking skills). This is why, when teachers use materials produced for international markets (so-called global coursebooks), they adapt them to fit their students' needs, to comply with curricular demands, to supplement any missing information, to provide extra practice, and so on.

 There are three different types of coursebooks:

Global (intended for use in any part of the world by learners of a specific foreign language level and age range).
Localised (a global coursebook adapted or localised to make it fit with the learners' background and a national curriculum).
Local (specifically produced for a country or region sensitive to learners' background, draws on a national curriculum).

There are four aspects that distinguish local and localised materials from international ones: contextualisation, linguistic contrasts, intercultural reflection, and facilitation of learning.

Contextualization: in this lesson there is a context provided by the teacher in the introduction of celebrations and for the activity there is a context for each tradition.
Linguistic contrasts: learners reflect on the form, meaning, and use of the target language linguistic features by encouraging contrastivity among the celebrations.
Intercultural reflection: there is a clear difference between local celebrastions and in this case celebrations from all over the world. Besides, there is a confrontation between C1 and C2 (target culture)
Facilitation of learning: since the students will have to gather information provided by the link, they will have to explain in their own words what they consist of.

Reference:

•  Banegas, López-Barrios, Porto, Waigandt. Adapting to meet diverse needs in ELT 
• Sturm, Kennel, McBride, Kelly. Chapter XX The Pedagogical Implications of Web 2.0. Michael Thomas. Handbook of Research on Web 2.0 and Second Language Learning
• Lopez Barrio, M. and Villanueva de Debat, E. (2018). [online] E.edim.co.
  Available at: https://e.edim.co/92818/Lopez_Barrios_Villanueva_de_Debat_2014_Global_vs._Local_Does_It_Matter.pdf?