DIDACTICS II
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Newsletter 1                                                                                                       5th  May  2001
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Instituto Nacional Superior del Profesorado de la Universidad Tecnológica Nacional
Cátedra de Didáctica Especial del Primer y Segundo Ciclo de la EGB
Profesores : Omar Villarreal & Andrea Coviella,
                  Marisa Caccia, Claudia Alvarez & Susana Noili de Bisogno
Instituto Superior de Formación Docente Nro 41 de la Pcia de Buenos Aires
Cátedra de "Inglés y su Enseñanza I"
Profesor: Omar Villarreal
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"The most impotant function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life: the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure"
Grayson Kirk
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Dear All,
 
How are you? I hope you´re all enjoying this sunny Saturday, praying for a beautiful Sunday and...
studying a lot.
Remember we said the most important thing was saving (at least a tiny little bit of) time for reflection.
This time we are sending you the questinaire for the material from Penny Ur in our FICHA DE CATEDRA (1). It was prepared by Prof. Claudia Alvarez.
 
A big hug to you all
 
Omar Villarreal

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 Ur, Penny. 1996. A Course in Language Teaching : Practice and Theory. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
 
Modules 7, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19.
 
Module 7
 
-Why is the presentation of language through a situation or topic more intersesting or advantageous?
-What do notions and functions represent in a laguage?
-Relate notions and functions with the two axes along which contents are organized.(Language as a means of communication and language as a way of categorization of the world)
-Think of a concrete example in which memorized chunks conribute to the better development of a task.
-What are the advantages of starting a class from a learner initiated text over a ready made text given by the teacher?
 
Module 12
 
-Can we learn about the approach or methodology applied in a course by reading its syllabus? Why? Why not?
-How can a course book syllabus reflect our own class work?
-What is your impression of the testimonies given on page 180?
-Discuss the role of the teacher in the actual making of the syllabus.
 
Module 15
 
-Try to find a metaphor in which there is interaction in a role based culture.
-What is the purpose of finding a suitable balance in the activities proposed for a class?
-What does the phrase “active learning is good learning” imply?
 
Module 16
 
-What is the desired effect of teacher questioning?
-Take a picture from a course book and think of a set of questions to introduce a lesson. Discuss them with your group.
-What contribution does individualized learning make to a regular programme?
 
Module 17
 
-What are the objectives of feedback apart from the correction of mistakes?
-What is the difference between correction and assessment?
-Define the kind of feedback that a grade after a term exam represents.
-Mention the most common ways to correct mistakes in oral production. Weigh their pros and cons.
-What conditions should there be present for the learner to have an jopen attitude towards the feedback given?
 
Module 18
 
-A disciplined classroom activates students´learning. Discuss.
-Which seem to be the key ingredients of a disciplined classroom where learning takes place?
-How can we, as teachers, foster self-discipline?
-Which of the items under the headings:”Before the problem arises”, “When the problem is beginning” and “When the problem has exploded” is the most difficult to tackle in your opinion.Analyse the reasons why it is so.
 
 
 
Module 19
 
-How does it affect our selection of activities the fact that a motivated learner is that who takes risks, wants to succeed, has ambitions, directs his efforts successfully, is perseverant and tolerates ambiguity or lack of understanding?
-What kind of motivation has to do with the learner´s interest to get engaged in the class activities out of the mere desire to take part?
-Why is it important to make students be aware of failure?
- What is the effect of constant awareness of shortcomings?