Introduction
Speaking is one of the four key language skills focused in the teaching of English Language in Singapore’s primary education. As specified in the English Language syllabus (2010: 46), developing a repertoire of speaking skills will “enable pupils to convey and express their thoughts and opinions with accuracy, fluency, appropriateness and succinctness”. Indeed, speaking is viewed as an essential skill in both scholastic and work arenas. However, teachers often perceive teaching speaking as less important than teaching reading and writing. In a study conducted by Goh et al (2005), only 41% of the respondents recognised the need to teach speaking at the primary level in terms of the time allocated for oral activities in the classroom. Such a shared perception among teachers will influence the manner in which speaking is taught to the pupils.
The language skill of speaking at the lower primary levels is taught implicitly through the use of big books used in the STELLAR (Strategies of English Language Learning and Reading) programme. Pupils learn to demonstrate their speaking skills as highlighted in the guidelines of the STELLAR specific units, when they predict using titles and visuals as cues, respond to teachers’ questions on the big book, use the targeted structures of language and contribute their ideas for the class dictated writing. Given the above situation that could have implications on speaking instruction, the purpose of this study is to analyse the features in an interaction between a teacher and a group of six Primary One pupils in an English Language writing lesson. The discourse organisation in terms of generic structure and discourse features of the interaction will be lucidly examined. Hence, this ana...
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...s that would have provided insights on any differences between the individual teacher-pupil interaction and the teacher-directed class interaction or group discussion as well as on the impact of individual teacher-pupil interaction on the thinking and learning progress of the pupils.
The second limitation is that the analysis of this interaction focuses only on a small group of Primary One pupils who are of low progress and their teacher. Thus, the findings may not apply fully to the interaction that takes place in a usual class of thirty pupils who are of different progress levels. Nonetheless, this analysis has shed some light into the classroom interaction in an English Language lesson. Such key insights provide scope for further investigation on teacher-directed and peer interaction in classes consisting of pupils of specific or non-specific progress levels.
Meichenbaum, D. H., Bowers, K. S., & Ross, R. R. (1969). A behavioral analysis of teacher
Oral language is the creation of messages produced with vocals, as opposed to written text or gestures. Today much of our communication is handled orally, especially for students in early years of school that are unable to read and write but must communicate with their teachers. In later years, oral language is heavily focused on in school and students are encouraged to share their opinions mid class and give presentations. This is to prepare students for situations in society and at the workplace where they must be able to communicate clearly and efficiently. Generally, students are expected to possess some level of oral language capability entering kindergarten, which teachers are then expected to build upon (Solley, 2014). Students initially build their oral language capabilities from the millions of words that they hear from their parents and home environment. With different home environments, this leads to varied levels of capabilities between students (Snow et al., 2012, p. 496). To get every stu...
...om environment as a whole. The pupils seemed to thrive under these new techniques for teaching and their motivation for class activities continually grew with my new attitude to teaching. I also found my teaching to be a lot better as a result as I engaged much more with the pupils are our pupil-teacher relationship blossomed around this change in assumption
“Formed through the interplay of past performance… teacher expectancies have an undeniable influence on students’ learning. Skinner and Belmont (1993) point out the following about teacher behavior: 1) Teacher behavior influences students’ perceptions of their interactions with teachers. 2) Teacher behavior influences student engagement.” (Bruns 3)
Stated by Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (2007), instructor often establish guidelines for minimal participation, making it more likely that students will engage with their colleague and to facilitate the community-building process. This expectation of participation differs significantly from the face-to-face classroom, where the discussion can be dominated by one or more extroverted students, giving an illusion that the class is engaged.
In the first article “The Journal of Educational Psychology” states that teacher-student interactions are very important and can change a students path in achievement. They suggest that when teacher-student interactions take place in a positive matter whether one on one, small groups, or the whole class, that these teacher-student interactions deliver the students with the correct support needed for their learning potential. Also, these positive interactions then can help set the student up for other positive paths in the classroom. Examples of these interactions are categorized into three realms of support: emotional, organizational, and instructional. Teachers who offer a high amount of emotional support to their students in the classroom are creating a safe environment for their students where they can then feel as if they can take positive ventures in their students learning ability. Also it’s stated that an organized classroom can help provide productive routines and also helps support students attentiveness as well a...
As a teacher language is the most important tool in order to support student learning. The book Elementary Classroom Management by Kerry Williams discusses how language is an important tool to use “language can be a powerful vehicle for activating thought, and as teachers we need to be aware of the role it is playing” (ref pg. 196). The use of words and tone that the teacher uses to the students is significant in the behaviour of students. For example if a student is displaying
The emphasis on social interaction influencing cognitive development impacts on how students are taught. Class room environments need to allow social interaction as a key part of learning activities. This social interaction permits students to learn from both the teacher and their peers through collaborative activities. Teachers that encourage discussion will lead students to think critically and this will assist in providing meaning to new information. (Powell & Kalina, 2009 p245)
As Steve Bartlett “Introduction to Education Studies” said “As time goes on the difference between groups of pupils may be seen to widen and this is due to the increasing effects of being taught differently” (2012, Chapter 10 page 259)
The socializing among learners is not at its optimum is most schools. Schools are known as environments for socializing process for learners. It is a place where knowledge, culture, opinions, skills are exchanged and learnt. Teachers can start by involving learners by creating group work and activities so learners can interact with one
Humanistic approaches can help to aid behaviour in the classroom, (Cohen et al. , 2010, page 345) but are also a way of building effective teacher-student relationships. Extra-curricular activities are much more “person-centred” and allow pupils to see teachers outside of the classroom environment. With more teachers per pupil at school A, revision sessions can build these relationships. School B on the other hand does not allow for this to happen; with the large number of pupils in
It is very important for a teacher to be a good communicator.He doesn`t just stand in front of the class and lecture but tries to establish a dialogue and tofind the best group activities in which every child to be involved.Discussion,peer-to-peer coaching are the things which make the process of teaching more interesting and challenging so that all students attend classes and participate actively.
At this level, the investigation specifically targets the linguistic dimension of discourse: phonological (stress, pitch, volume, intonation) or graphical structures (headlines, bold characters, layout); syntactic structures (word order, topicalization, clausal relations, split constructions); semantic structures (explicit vs. implicit, implications – insinuations, vagueness, presuppositions, allusions, symbolism, collective symbolism, figurativeness, metaphorism); pragmatics (intention, mood, opinion, perspective, relative distance); formal structures (idioms, sayings, clichés, set phrases, language patterns); logic and composition of the discourse (argumentation – strategy, types, cohesion,
Throughout history, many schools of thought have examined humans’ ability to understand and utilize language. Ancient philosophers, like Plato, used their observations to pose notions of language acquisition and early Indian scholars began the first debates between nativists and behaviorists (Stanford Encyclopedia). These early thinkers only touched upon this human process, as our modern day tests have shown that there are specific stages to acquiring language, varying ideas on whether language is innate or learned, and a definitive, but rarely studied, window for any human to acquire language.