ICTE

Teacher Training Manual

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction General Teaching Skills 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Warm-up Activities by Marine Mghebrishvili ...4 The Basics of Lesson Planning by Mariami Dakishvili...6 Learning Styles by Elene Burchuladze...15 Techniques for Making Groups by Nana Sarauli.17 Working in Groups by Lana Chakhaia.20 Using a Variety of Question Types Effectively by Tamar Tabukashvili22 Page 1

Vocabulary 7. 8. Reviewing, Re-encountering and Practicing Vocabulary by Tamar Tabukashvili ..28 Presenting Vocabulary through Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic Styles for Lower Grades by Natia Surguladze..31 9. Kinesthetic Activities for Young Learners by Ann Chachkhiani.34

Grammar 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Teaching Grammar Rules in Context by Sopio Khadagiani.36 Teaching Grammar Context by Elena Petrova.40 Practicing Grammar in Context by Tamar Tskhomelidze 43 Grammar in Communicative Activities by Inga Gelashvili46 Teaching Grammar with Limited Resources by Miranda Tskhadadze...49

Speaking 15. 16. The Goals and Challenges in Teaching Speaking by Iulia Kusikashvili....52 Designing Speaking Activities by Nana Kazaishvili...55

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Cooperative Learning Structures by Sopio Khvadagiani59 Improving Speaking through Role-plays by Nana Kikalishvili.69 Teaching Speaking through Storytelling by Mariam Kuchukhidze72 Spoken Fluency through a Dictogloss by Elene Changelia..75 The What and Why Diary: Encouraging Students to Speak by Rita Tukvadze.78 Using Rubrics in a Speaking Class by Natia Katamadze and Ia Gagnidze.81

Listening 23. 24. 25. 26. Writing 27. 28. 29. Introducing Process Writing by Ketevan Barkhudanashvili.103 Scaffolding for Writing Activities by Tea Khachoshvili...106 Writing an Argumentative Essay by Irma Kiria..111 The Structure of a PDP Listening Lesson by Ketevan Papava-Lobzhanidze..84 Teaching Listening Skills in Mixed Ability Classes by Dali Aburhania..89 Using Songs to Teach Listening by Tinatin Kutivadze.96 Dictogloss by Elena Petrova..100

Reading 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. Activating Schemata Before Reading by Tamar Remishvili..119 How to Scaffold Reading by Marine Goguadze122 Teaching Reading for Beginners by Nino Sarauli.126 Using the KWL Chart for Reading by Tinatin Kutivadze.130 Alphabet Teaching Strategies by Nino Maisuradze....132 Using Reading Texts as Information Gap Activities by Inga Gelashvili136

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Introduction Background This handbook contains a collection of teacher training session plans developed by Georgian teachers as a capstone activity at the end of their training as teacher trainers under the US Embassy funded Intensive Course for Teachers of English (ICTE) program. The ICTE program was implemented by PH International and their partner organization World Learning-SIT Graduate Institute carried out the Teacher and Teacher Trainer Development component of the program. All program activities took place during 2013. During the ICTE program the teachers who contributed training session plans to this handbook participated in a number of distinct training activities: intensive instruction and experience in training techniques, cultural explorations and leadership skills in the USA, personalized feedback on training session plans and online post-session reflections, in-country observations of training sessions by peers and by World Learning-SIT trainers, and presentation of their training sessions at the program capstone conference in Tbilisi, during November 2013. A Work In Progress This handbook does not set out to present a set of perfect training plans. It is a collection of plans developed by newly trained teacher trainers and is presented as a work in progress. The manual will serve as a template for experimentation for the trainers who developed the plans, and who will continue to amend them over time as they deliver them and learn from their experiences and from the feedback their training participants will provide. For all other current or future teacher trainers who will access this handbook and borrow, amend and deliver some of the training activities elaborated here, the contents will be a useful starting point from which to build a personal portfolio of training session plans. Developing the plans The training plans contained in this handbook were developed to this point by the trainers themselves, with support from World Learning-SIT trainers and with the input of a cohort of peers. The training sessions were delivered by the teacher trainers during training events in their own schools or regions and observed by their cohort members and by members of the World Learning training team. Following feedback from World Learning-SIT trainers, the teacher trainers made extensive changes to session plans which were then posted again within their online groups. Further amendments in some cases were necessary to ensure that the plans were of a sufficient standard to be implemented and limited enough in scope to be covered in the 35 and 60-minutes time limits which for logistical reasons needed to be adhered to. When this stage of the work had
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been completed, many of the authors of the plans continued to propose further additions and amendments to their plans. This speaks well for the enthusiasm of the new teacher-trainers and for their future work with Georgian teachers. Most of these plans will be capable of being used on their own as material for short teacher training sessions, possibly in the teacher trainers own schools. We also envision them being used later, either as components of longer training workshops or, in an expanded form, as 90 or 120-minute training sessions. We feel certain that these teacher trainers will have lots of creative ideas about how best to use their work in the coming months and years. Creative use of a standard model Many of the session plans follow a particular model, based on a version of the Experiential Learning Cycle, which allows the workshop participants to actually experience the technique as students, then step back and describe what happened, analyze the teaching practices it contained and then create a plan for using the ideas in their own teaching. This method was experienced by the teacher trainers during their training in the USA. It is a relatively easy framework for new teacher trainers to implement and provides a helpful starting point for trainers who will later move on to develop a more personal style of training and presentation. Several of the session plans in the handbook show signs of creativity, imagination, fun and excellent teacher trainer potential which will, we hope, be of enormous benefit to future generations of Georgian teachers, as these newly trained teacher trainers disseminate their skills and knowledge among their colleagues. Benefit to local teachers and learners One goal of this program was to support the development of trainers who would bring new ideas and methodologies back to their regions to share with their colleagues. The greatest advantage to using local trainers is that they would have a depth of knowledge about their local context and needs that a foreign specialist would not. The session plans contained within this handbook are a good example of this. There are plans geared towards teaching speaking and communicative activities meant to motivate, engage and inspire learners to use their English in meaningful ways; grammar sessions that move away from teacher-centered lectures towards context-derived or reflexive methodologies; writing sessions in which the students are writing for an audience, usually each other; grouping techniques to keep classes fresh; ice-breakers and warmers to set students at ease and to create a warm, supportive learning atmosphere; activities and sessions devoted to dealing with mixed-level classes. The fact that the session topics were so well chosen reflects the hard work and sense of responsibility that these education professionals feel towards their teaching peers and their local students across Georgia. We are proud of the work produced by the new teacher trainers and have every confidence that they will continue to develop their training expertise and contribute in many meaningful ways to
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the development of English language education in Georgia. We are pleased to return their work to them in this manual for future use.

We would also hope that when using these plans, you add further components that will strengthen the sessions and provide handouts or additional activities and exercises that teachers can bring directly back to their classrooms, as well as web links to let teachers continue researching on their own.

Vermont USA, December 20th 2013.

Warm-up Activities
Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to articulate the positive sides of using

warm up activities to make their lessons more effective and engaging. In addition they will be familiar with a number of warm-up activities to use in their classrooms.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: paper Warm-up activities are a great way to create a safe and comfortable atmosphere, essential for learning a language. This workshop shows you how you might make teachers more aware of their importance as well as a few ideas they can take straight back to their classrooms.

Procedure
1. Begin by informing the participants that they will be experiencing a couple of ways to start class and that they need to behave as if they are language students, not teachers. 2. Hand out half-sheets of papers to each participant. Ask each participant to write down their full names on the paper and quickly draw a picture of their favorite tools (radio, chalk, pencil) that they use in the classroom. Have the participants mingle and guess what the pictures mean and why. 3. Have the participants stand in a circle and one by one say their first names and an adjective which begins with the same letter as their name (My Name is Marine. I am Majestic). Each person has to repeat all teachers names and adjectives (Her name is Marine, she is majestic. My name is Sophia and Im sarcastic.). 4. After experiencing a positive beginning to the class, do a bad simulation in order for the participants to understand the inportance of warming up activities. Begin by sitting uncomfortably for a minute or two at the start of the lesson, looking around in the classroom, and asking questions like, Is everyone here? Who is absent today? Is there anyone else? Shall we start? What was your homework? Who will read the homework aloud? Pick on individual participants to answer and make them stand up. Dont bother to really listen to their answers. Correct their pronunciation and then quickly call on the next person. 5. Tell them that the simulation has finished and they can think like teachers again. Have them discuss the simulation using the following questions: What did you feel during the simulations? What was the difference between the first, second and third simulation? How can the third way of starting a class hinder learning? Now ask: What are warmup activities? Why can they be useful in our lessons?
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Have the participants work in pairs and after a few minutes, ask for volunteers to share with the whole class. Tell them you will now show them a number of warm-up activities that should help to make students feel more comfortable at the beginning of class. 6. a) Have everyone stand up and tell them to make the letter W with their bodies. If they hesitate, show them by yourself. Now, have them spell out the rest of the key word, W, A, R, M, U, P. Ask them what that spells! b) Have the participants chant a rhyme while doing the actions and touching their bodies: Clap your hands: Clap,clap,clap Wash your hands: Wash,wash,wash Brush your teeth: Brush,brush,brush Shake your hands: Shake,shake,shake Shake your body: Shake,shake,shake Touch your nose: We go,we go, we go Touch your ears: We go,we go,we go Touch your head: We go,we go,we go.

Ask: What are these activities good for? How can you use them? 4. Write down a funny story that happened to you last week. Have the participants think of their own stories. They will take a few notes and then tell a partner. Have them switch partners and tell the event again. Monitor so you can briefly talk about some of the things you heard. Ask someone to retell the most interesting story they heard. Why is it important to begin lessons with warm up activites? What learning skills can they develop? How would you adopt the warm-up activities we experienced during the session for your lessons? After discussing these questions in pairs, ask for ideas in the whole group. Give the teachers a handout that gives the steps of the different warming-up activities that were experienced in this session and wish them good luck! References: Scrivener, J. (2012) Classroom Managment Techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Marine Mghebrishvili is a teacher and a trainer in Qvakhvreli Public School.

Reflection Questions:

The Basics of Lesson Planning

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to identify the characteristics of effective objectives and create a lesson plan that supports accomplishing a well-written objective. Timing: 90 minutes Materials: PowerPoint
This workshop provides crucial information and practice on creating student learning objectives and lesson plans that will make your teaching life easier and more effective.

Procedure
1. Ask the group, What is important about writing objectives? And lesson planning? Do a round of Think-Pair-Share (TPS) with volunteers sharing their ideas with the whole group in the end. Fill in any apparent gaps in the groups knowledge by using a short PowerPoint presentation (see below) that covers writing learning objectives and criteria for creating effective lesson plans. 2. In order to clear up any questions after the PowerPoint, ask and discuss the questions: What is important about writing effective objectives? What is important about writing the steps of a lesson plan? How are lesson plans designed in a logical order? 3. Put this objective on the board: Students will be able to read a text and answer some questions. Ask whether this is a strong objective or not. Ask probing questions to draw out the weaknesses of this objective: Can we assess whether students have learned something by using this objective? What reading skills were you trying to develop? Was the reading appropriate for this class? How long was the text? What kinds of questions were asked? This should draw out that the objective is inadequate. 4. Introduce the acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound) and together rewrite the objective. Youll end up with something like, By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to fill in a one-page job application using the biographical information and employment history from the short story, Huck Bites Back. 5. Have the participants work in groups of 3. Give them 3 incomplete objectives and have them rewrite them so they are SMART. Students will listen and complete a dictogloss
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Students will write a paragraph comparing America and Georgia. Students will write an essay about food.

6. Give instructions to put a jumbled lesson plan in order in teams of 4 (See handouts below). Each group puts their order on poster paper. Teams compare their solutions and explain the basis for their decision. When finished, you can choose to give them the original and they can discuss as a group. 7. Hand out three objectives, one objective to each group of 4. A) By the end of the period, after having compared their texts to the original, SWBAT identify 4 instances where their own English was not as grammatically or lexically as accurate as the native speaker who created the original, as part of a dictogloss on occupations. B) SWBAT to demonstrate the similarities and differences between the celebration of Christmas in Georgia and England through the use of a Venn diagram and in writing a paragraph afterwards. C) SWBAT write a 4-sentence paragraph comparing the cultural traditions surrounding food served for holiday celebrations in America and Georgia

8. Have the participants create a lesson to accomplish the objective they were given and write out the steps of their lesson plan on a piece of poster paper. Direct a volunteer from each group to explain the steps of their plan and how their plan meets the lesson planning criteria and objectives. 9. Pose the following reflection questions: How do learning objectives help teachers and students? What is important to remember about objectives and lesson plans? What have you learned about having an activity where students demonstrate what they have learned? What did you like and what didnt you like about todays workshop?

10. As the participants respond orally, write their ideas on poster paper to provide a conclusion to todays workshop.

Mariami Dakishvili is a teacher and trainer from School #4 in Telavi

Handouts:

Jumbled Lesson plan Task: Order the jumbled lesson plan, compare your solution with the original and comment about the sequencing Objectives:
Students will be able to develop knowledge of how to vote in an election, to identify steps in voting and conduct an election in class.
Teacher puts a rubric on the board to help students judge the candidates; The items in the rubric: how many students will benefit by the program, is the program realistic. How long will it take to achieve the program, how can you tell if the candidates are truthful. Candidates have 3 minutes for their speech Teacher declares the winner

Teacher activity

Each candidates makes a presentation

Students activity

Teacher and her assistants are poll workers. They take the registration form from the students, hand them the ballot. When voting finishes, observers count ballots votes and announce the results. Teacher distributes color paper to the students and regroups them. All reds sit and work together, all blues, all yellows, and all greens. There will be four groups. Teacher distributes flash cards to the four groups. The flash cards have pictures of a person voting, a picture of a voting booth, a picture of a man giving speech , a picture of a ballot box, a picture of registration form , etc Teacher explains students that each group has a color and this color represents each Party, Students should imagine that the school director will give a 1000 laris to the party with the best program that would help the most students. Students make party campaign program on the topic, If your party had 1000 laris, how would you spent it to improve education opportunities, the school buildings or programs of students of your school? Ss should write the program on a large paper. Teacher asks Ss about making choices about their favorite different seasons. What season they like and why. Teacher speaks about voting rights in different countries and how people make their choice for candidates in a free environment. Teacher introduces vocabulary about elections: election, vote, booth, ballot box

Students are happy about the team that won Students go in voting booth to vote. Several students write down the results as the ballots are counted on the board under the appropriate Party color. Students participate in regrouping.

Students match pictures with new vocabulary. Students work in groups and create their Platform Program. Each group will present their own Program.

Students give examples and support their choice. Teacher and Ss pronounce the words together. Students say the Georgian word for new vocabulary

Original Lesson plan

Objectives: Students will be able to develop knowledge of how to vote in an election. Students will be able to identify steps in voting and conduct an election in class. Time/Activity Teacher activity Students activity
Warm up 3 min. Act.1 3min.
Teacher asks Ss about making choices about their favorite different seasons. What season they like and why. Teacher speaks about voting rights in different countries and how people make their choice for candidates in a free environment. Teacher introduces vocabulary about elections: election, vote, booth, ballot box Teacher distributes color paper to the students and regroups them. All reds sit and work together, all blues , all yellows, and all greens. There will be four groups. Teacher distributes flash cards to the four groups. The flash cards have pictures of a person voting, a picture of a voting booth, a picture of a man giving speech , a picture of a ballot box, a picture of registration form , etc Teacher explains to the students that each group has a color and this color represents each Party, and students should imagine that the school director will give a 1000 laris to the party with the best program that would help the most students. Students make party campaign program on the topic, If your party had 1000 laris, how would you spent it to improve education opportunities, the school buildings or program of students of your school. Ss should write the program on a large paper. Teacher puts a rubric on the board to help students judge the candidates; The items in the rubric: how many students will benefit by the program, is the program realistic. How long will it take to achieve the program, how can you tell if the candidates are truthful. Candidates have 3 minutes for their speech Teacher and her assistants are poll workers. They take the registration form from the students, hand them the ballot. When voting finishes, observers count ballots votes and announce the results.

Act.2 2 min. Act.3 4min. Act.4 10 min.

Students give examples and support their choice. Teacher and Ss pronounce the words together. Students say the Georgian word for new vocabulary Students participate in regrouping. Students match pictures with new vocabulary. Students work in groups and create their Platform Program. Each group will present their own Program.

Act.5 10 min.

Each candidates makes a presentation

Act.6 12 min.

Students go in voting booth to vote. Several students write down the results as the ballots are counted on the board under the appropriate Party color Students are happy about the team that won.

Act.7

Teacher declares the winner.

PowerPoint slides

Learning Outcomes = Objectives

Learning outcomes or objectives describe what the teacher wants the students to know or achieve by the end of the lesson. Effective learning outcomes should be measurable and demonstrable. You should be able to count or see/hear what the student has learned.

Examples of vague objectives which can not measured or demonstrated:

SWBAT increase their awareness of the American culture. SWBAT learn more easily from an illustrated book. SWBAT compare cultures.

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Examples of more specific measurable objectives:

SWBAT describe orally customs in different cultures using the present simple and vocabulary such as chopsticks and prepare. SWBAT read an illustrated book and write two sentences explaining what the illustrations tell about the story. SWBAT list four festivals from different countries and say a least one fact about that festival.
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Select and organize content

Identify the content to cover the learning outcomes. Content must be structured in a logical sequence, be at the right level for the students

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Criteria for an effective lesson plan

Lesson plan should be appropriate to the age. Lesson plan should use pair or group work Lesson plan should employ communicative strategies Culminating activity should demonstrate what the students have learned and relate to the main learning outcome that was stated.

Select appropriate teaching strategies

Provide the variety of teaching strategies in order to cover the content in different ways. For example: The voting lesson plan in ELCE was teaching students about the importance of developing a campaign platform and learning the steps of the voting process.
So the teacher had to develop to divide students into groups and help them express an opinion. Then , the teacher had to teach the steps of the voting process by guiding students through the process itself.
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Select and develop teaching and learning resources

Identify the equipment [tape recorders, laptops] and resources you need in order to deliver a session / lesson. For examples: Handouts , tactile puzzles ,quizzes, questionnaires, revision activities, ballots, ballot boxes, poster paper, flash cards, markers, colored paper, paper to write sentences
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Design lessons so that all the students can be successful

Include activities where students can participate in some way. Consider learning styles. Some students are more verbal than others. Some students are more successful at writing or performing or miming activity. Vary activities so that students can demonstrate these skills.
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Why is assessment at the end of the lesson important?

If the teacher has written specific objectives, these objectives guide the assessment. If the objective says: write two sentences about illustrations that tell the story, then each student should write two sentences. The teacher should think what the culminating activity will be and if it is achievable and yet challenging. This culminating activity is the assessment.
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Learning Styles
Aims: By the end of the session, teachers will be able to identify different learning styles,

articulate why they are an important consideration for the language classroom and implement a number of activities which address various learning styles.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Audio and video equipment, PowerPoint on learning styles If we can identify which learning styles most appeal to our learners, we will be better able to create lessons that they find engaging. This interactive workshop will allow participants to experience activities that take advantage of kinesthetic, auditory and visual modalities.

Procedure
1. Trainees work in pairs to answer the following questions, sharing and then presenting their ideas in front of the whole group. As they do this activity, use their ideas to make a mind map on the whiteboard/flip-chart/computer: What do I mean by learning style? Why is this topic important? What learning styles can you name? 2. Inform the participants that they will now have the opportunity to participate in a number of activities as language students (not as teachers). When the activities have finished, they will have a chance to talk, as teachers, about what they have just done and how these ideas might apply to their own students. Activity 1: Action Mimes. Participants stand in a circle. The first student says a sentence in present continuous (e.g., Shes reading a book) and the student next in the circle has to silently perform it. When she has finished, it is her turn to think up a new present continuous sentence to say to the next student. Activity 2: Sentence Building. Participants are each given a piece of paper with one word from a sentence, in mixed order. They must arrange themselves into a line so that the sentence makes sense. Once this is done, the teacher can add modals, negatives, and question words to force the students to rearrange themselves again. Activity 3: Listening to music. Prepare the lyrics to a song on a worksheet or on the board. Change 5-10 of the words and put them in bold print. Play the song for your class. As the participants listen to the song, they correct the words in bold. They can listen a few times to check their answers and also begin to sing along.

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Analysis and Reflection 3. Have your trainees take a deep breath. Tell them they are no longer students and now they will have a chance to analyze these activities for use with their own classes. Put the following questions on the board and have the trainees discuss in pairs and then share with the whole group: What learning style does the activity Action Mime match? What learning style does the activity Sentence Building match? What learning style does the activity Listening to Music match? 4. Trainees will watch a video of students who have been asked the question, How do you learn best? The trainees will then identify the learning styles of each student and explain why they came to that conclusion. 5. Working in small groups participants will design an activity for use in their classrooms and which addresses a particular learning style (Auditory, Visual, etc). Small groups will share these activities with the full workshop. 6. As a final wrap-up, ask the participants to discuss these questions, first in small groups and then with the whole workshop. 1. Will some of these activities work in your classes? 2. How will your students react to your using activities that suit different learning styles? 3. What suggestions do you have for modifying these activities to suit your students level? Why? 4. Say two things you like the most about what you heard today.

Elene Burchuladze is a teacher and trainer in the Ozurgeti district.

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Techniques for Making Groups

Aims: By the end of the session, teachers will be able to analyze different methods of grouping

students and the skills needed to do it efficiently. Timing: 35 minutes Materials: Handouts with grouping techniques
Being able to divide students into groups efficiently is a skill that takes both practice and options. This workshop intends to give you both of those things.

Procedure
1. Instruct the participants to line up according to alphabetical order but without speaking. They may do this through miming the first letters of their names with their bodies or their fingers, drawing the letter in the air or by some other means. Divide the participants into groups of 4 or 5 by simply taking that number of people from the front of the line. 2. When the participants have sat with their new groups, ask: How did I group you? What did you notice about this process? Why is it important to know grouping techniques? Trainees think about the questions individually, and then share the whole group. 3. Divide the trainees into groups again; this time, participants take a slip of paper from a box held high enough that they cannot see inside. There are 3 different texts (handouts 1, 2 and 3) and signs on the tables: I, II, III. Participants who drew handout 1 sit around table I, etc. Trainees read the texts individually 4. Have them discuss the texts in their groups. Give them the task: Choose one grouping technique on the handout and plan to demonstrate it for the whole group. Think about what language you will need to use, who will lead the grouping, what challenges you might anticipate. 5. One participant from each group demonstrates the grouping techniques on the whole group. 6. When all the groups have finished, ask the questions: Why did you choose this grouping? What was easy about it? What was difficult? How did you feel as you were being grouped? Which group did it most effectively and why? What purpose would this serve in the language classroom? What rules can we form about making groups in our classes?
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Allow the participants quiet time to think to themselves. When they are ready, have them talk to a partner about what they decided. Ask for volunteers to share what struck them the most. Be prepared to board some of their ideas. 7. Each participant is invited to describe, explain, or model to the group a way of dividing students into groups that s/he uses in her/his classroom. In this way, participants will leave the training session with a large number of ideas.

Reference: Scrivener, J. (2012). Classroom Management Techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nino Sarauli is a teacher and trainer at Mejvriskhevi Public School.

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Handout 1 1. Making a group with people who have the same color bag as you / were born in the same month as you / like the same TV show as you / enjoy the same style of hot drink as you; ( Instructions like this may require students to talk briefly with others before they can start on the main task.) 2. Get all students to write their names on a slip of paper and put them in a bag. Pull out names to form groups. 3. Tell each student to write down their favorite animal (or a dessert /shop/ song etc) from a short list you show them (e.g. ice-cream, chocolate, cake, fruit). When students reveal their words, from groups of people with the same items. Handout 2 1) Instead of using group letters, choose a set of words the class has recently studied (e.g. types of fruit). Allocated a different word to each student. When everyone has a fruit, you can ask all the oranges to make a group, all the apples and so on. Tiger, dragon, cow etc.: Wild animals meet up by the window. Imaginary animals meet up at this table. Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, etc.; Ok all Ferraris drive over here and meet up. All Renaults race over there. Eiffel tower, Big Ben, Uluru, Tower Bridge, The Louvre, etc: Find partners from the same country. Handout 3 1) Make sets of cards. Each card should have one item a lexical set (e.g. books: dictionary, encyclopedia, coursebook, novel, atlas). Shuffle the cards and distribute one to each learner. Students should mingle, compare words and make a group that has one complete set of words. Orange, purple, crimson, turquoise, etc: Make a group with five different colors in it. Eggs coffee, bacon, etc; Get together and make a complete breakfast. Make sets of cards, but mix up lots of different sets of words (e.g. computer words, seaside words, food items, etc.) so that student must find others who have words that seem to be from the same set as their own word (e.g. mouse, monitor and keyboard will get together but not in the same group as beach, waves, and pebble). The group forming will take longer. 2) Prepare a meet-and-match task (e.g. different pictures, each cut up jigsaw style into five pieces). Students mingle and try to find the other students who also have pieces from their picture.

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Working in Groups
Aims: By the end of the session, teachers will be able to analyze several grouping techniques and describe how they might be used in their own classrooms. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint with key points and discussion questions, short texts on e-books and paper books
Setting up and managing group work activities in language classes remains both essential and a challenge. Teachers are often hesitant to do group work in fear that the class will descend into chaos and that learning will be lost in the fray. This workshop is full of practical ideas to help teachers make the most of group work with specific strategies for making it more efficient.

Procedure
1. Introduce yourself and speak about the topic generally. Share the reason why you have chosen this topic, i.e. because many teachers have problems with using group work in class and they avoid it because of the chaos and noise. 2. Have the participants count off (one, two, three) and then have the ones sit next to each other, the twos next to each other, and so on so that there are new groups of 4. Give them the following questions: What challenges do you face when you have your students do group work? What do you find difficult or easy? What skills does group work help to develop? How often should the teacher use group work? Teachers first share their answers with a partner and then with the whole group. After eliciting some answers, show a PowerPoint presentation that summarizes why group work is important and what skills it develops: Benefits of Group Work (PowerPoint slide) Develop strong communicative skills Students plan and manage time Break complex tasks into parts Delegate roles and responsibilities Share diverse perspectives Receive social support and encouragement to take risks Develop students voices and perspectives in relation to peers Shy students can have a chance to shine

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3. To re-group, hand small pieces of paper to the participants; on each piece of paper are either verb (get, make, give, have) and their collocations (get matches with paid, laid off, and depressed). Have the participants mingle to find their 3 partners and then have them sit down together. Write Challenges Teachers Have on the board and elicit ideas from the trainees. Then have the participants discuss to find out the solutions in groups, speaking about the benefits of group work and tips for keeping it interesting. 4. Ask the teachers if they noticed how they have been grouped in the previous two exercises. Ask for a brief reaction on how it has felt so far. Now have them think of a time when they used group work in their classes. Guide them using these questions: What was the topic? How did they organize groups? How did they distribute roles? How did they encourage the students to participate? What was teacher's role? What did students do? How did they present the work?

Teachers think for a moment, share with a partner and then with the whole group. Sample Activity 5. Give the topic for the participants to think about, in this case, E-books versus books. Which do they prefer and why? They will work in groups of five, with assigned roles: presenter, observer, scribe, time manager, and leader. Give each participant 3 coins and ask them to drop each coin in the box after they express their ideas or take part in designing the poster that shows their discussion results. Reflection 6. To consolidate all of the ideas that have emerged, ask the participants to think about, discuss and then volunteer to share their answers to the following questions: 1. What can group work be useful for in my classroom? 2. What are some different ways of making groups? 3. Which of todays activities did you like and why?

Lana Chakhaia is a teacher and trainer at Zugdidi Public School #4.

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Using a Variety of Question Types Effectively

Aims: By the end of the session, teachers will be able to create low and high cognitive question

types for a text and articulate when to use them with their students.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint presentation, handout with text on Rosa Parks, LCQ & HCQ examples This workshop explores ways of using questions more effectively in the classroom, by introducing the idea of different question types that will challenge and motivate students by forcing them to dig deeper.

Procedure
1. Ask the participants to discuss in pairs the purposes of using questions in the classroom. Show the PowerPoint slide and ask participants to compare their answers to those on the slide. Slide 1: The Purposes of Asking Questions To actively involve students in the lesson. To increase motivation and interest. To check or test understanding, knowledge or skill. To check on completion of work To review previous lessons To assess achievement or mastery of goals and objectives To develop critical-thinking skills To stimulate independent learning To probe more deeply into issues

2. Ask the participants if they can name the types of questions they usually use in the classroom. Show the picture of the Blooms Taxonomy to find the connection:

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Slide 2:

http://morethanenglish.edublogs.org/for-teachers/blooms-revised-taxonomy/

3. Distribute the text about Rosa Parks (see below) and ask the participants to read it. Ask the participants to form one lower cognitive question (LCQ) about the text. Show the slide of LCQs and give some examples.

Low er cognitive questions: /Remember, Understand/

Ex amples of LCQs:
What is...?

Fact questions Close-ended questions Direct questions Recall questions Knowledge questions

"How would you describe...? "Why did...? "How would you show? "What facts or ideas show...? "How would you compare...? "How would your classify?

(slides 3 & 4) 4. Participants check their questions. 5. Ask the participants to read Rosa Parks story once more and to form at least one high cognitive question (HCQ). Show the slide with types of HCQs and gives examples. Let the participants check their questions in pairs or small groups. Have the participants find a new partner and ask the new pairs to ask and answer the questions they formed.

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Higher Cognitive Questions: /Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create/

Interpretive questions-with more than one correct answer, supported with evidence from the text. Evaluative questions-with answers based on what a reader already knows.

Higher Cognitive Questions: /Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, Create/ Inferring questions- deduction/ with

logical answers. Synthesis questions- with answers generalized from the given facts. Open-ended questions-with answers that lead to another question, like eliciting

(slides 4 & 5)

Slide 6 Examples of HCQs What facts would you select to show...? What approach would you use to...? How would you use/do...? What inference can you make...? What is the relationship between...? What evidence can you find...? What things justify...? What outcome would you predict for...? How could you select...? How could you prove...? How would you prioritize...?

6. Distribute Handout 2 with both question groups and ask the participants to find out which questions fall under the title of LCQ and which are under HCQ. Write the correct answers on the board and have the participants discuss in small groups. 7. Ask the participants to reflect individually on the following questions; LCQs are appropriate for building what skills? What skills do HCQs help develop? Thinking of your own teaching, has one type has been overrepresented? What types of questions do our textbooks generally use? How will the information you received at this session impact your teaching? Participants talk in groups and then volunteers share their ideas.

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References: Ur, P. (2012). A course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Scrivener, J. (2012). Classroom Management Techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://tccl.rit.albany.edu/knilt/index.php/Higher_and_Lower_Cognitive_Questi ons http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1836/ClassroomQuestions.html http://www.phy.ilstu.edu/pte/311content/questioning/techniques.html http://beyo ndpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/energy-and-the-polar-environment/questioning-techniquesresearch-based-strategies-for-teachers

Tamar Tabukashvili is a teacher and trainer in School #18 in Rustavi.

Handout 1
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It all started on a bus

Rosa Parks, 42, was on her way home from her job in a department store in Montgomery, Alabama, USA on 1st December 1955. At 6pm she got on a bus for Cleveland Avenue, paid her fare, and sat down in the first row of black seats. In Alabama, as in most states in the USA at that time, there were laws to keep white and black people separate. For example, they could not eat in the same restaurants, sit in the same railway carriage or play pool together. White and black men couldnt even use the same toilets. And on the buses in Montgomery, the front four rows of seats were for whites and the seats behind them were for blacks. After the third stop, all the white seats on the Cleveland Avenue bus were full and a white man was standing. The bus driver told Rosa and three other black people to stand up so that the white man could sit down. The others did what they were told. Rosa moved- but only to the window seat in the same row. In her autobiography Rosa wrote, People always say that I didnt give up my seat because I was tired, but that isnt true. I wasnt tired physically; I was only tired of giving in. The police arrested Rosa Parks and she later had to pay a $10 fine. As a result of her arrest, black people refused to use buses in Montgomery for 381days. The boycott ended when the US Supreme Court decided that it was illegal to separate whites and blacks on buses. Many historians believe that American Civil Rights Movement began with Rosa Parkss action on the Cleveland Avenue bus.

Handout 2
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Higher and Lower Cognitive Questions

Read the following list of questions. As you read them, decide which questions fall under the category of Higher Cognitive Questions (HCQ) and which fall under the title of Lower Cognitive Questions (LCQ). Next to each question write either HCQ or LCQ.

1. When did Rosa Parks get on a Cleveland Avenue bus? 2. Can you decide on what is the main idea of the text? 3. Can you explain why was Rosa Parks told to stand up from her seat? 4. What if Mrs. Parks had given up her seat to a white man, what do you believe the consequences would have been for the Civil Rights Movement? 5. How do you think maybe Mrs. Parks didnt give up her seat because she was tired? Justify your answer. 6. Can you recall what kind of laws were there in most states of the USA at that time? 7. Was the US Supreme Courts decision right or not? Why do you think so? 8. What happened as a result of her arrest? 9. Can you outline what did Rosas action help to start? 10. Imagine you were Rosa Parks, how would you act?

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Reviewing, Re-encountering and Practicing Vocabulary

Aims: By the end of the session the teachers will be able to elaborate on their experience as

students in three different vocabulary recycling activities, analysing them for effectiveness in their own teaching contexts.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint with tasks, poster paper, handout with diamante structure

It has been proven that a single encounter with a new vocabulary item will usually not be enough for the language to be acquired. Research has shown that it takes at least ten to twelve encounters with a lexical item in order for it to become the part of the learners active vocabulary. During this workshop, you will experience several vocabulary practice activities that youll be able to bring directly back to your classroom to help your students acquire the language they need in to accomplish their goals.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Introduce the topic and explain the learning outcomes of the session to the participants. 2. Ask the participants which techniques they use when reviewing vocabulary. Give them thinking time and then ask them to share their opinions with a partner. After this, have the participants express their point of views openly and write some of their ideas on the board. This should help disseminate some of the lexis teaching techniques already in use in the local schools. Demonstration Tasks Inform the participants that you will now be doing a demonstration lesson, to give them the experience of being language students in a vocabulary lesson. They will have the chance to analyze the lesson as teachers later. 3. Diamante Poems i. Elicit two antonyms from the participants, like day and night (nouns or adjectives). Write the first antonym at the top of the board and the second at the bottom. ii. Then ask for two adjectives associated with the first word and two with the second. Write these in below and above the original words. iii. Next, ask for the gerunds associated with the first two antonyms and writes them below and above the adjectives. iv. Finally, ask for two nouns, each associated with one of the antonyms, and write them in the single line in the middle. v. Show the participants how the whole poem looks like a diamond. Ask a volunteer to read it.

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vi.

Distribute the pattern of the poem (see below) and ask the participants in groups of 4-5 to compose their own poems. Monitor and help the participants in case they need it. When they have finished, volunteers can read out their poems.

4. Disappearing Text i. Show an extract of about 50 words from the text on a poster or PowerPoint slide (for students it would be from a recently studied text), including items to review. Ask participants to look through it. ii. Show a second slide in which two or three phrases have been deleted from the text, each phrase being between three and five words. Ask the participants to try to read the whole text aloud, including the bits that are missing. iii. Continue deleting words from the text and each time the participants have to read from memory, until the slide is empty and participants have memorised the entire extract. iv. Ask them to work in pairs to write down the whole text from memory. v. Show the first slide with the whole text to let the pairs check their work (including the spelling of the target vocabulary items). 5. Hot Seat i. Ask one of the participants to come and stand with her back to the board. Write a word you are trying to review on the board. The rest of the participants say sentences which provide contexts for the word. But instead of the word, which can be any part of speech, they use the word Cuckoo. Participants keep saying the sentences until the listener guesses the word. If she guesses correctly, she chooses the next candidate; if she cannot, then youll have to choose. Description, Analysis and Reflection 6. Either after finishing all of the tasks or after each activity, ask the participants to reconstruct the steps and instructions of how to do the activities. Write them on the board or on a poster so the teachers can refer to them later when they want to try these activities with their own students. 7. Ask the participants how they felt about the newly introduced activities, using questions like: Was the session interesting? Why? How will the activities help you? Why do you think so? What level are they appropriate for and why? Will you adapt them? How? Let them discuss the questions in pairs and then ask for a few volunteers to share their thoughts.

References: Ur, P. (2012). Vocabulary Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Tamar Tabukashvili is a teacher and trainer at School #18 in Rustavi.

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Handout:

Pattern for Diamante poem

Noun Adjective, adjective Gerund, Noun, gerund, gerund noun, noun

noun,

Gerund, gerund, gerund, Adjective, adjective noun

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Presenting Vocabulary through Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic Styles for Lower Grades
Aims: By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to create a chart showing different

Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic (VAK) methods for presenting vocabulary to young learners and analyze vocabulary presentation techniques for their effectiveness when using VAK.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Poster with colorful flowers, PowerPoint on learning styles, short lists of vocabulary as handouts In this workshop, participants will experience learning vocabulary in a variety of methods in the hopes they will find new ideas but also realize that different methods will be motivating to their young learners, especially those who seem unmotivated by simply hearing or seeing new words.

Procedure
Demonstration 1. Participants imagine themselves as second graders at the beginning of the school year. We begin by reviewing colors. Present the colors by pointing to flowers of different colors. Participants will repeat the colors after you. 2. Play the Color Song. Participants listen quietly the first time to catch the tune. The second time they will listen and sing or chant along. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPWZu4LDmQM 3. Distribute the worksheet with smiley faces and participants color each one as you say the name of the color.

Analysis and Reflection 4. Participants now return to having a teachers role. Lead a whole group discussion on what happened in the previous steps. Ask the following questions: What was the aim of each part of the lesson? What did I want to achieve in each part?
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How did I present the vocabulary? Why did I use different ways to present vocabulary?

Now, talk briefly about the theory that in our classes we have different kinds of learners. Explain the Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic styles. (You can use PowerPoint to give them definitions of each style.) 5. Draw this chart on flip chart paper: Visual Auditory Kinesthetic

Ask the following questions and take notes on their answers: What visual support did I use? What auditory support did I use? What kinesthetic support did I use? Fill in the chart. Participants do the same in their notebooks. 6. Divide participants into small groups and give each group a piece of paper with some different kinds of vocabulary and instructions to match the vocabulary item to a suitable learning modality that you would use to teach them and a brief explanation of how. Practice teaching the items and then have one group member volunteer to present for the whole group. Group As handout:
Lexical items you need to teach e.g. To surf the internet Which learning modality(ies), VAK, makes the most sense to use when teaching the lexical items? e.g. V, A Briefly explain how you would teach it.

e.g. I would show a picture of a girl on the internet and say how she is reading articles about strange customs around the world.

Abstract painting

Internet meme

Knead dough

Tuba

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7. As they present their vocabulary, the other participants fill in the chart with how the vocabulary was presented according to VAK. 8. As they finish their presentation, consolidate their ideas by filling in the VAK chart on the flip chart. Reflection Questions: Have your participants think about and discuss the following questions: What might be some advantages of the approach we used today rather than the one you currently use? Did you find these methods tiresome or more conducive to your learning style? How can you use this, modified if necessary, in your classroom? Name one potential problem (other than time) in applying this approach in your classroom.

Natia Surguladze is a teacher/trainer from Ozurgeti.

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Kinesthetic Activities for Young Learners

Aims: By the end of the session participants will be able to do 2-3 kinesthetic activities for young learners aimed at increasing student motivation while learning vocabulary and developing listening skills. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Handouts with the song and the chant, flyswatters, letter cards. Kinesthetic activities are very useful to teachers of young children, particularly before they begin to read and write. In our country, we have to teach English to first graders. They learn the Georgian and English alphabets at the same time! Kinesthetic activities will make teaching and the learning process fun, as the teacher exploits all opportunities to include a physical dimension in learning.

Procedure
Introduction 1. In order to create teachers interest for the session and generate ideas for later, introduce the title and the objectives of the session. Then ask the participants what activities they use in primary classes in order to teach vocabulary and develop their students skills. Participants share their ideas in a whole-group discussion. Demonstration Activity 1: Song. Tell the trainers that from this point, they will be primary students in a language lesson and will have the opportunity to experience several activities. Show the trainees some pictures (head, knees, toes, etc.) and elicit the vocabulary. Model the pronunciation with choral and then individual drilling. Introduce the name of the song, Head and Shoulders. Play the CD and as the participants listen to the song they have to touch the parts of the body which they hear. Play it again and encourage them to sing along as they touch their body parts. Activity 2: Miming words. Distribute handouts with the rhyme: Here come the clowns! Here come the clowns! They are big and they are small. They are short and they are tall. Happy and sad we love them all! Funny, funny clowns!

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Mime the adjectives as the participants read. Next, read the rhyme while the participants listen and mime. Finally, mime it again and the trainees have to say the right adjective. Activity 3: FLYSWATTERS. Divide the participants into groups and then stick some letters on the board, for example Zz, Aa, Tt. Call out a word and the trainees have to hit the letter which starts that word (zebra, apple, taxi). This is a competition so the fastest group is the winner. Analysis and Reflection 2. Tell the participants that the demonstration lesson is over and now they are teachers again. Put the trainees into small groups and then ask them to jot down some activities that could be done using kinesthetics. Each group chooses one activity to share with the whole group, presenting their activities with a demonstration. 3. Have the participants stay in their small groups and then work to reconstruct each of the earlier activities that they participated in so they can have a written record of the things they learned today. 4. Teachers talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using TPR activities in primary classes. Lead the discussion so that your points are covered and that new ideas are validated and clear to the whole group.

5. Ask the participants to write down one new thing they see themselves doing with their students and one challenge that they may have trouble implementing. Share these ideas with a final, whole-class discussion.

Ann Chachkhiani is a teacher and trainer at Kutaisi St. Nino Public school #3

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Teaching Grammar Rules in Context

Aims: By the end of the session, the teachers will be able to de-construct a lesson in which the

grammar rules are generated from a context and then analyze the lessons key aspects for possible use or adaptation in the teachers own classrooms.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Handout of boy, crazy story, key

The majority of Georgian public school teachers still tend to provide students with grammar knowledge through purely theoretical material, which often appears rather boring and inaccessible for students. Our teachers often lack a wide or varied repertoire of modern approaches for presenting grammar in ways that students would find motivating to learn. This workshop is one solid step towards remedying that.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Write on the board, Introducing grammatical material in context can be beneficial because and ask individuals to write two reasons why it can be beneficial. Ask the participants to compare their answers in groups and come up with the two common reasons. Put the trainees ideas on the board and highlight the great importance of using modern, practical approaches in order to deal with the boredom of providing grammar during our lessons. Show a few key moments from the TEFL online tutorial: Teaching Grammar in Context (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnw3l21pWIc). Lead a brief whole-class discussion, eliciting opinions and asking clarifying questions. Revisit the sentence head, Introducing grammatical material in context can be beneficial because and see if any other ideas emerge. Demonstration Tell the participants that they need to remove their teaching hats and put on their student hats. They will experience a grammar-from-context lesson and they can relax and take part in the lesson as students. 2. Show the participants a poster with the picture of a boy and tell them to work in pairs and answer the question: What kind of a boy does he seem to be? Then to write the adjectives of quality next to the lines that surround him in order to characterize him (see handout below). 3. Instruct the participants to pair the adjectives they produced with the word boy (naughty+ boy, etc.).

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4. Hint that the boy is going to be a character in a story and their task is to make predictions about what the text will be about. 5. Put the trainees into groups and have them read the story, A Child and his Mother (see below). Participants have to: Underline all of the noun-adjective pairs Identify which of them are crazy adjectives and which are normal. 6. Ask the groups to clarify what other adjectives they could use instead of the inappropriate ones. After letting them briefly discuss, put up the correct version of the text (see below) and have the participants check their answers and see how many of their adjectives appeared in the text. Reflection 7. Tell the participants that they are teachers again and now they have a chance to analyze what they just did. Together with the trainees, reconstruct the session on the board, noting the logical ordering of events. Discuss ways of adapting it for the trainees own situations. What advantages and disadvantages can the participants predict in teaching grammar in this way? Put these ideas on the board.

Sopio Khvadagiani is a teacher and trainer in Kutasai Public School #3

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Handout 1:

What kind of a boy does he seem to be?

naughty

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Handout 2:

A Child and his Mother

A huge child asked his mother: Mommy, why are some of your hairs turning green? The mother tried to use this practical occasion to teach her hard-working child: It is because of you, dear. Every excellent action of yours will turn one of my hairs grey! The smart child replied innocently: Now I know why grandmother has only clever hairs on her head!

Key:

A Child and his Mother

Key A curious child asked his mother: Mommy, why are some of your hairs turning grey? The mother tried to use this practical occasion to teach her naughty child: It is because of you, dear. Every bad action of yours will turn one of my hairs grey! The smart child replied innocently: Now I know why grandmother has only grey hairs on her head!

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Teaching Grammar in Context

Aims: By the end of the session, after taking part in a context-driven, PPU-style demonstration lesson on the 2nd conditional, participants will be able to elaborate on several techniques used for teaching grammar that create student interest and engagement. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Hand-drawn pictures, handout for freer practice

I have chosen this topic as I think that most teachers find the topic quite new, essential and interesting. I suppose that most teachers in Georgia teach grammar traditionally and this topic will develop their creativity about how to teach grammar using hand-made materials and simple but engaging contexts.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Introduce yourself and ask trainees about the main problems they face while teaching grammar. Participants share them. Write their ideas on the board. Tell the participants that today they will become aware of a different and creative method of teaching grammar. Demonstration Ask the participants to suspend their teaching judgments and to participate in the lesson as language students. 2. Show a hand-made picture of your friend and ask a question about him: Why is he sad? (he has no money) Then show a lottery ticket and ask what is it? Participants answer: a ticket, lottery ticket. 3. Ask: What happens if you win lottery? Participants: You are rich. 4. Say: So, my friend dreams of being rich and the things he can buy. Show a picture of a car and elicit or say the sentence, If he was rich, he would/hed buy a car. Stick the picture on the wall. Ask the participants to repeat the sentences and short forms of he would/ hed. Show several pictures (a boat, an apartment, champagne, a diamond ring, a racehorse) and ask the participants to practice the sentences. 5. Ask some concept checking questions (CCQs): Is it likely/possible that my friend will win the lottery? No. Is it unlikely/impossible? Yes. Sum up that this situation is unreal or dream.
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6. Have a participant assist you by modeling the next activity, asking you the question What would you do if you were rich? Answer using the 2nd conditional. Now have the participants speak in pairs about what would they buy/do if they were rich. Monitor and offer suggestions when participants are stuck or making mistakes with the target language. 7. Post another picture on the wall. Its a picture of your friends girlfriend. Say that his girlfriend doesnt want to save money, but she wants to give money to charity. Show the first picture of a car and ask: Would she buy a car if she was rich? No. Use a marker and make a red X across the picture of the car. Have the participants reconstruct sentence: If she was rich, she wouldnt buy a car. Do a brief round of choral pronunciation drilling and then check one or two individuals. Shows more pictures and get the participants to practice saying them. 8. Sum up the forms of the sentences in the Second Conditional and write the summary on the board like a rule: If + simple past, would + infinitive (positive form) If + simple past, wouldnt + infinitive (negative form) Would + infinitive + if + simple past? (question form) 9. Give the participants split sentences to put in the correct order. (Controlled practice) 10. Give the participants a piece of paper with some interesting situations for discussion. For example: What would you do if you found $1000? Ask them to write their own sentences and when theyre ready, share with a partner. The partner can then volunteer the most interesting sentences she heard. (Freer practice) (Handout 1, see below)
Analysis and Reflection

11. Ask the participants to put on their teaching hats again. Revisit the participants earlier comments about their negative feelings towards grammar and go through point by point, emphasizing that they did not feel this way during todays demonstration. Have the participants discuss various elements, such as the pictures, the steps in the activities, the funny sentences, and the PPU structure. How did these things help your learning? Ask them: What methods do you use to teach grammar that lead to student engagement? Board some of their ideas: visual aids, authentic materials, roleplays.

Elena Petrova is a teacher and trainer in School #3 in Rustavi. 41

Handout

1) What would you do if you saw the president in the street? __________________________________________________________ 2) What would you if you saw your husbands wallet full of money? __________________________________________________________ 3) What would you do if you won a lot of money in the lottery? __________________________________________________________ 4) What would you do if had a supercar? __________________________________________________________ 5) What would you do if you saw your boyfriends diary left open? __________________________________________________________

Resources: Ur, P. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Internet resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKvn0TY4_lA

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Practicing Grammar in Context

Aims: By the end of the session participants will be able to describe the advantages and disadvantages of practicing grammar in context through the analysis of a demonstration lesson on used to. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Gateway B1+ copies, blank strips of paper
This interactive workshop allows participants to feel what it is like to take part in a context-driven, communicative grammar lesson in which the rules are discovered rather than simply explained.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Tell your personal attitude to grammar (perhaps that you used to consider it too difficult to explain the rules, you found grammar tedious, boring for students) and give the reasons why you have chosen this topic today. 2. Write Grammar is on the board and ask participants to write the ending of this sentence on a sheet of paper. 3. Put participants into groups of five. They arrange the sentences they have come up with any way they like and then write the last line which they feel makes the writing more like a poem. For example: o Grammar is a set of rules, o Grammar is boring, o Grammar is important, o Grammar is interesting, o So, why not make it fun? Each group writes a poem and one of the participants reads it aloud. Stick the poems on the wall. 4. Reflection: Invite participants to comment on problems with teaching grammar and then sum up the ideas presented. Demonstration Tell the participants that they will now be taking part in demonstration and that they should think and act like students, not teachers. 5. Give participants a handout from Gateway B1+:

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Spencer, D. (2011) Gateway B1+ Student Book. Oxford: Macmillan Education

The participants look at the sentences and then match the correct halves of the rules. Participants first do the activity individually and then in pairs and after that they read the sentences aloud to the whole class. Participants will be able to decide if the sentences describe a past habit, a single action in the past or a present habit. Then they will complete the sentences with the correct form of used to, the past simple or the present simple. 7. Show the participants the picture of a scene from the life of Marco Polo (see below). They will find eight historical mistakes in the picture and write affirmative or negative sentences. Example: They used to drink tea. They didnt use to drink Cola. 8. Use your own personal story and tell the participants what you used to do in different stages of your life. Then participants write their own stories individually and share them with the whole class. 9. Have participants work in pairs. They make notes about how life was different in our country fifty years ago. Participants should use these topics: 1. Transport 2. Food and drink 3. Entertainment 4. Work 5. Health 6. Education Analysis and Reflection 10. Ask participants to remember the steps of the session. Elicit and write them on the board. 11. Participants discuss these questions and then share their ideas with the entire group: How did you feel as a student? Did the teacher engage you in language production? How? What did you learn? How do you know you learned it? Tamar Tskhomelidze is a teacher/trainer in Ozurgeti Public School #2.
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6.

Spencer, D. (2011) Gateway B1+ Student Book. Oxford: Macmillan Education

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Grammar in Communicative Activities

Aims: By the end of the session participants will be able to distinguish between speaking activities which practice grammatical accuracy and activities which practice fluency. create and demonstrate activities which help learners to develop effective communicative skills. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Handouts (information gap pictures, menus)
Teachers in Georgia indicated that they have difficulties with using communicative tasks to improve students speaking skills; students make lots of grammatical mistakes while doing communicative tasks and teachers find it difficult to help learners to communicate effectively incorporating grammatical accuracy and at the same time allowing the students space for self-expression. In this workshop, teachers will be given opportunities to discuss how they can help learners to use grammar in spoken activities.

Procedure
1. Introduce yourself and thank the teachers for taking time to attend the workshop. 2. Ask the participants to discuss the following questions: What speaking activities do you use in class? What problems relating to grammar arise when you do communicative activities? What are the reasons for these problems? Each group shares one problem. Write their ideas on the board. 3. Tell the participants that they will forget about being teachers for the next 20 minutes as they will take part in some sample activities as language students. Demonstrate the following two activities: Activity 1: Information gap Learners work in pairs. They both have a picture of a town that is incomplete; each picture is missing things that are drawn on their partners picture. Participants have to ask each other questions to complete their pictures. Example language is given: Where is the cinema? Its next to the supermarket. Where is the school? Its across the park.

Activity 2: Role play The role play is set in a restaurant. Participants are divided into waiters, restaurant managers and customers. They have a menu to choose from and some of them are instructed to complain about the food. (see handout 1 below)
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4. Give the participants these questions to discuss: What is the objective of each activity? To practice fluency? Accuracy? Or both? Would the activities help your learners to improve their use of grammar in communication? How? What opportunities do the activities provide for practicing communicative skills? Allow them some brief time to think about these quietly before sharing with a partner. Then open the discussion for the whole class, calling on volunteers to share their ideas. 5. Give the participants an exercise from a student textbook and ask them to create a communicative activity incorporating grammar accuracy but allowing students to express themselves. Give each group a time limit to present their modified activity. While presenting they have to mention: What have you changed? Why? How have you made it more effective to help learners develop their grammar skills? Communicative skills?

After each groups presentation, the other groups can ask one question. Spend up to 20 minutes on this activity. 6. Ask the participants to reflect individually on the following questions; What new information have I learned? How will this information impact my teaching? What will I do in the classroom that I havent done before?

Participants share their ideas. Finally, lead a whole discussion to consolidate the groups ideas. References: Hedge, T. (2011). Teaching and learning in the Language classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Batstone, R. (1994). Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ur, P. (2012) A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harmer, J. (2012). Essential Teacher Knowledge. Essex: Pearson Longman. Harmer, J. (2007). How to Teach English. Essex: Pearson Longman. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/activities/speaking-activities http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/speaking/developspeak.htm

Inga Gelashvili is a teacher and trainer in School #4 in Rustavi.

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Handout 1

48

Teaching Grammar with Limited Resources

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to articulate the strengths and

challenges of teaching grammar with limited resources in response to the demonstration lesson and they will be able to adapt and demonstrate one student-centered activity that they co-create in groups.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Handout (personal story) Unreliable internet connection? Frequent power outages? Fear of audio and visual equipment? Great! This workshop will show you practical ways of teaching grammar in engaging lessons that require very little in the way of resourcesthe teachers imagination and a blackboard are enough!

Procedure
Introduction 1. Try to find a creative way to let the trainees discover the topic, perhaps by playing Hangman with the entire group in which the hidden word is present perfect, or through some other means. 2. Facilitate as the participants brainstorm what methods and activities they use to teach students grammar. Do a round of Think-Pair-Share (TPS) to discover their ideas. 3. In order to demonstrate how to teach grammar with limited resources, prepare the participants by telling them they will be students in a demonstration lesson. Exit and reenter the room as if class were just beginning. Demonstration 4. Tell a short personal story, such as this: Present perfect story My friends Katie, Misha and I have decided to have a winter vacation together. We have never taken a holiday together. We have wanted to do that for a long time, but have never had the same holiday schedule. This year we all have two weeks off in December, so were trying to plan a vacation. I wanted to go to Svaneti, but Katie has already been there. Misha wants to go skiing in Gudauri. He has never skied before. I dont like skiing. Ive skied three times in my life, but I dont think I want to do it again. Katie wants to go to Kazbegi, but Misha has been there twice this year. So as you see we havent made a decision yet. We are looking forward to your suggestions!

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When finished, discuss the tense with the group and highlight the language structure on the board. Be prepared to read the story more than once. The group tries to sum up by creating a rule in pairs that they consolidate with the whole group. The teacher can then try to draw out some of the nuances of the present perfect by asking simple yes/no questions: Did Misha go to Kazbegi in the past or is she there right now? Do we know exactly when she went there? Etc. 5. Arrange the participants into pairs. Give them sentences in present perfect tense, either written on strips of paper or tell them secretly. After 3 minutes, they need to show the sentence to the audience (e.g. two friends have just met). The only restriction is the participants cannot to move or speak. They are statues. The entire group tries to reconstruct the sentence as precisely as possible. 6. In pairs, participants build up short conversations about things theyve done or seen, and places theyve been. During the conversation they need to say two true things and one lie. The partner has to try and spot the lie. Reflection 7. Tell the participants that the demonstration is over. Now, move the participants through a description and analysis phase in order for them to fully appreciate the various elements of this demonstration. Ask them to describe the process, where the rules for present perfect came from and how they felt as students (as opposed to students in a lecture on present perfect). Have the trainees discuss in pairs to come up with adaptations that they then share with the rest of the group. 8. Get the participants to work in groups of three and then plan and demonstrate one student-centered grammar activity, choosing a new tense of their choice (either adapted from this session or their own). Pairs can give mini-presentations on their ideas while the other participants ask questions. Feel free to comment on their ideas, ask for clarification and even challenge them if they seemed to have missed the point. (If necessary give the groups the materials for a pre-planned activity instead of requiring them to invent a new one). 9. Sum up the session by asking two major questions: Is it possible to provide students with grammar and fun the same time? What resources did we use during this session? Let the participants discuss briefly in pairs before sharing their ideas. You may want to put any final conclusions on the board.

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References: Marsland, B. (1998) Lessons from nothing: Activities for language teaching with limited time and resources. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Woodward, T. (2001) Planning Lessons and Courses: Designing sequences of work for the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
http://edition.tefl.net/ideas/grammar/fun-present-perfect-activities/

Miranda Tskhadadze is a teacher and trainer from Kutaisi Public School #30

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The Goals and Challenges in Teaching Speaking

Aims: By the end of the session Teachers will be able to define the main objectives in teaching

oral fluency and introduce ways of dealing with some typical problems in the classroom. Teachers will learn how to choose or adapt the activities to produce a lot of speaking.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Poster paper Teachers in Georgia are facing increased pressure to change their teaching in order to include more speaking activities. But what do these look like? What is their purpose? How can we assess whether we are helping our students in the correct way? This experiential workshop hopes to answer these tough questions while giving the participants several chances to take part in actual speaking activities.

Procedure
Lead-in 1. Elicit ideas about the main goals of teaching speaking and put them down on the poster. Then lead the teachers by means of questions to one general goal of getting the students to be able to use their English outside of class in meaningful ways. 2. Elicit ideas from the teachers and put them down on the poster about the problems that prevent teachers from achieving the goals they have already mentioned. This is done on a poster that has been divided; these ideas go on the left side while the right is left blank for now: POSTER #2
Problems that prevent teachers from achieving goals .. we have today we change in the future

1. 2. 3.

Demonstration #1 3. Show the audience a stock photo of a student sitting alone in the hallway of a school, looking despondent. Ask the trainees to predict what the text will be about. After boarding a few of their ideas, read the text about the boy and his problems and then facilitate a mini-discussion on how to solve his problems.

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Text: Benny, the only child of rich parents, is in the 7th grade, aged 13.He is unpopular with both children and teachers. He likes to attach himself to other members of the class, looking for attention, and doesn`t seem to realize they don`t want him. He likes to express his opinions, in class and out of it, but his ideas are often silly and laughed at. He has bad breath. Last Thursday his classmates got annoyed and told him straight out that they didnt want him around; in the next lesson a teacher scolded him sharply in front of the class. Later he was found crying in the toilet saying he wanted to die. He was taken home and has not been back to school since. Reflection #1 4. Ask the participants to discuss some of the strengths of this activity and then how to improve and adapt it. Elicit the ideas and put them up on a new poster. Demonstration #2 5. Use an image of a well camouflaged frog from Google Images; show the participants and elicit their reactions. Unveil the dialogue and get the pairs to read the dialogue in different voices, pacing, moods, and roles. Monitor and elect the most creative pair to perform theirs for the whole group.

A: What`s that? B: This? It`s a frog. A: Are you sure? B: Yes, of course I am sure. A: Amazing!
Have 3 or 4 more amazing pictures to show them with similar dialogues but slightly different exclamations: Crazy! Thats wild! Awesome! Reflection #2 6. Ask the participants to identify some of the strengths of this activity and then how to improve and adapt it. Elicit the ideas and put them up on a new poster. Analysis and Reflection 7. Ask the participants: How did it feel to be students in these activities? What can you say about your engagement level? What elements helped to create this engagement? With a partner, discuss how you might modify these activities for your own students. Elicit their ideas. Help the participants to further explain themselves and steer them towards the fact that books generally contain a lot of exercises that don`t actually develop speaking skills, so it is up to teachers themselves to choose the ones that do serve this
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purpose, adapt the exercises that dont do enough and supplement the text by creating speaking activities of their own. 8. Facilitate as the participants give their opinions. Write these on the right side of the poster started earlier in step 2. Encourage participants to take pictures of these posters to use as notes and to provide final comments on what they see written.

References: Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Essex: Pearson Longman ELT Ur, P. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Iulia Kusikashvili is a teacher and trainer at Public School #12 in Rustavi.

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Designing Speaking Activities

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to analyze several speaking activities they have experienced to draw out details such as scaffolding and personalization so they can begin thinking about how to add such elements to their own classes. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint
Participants are given an opportunity to challenge their beliefs about how much speaking students do in class as well as what actually constitutes an effective speaking lesson. After moving through a number of speaking activities, participants will have the chance to integrate these into their own practice.

Procedure
1. Start by asking the participants to think of the main goals of teaching speaking activities. To make it easier for them, you can deliver a questionnaire with three questions: How often should learners speak English? How should learners express their ideas? Should teachers choose a speaking activity which is based on easy or difficult language? Participants work in pairs and then share their ideas with the whole group. Participants define three main criteria for teaching speaking activity by the means of a test:
Three Criteria for Teaching Speaking Activities It should be based on language. a) difficult b) easy It should .. the amount of learner talk in a limited period of time. a) increase b) reduce It should.the learners inhibition. a) lower b) increase

2. Ask the participants to think of the main problems teachers may face while teaching speaking. After participants listen to each others ideas, ask for whole-group feedback and draw a mind map and complete it using these ideas.
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The tendency of some learners Shyness to dominate

Possible Problems
The tendency of other students to low participation Inhibitions Native language use (inevitable)
After completing the mind map, the participants repeat aloud all the listed problems once again, just to emphasize these issues. Recognizing the problem is half of the solution. Now that the problems are defined, lets start to find solutions. 3. Activity 1 Things in common The aim of this activity is to increase the amount of learner talking in a limited period of time and also to lower the students inhibitions. Participants are asked to sit in pairs, preferably choosing a partner they dont know very well. They are given 5 minutes to talk to one another in order to find out as many things that they have in common as they can. These must be things that can be discovered only through talking. Participants have to avoid referring to descriptions of appearance. At the end they share their findings with the class. Monitor these discussions, taking notes on language use that can be discussed afterwards. Reflection questions once the activities have finished: How should learners choose a partner and why is this important? How is the activity done, in groups or in pairs? Why?
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What do the learners do after they find out what they have in common with their partner? What kind of language is used in this activity easy or complicated? Would you like to use this activity in your class?

4. Activity Pet keeping The aim of this activity is to lead the learners from a simple task to a little more complicated one. The language is easy again. Step1: Participants are shown two slides. They are asked to answer the questions from the slide.

Step2: Participants share their ideas about the given statements, present them and support their ideas.

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Step 3: Participants are given keywords (pets name, like, walk, feed, look after, flat, house, garden, park) to make up their own sentences according to the slides. Step 4: Role-play Give a model of a short dialog with another trainer. Participants work in pairs to make up short conversations/short oral stories according to the topic. If time allows, revisit the reflection questions from activity 1. 5. Tell the participants that the demonstration is finished and they can think like teachers again Reflection questions to help participants consolidate their thinking about their key learnings: Reconstruct the activities with a partner. What can you say about how the activities were staged? How do they help student learning? How did you feel while doing these activities? What can you say about the amount of challenge involved? The use of personalization? What are some ways you could adopt these activities for your classes? References: Klippel, F. (1984). Keep Talking: Communicative fluency activities for language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ur, P. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wright, A., Betteridge, D., & Buckby, M. (2006). Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nana Kazaishvili is a teacher and trainer from beautiful Ozurgeti.

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Cooperative Learning Structures

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to describe the benefits of using

cooperative learning structures and elaborate on how they could be adapted for their own classes.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint, strips of paper, flipchart

I have chosen the topic because traditionally teachers tend to use whole-class, question and answer structures in classes in order to promote fluency in students. But this structure gives students little opportunity to interact in class. Cooperative learning structures, on the other hand, create a natural environment for repetitive, high-frequency conversations.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Show the participants the title of the session written on the flipchart and give each group a bundle of 9 slips of paper with the characteristics of cooperative learning structures written on them (handout 1, below). Most of them are appropriate, but there are three to be excluded from the bunch. Participants have to think together in their groups and choose the 6 most relevant ones. They use tape to stick the chosen characteristics around the session title on the flipchart, based on their teaching experience. Accept all answers, but ask questions to make sure everyone is clear on the posts. Show the PowerPoint slide #3 on the topic (see below). 2. Give a buzz lecture on the main benefits of cooperative learning structures. Afterwards, go back to the flipchart with the ideas produced by the participants and check whether their guesses were correct or not, and cross out those which seem inappropriate for the cooperative learning structure. 3. Show PowerPoint slide #4 & 5 to further introduce the topic. Tell them there are various cooperative learning structures which provide fully cooperative atmospheres in the EFL classroom; today, there will be a demonstration of two of them, the Three-Step Interview and Onion Rings. Demonstration 4. Tell the participants that they will now be students in 2 demonstration activities and they should set aside their teacher minds for now. Divide the participants into groups of 3; one student will be the interviewer, one will be the interviewee and the third will be the recorder 5. Show the steps of the activity in process through the PowerPoint slide #6-8. 6. Groups practice the activity and talk over the given question first:
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1) In pairs, as a one-way interview between Student A (interviewer) and Student B (interviewee); 2) Then in reversed roles; and at last 3) Student C shares key information with the class that he/she recorded as the Recorder. Analysis and Reflection 7. Get the participants to form Onion Rings, with one half of the group forming a small circle facing out and the other half forming a big circle and facing in, so each participant has someone in front of them (slides 9-11).

8. Participants stand in pairs, facing each other. Each participant speaks with the partner opposite her about the topic until the trainer tells her to move one space to the right. Then the new partners will speak about a new topic until you tell them to stop and rotate again. Have these three questions prepared for the participants: What will be possible concrete benefits of this type of activity for your classes? What type of learners would you use the Three-Step Interview with? In what other context could the Three-Step Interview be used? 9. Participants will jot down the partners ideas on stickers that are provided to them. They stick them on the flipchart on the wall in the correct column headed by the above questions (slide 12). Have everybody walk around and read. Facilitate a final discussion about any generalizations the participants can make about the poster. Wait and see if anyone mentions the onion ring activity; if they dont, mention that is also a cooperative learning structure. Take a few minutes to discuss how else it could be used in an EFL class (e.g. to review vocabulary, as an ice-breaker, etc.).

References:
Orr, J.K. (1999). Growing Up with English. Washington, DC: Office of English Language Programs. http://www.ccsstl.com/sites/default/files/Cooperative%20Learning%20Research%20.pdf

Sopio Khvadagiani is a teacher and trainer from lovely Kutasai Public School #3. 60

Handout 1

Ss have little opportunity to interact in class No individual accountability; in some groups some individuals may participate little or not at all T calls on one S, others lose their chance to answer Whole class works together to gain fluency Positive interdependence and cooperative interaction among students Equal participation: each person must produce and receive language High-achievers and low-achievers participate equally Individual accountability of class talking at a time

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Expressing Your Opinion Personally, I think/dont think . Is really worth seeing. Personally, Id I would definitely see It seems to me that -----------------Useful language:
White sand Cliffs Extravagant hotels Coconut trees Beautiful scenery Shopping malls

Which of these would you choose as a holiday destination? Why? Exciting modern cities Beautiful beaches and coastline Natural wonders, such as waterfalls, mountains, etc.

Expressing Your Opinion Personally, I think/dont think . Is really worth seeing. Personally, Id I would definitely see It seems to me that -----------------Useful language:

Which of these would you choose as a holiday destination? Why? Exciting modern cities Beautiful beaches and coastline Natural wonders, such as waterfalls, mountains, etc.
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White sand Cliffs Extravagant hotels Coconut trees Beautiful scenery h i ll

PowerPoint Slides

COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRUCTURES

1

COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRUCTURES

2

Characteristics ???

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ADVANTAGES OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRUCTURES

3

Whole class works together to gain fluency Positive interdependence and cooperative

interaction among students Equal participation _ each person must produce and receive language High-achievers and low-achievers participate equally individual accountability Teachers who master a variety of cooperative structures can themselves create skillful lessons

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COOPERATIVE STRUCTURES:
5

Numbered Heads Together Think-Pair-Share Jigsaw Match Mine Co-op

C0-op Three-Step Interview Inside-Outside Circle (= Onion Rings) Etc...

THREE-STEP INTERVIEW
6

Characteristics:
Equal participation All participate Promotes listening and

communication skills Individual accountability of class talking at a time

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THREE-STEP INTERVIEW
7

Steps in the Process:

Each student is assigned a LETTER, then each letter is

assigned a ROLE: A-Interviewer, B-Responder/Interviewee, C-Reporter/Recorder Choose an appropriate length of time for each interview A interviews B, while C records key aspects of the response. Then, at a signal, roles rotate between A and B. When finished, C shares key information to the class that he/she recorded as the Recorder.

Flashcards for As and Bs

8

Expressing Your Opinion

Personally, I think/dont think

Which of these would you choose as a holiday destination? Why?

Exciting modern cities Beautiful beaches and

. Is really worth seeing. Personally, Id I would definitely see It seems to me that

coastline Natural wonders, such as waterfalls, mountains, etc.

Useful language: White sand Cliffs Extravagant hotels Coconut trees Beautiful scenery Shopping malls

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Onion Rings=Onion Circles

9

Onion Rings=Onion Circles

10

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Using Inside-Outside Circle (Onion Rings) to reflect on the session

11

Ps form Onion Rings _two circles. The inside

circle faces out; the outside circle faces in. students use flash cards to respond to teacher questions as they rotate to each new partner. Ps stand in pairs, facing each other. Each speaks with the partner opposite him/her about the topic until the trainer tells him/her to move on one space to the right, to make another pair with another P to speak about another topic/question. T has prepared 3 questions for Ps

1. What will be concrete possible benefits of Three-Step Interview for your classes?

2What type of learners would you use Three-Step Interview with?

12

3. In what other context may ThreeStep Interview be used?

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Improving Speaking through Role-plays

Aims: By the end of the session, trainees will be able to analyze two role-plays for their

effectiveness at teaching speaking and make generalizations about how to set up role-plays in their own classrooms.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint with pictures and questions, handouts of role-play cards and sample dialogues Role-plays are a standard in EFL classrooms, but they are often done without scaffolding or in ways that leave the teacher feeling dissatisfied. This workshop will give teachers the chance to be in two role-play lessons, which they will then analyze for strengths and weaknesses.

1. Start the session by putting these 3 questions on the board and having the participants discuss in pairs. Bring the session back together by having volunteers share their answers: Brainstorm some objectives a teacher might have in teaching for oral fluency? What techniques do you know to improve speaking? Think of at least two problems in getting students to talk in the classroom. Briefly discuss the answers you get but pay special attention to the suggestion of role-plays when it inevitably arises. Demonstration Lesson 1 Tell your participants that they will now be students in a sample speaking lesson and theyll have a chance to talk about the lesson as teachers later. 2. Show a picture of two people in a shop inspecting a piece of clothing. Instruct the participants to look at the photo and describe it. What possible problems are the girls having? 3. Give the participants handout 1 and have them read them and answer the questions. Handout 1: A= Shop assistant. B= Customer Questions: 1. What is the customers problem? 2. What does the shop assistant offer her? 3. What does she get in the end? A: Good morning, can I help you? B: Yes, Id like to make a complaint. A: Oh dear. Im sorry. What seems to be the problem? B: Well, I bought this hoodie here last week as a present for a friend. A: Oh, didnt he like it? He can choose another one if he wants. B: No, thats not the problem. He liked it but it shrank the first time he washed it. It was
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a large but now its more like a small. A: Oh, dear. Im sorry. We havent had anybody else with that problem. Are you sure he followed the washing instructions? B: Yes. A: I see, well, we can either replace it for you straight away or we could give you a refund. Which would you prefer? B: Ill take the refund. A: Fine, have you got a receipt? B: Yes, here it is. 4. Put the trainees into pairs. Give them the speaking bank of useful expressions in order to create the conversation and act it out. Have them discuss the expressions for meaning and pronunciation. Useful expressions in a shop Shop assistant: Can I help you? How about this? What seems to be the problem? We can replace it. Sorry about that. 5. Hand out role cards: Customer: tell the shop assistant what the problem is; say what solution you would like from the shop; Shop assistant: find out what the customer wants and try to keep her/him happy Customers: Yes, I like it. Can I bring it back? Its got a stain on it. Its got a hole in it. Can I have a refund? Ill take this one.

Instruct the pairs to spend some quiet time thinking about what they are going to say. When ready, they use the roles on the card and the useful expressions to have a customer and shop assistant role-play. When finished, they can swap cards and try it again. For more advanced students, have new cards at the ready with more complicated situations so they dont get bored waiting for the other participants to finish. To model effective teaching practices, walk around and monitor the pairs, writing down examples of language use that contains errors and some that might be useful for the other students to know. Put these on the board and discuss them as the students take notes. Tell the participants that the demonstration has finished and they can now begin to analyze what they have just done as teachers. Analysis 6. Put the pairs into groups of four and have them discuss these questions:
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 Did you like the activities? Why? Was this effective for getting you to speak? Why do you think so? What kind of speech would this activity encourage? Long turns? Short turns? Demonstration Lesson 2 Again, tell the participants that they will be students for the next activity. 7. Instruct the participants to look a photo of a school meeting with several people involved and describe it: o What is the problem? o Who are the people in the photo? 8. The trainees are given the handouts with descriptions of the situation on role-cards. They have to create the conversations, discussions with arguments and act them out. The Situation The student damaged school property: a desk. He had carved his name in it. The school security decided to take him to the school head in order to punish him. The school head invited the parents and the teachers to have a meeting to deal with problem of how to punish him. Groups: 1. School authorities 2. Teachers 3. Parents 4. Students 5. School security Trainees are put into groups of 5, one from each group. They must discuss the situation and come to an acceptable conclusion. Act as a monitor, noting down positive and erroneous examples of language use. Also note any places where the communication seemed to break down. You can use these notes to discuss communication strategies and to upgrade the students language use. Evaluation of the session 9. Tell the teachers they can be themselves again and then discuss the following question: Which activity was the most successful in achieving the goals? Identify two reasons. What kind of set up do role-plays need in order to be successful? What is the teachers role during the role-play? After the role-play? With a partner, brainstorm some role-plays based on a textbook lesson.

Nana Kikalishvili is a teacher and trainer in Zugdidi Public School #3.

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Teaching Speaking through Storytelling

Aims: By the end of the session, having analyzed the structure of a demonstration lesson, participants will be able to create their own storytelling lesson plans according to a formula. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Personal story, handouts with story structure, example story
Telling true stories is a basic English function that we use on a daily basis. Quite often, teachers find teaching speaking difficult to handle and whats more, students sometimes get caught up in trying too hard to speak English grammatically perfectly and can subsequently lose focus on communicating their ideas. The story ends up becoming difficult to understand or even incoherent. This session is aimed at helping teachers to experience and learn some new speaking activities to enable their students to tell stories by giving them a clear structure to utilize.

Procedure
1. Introduce the topic of the session and ask the participants to discuss the following questions: What problems relating to speaking arise when you do speaking activities? Have you ever used storytelling while teaching speaking? If yes, what worked well and what didnt work very well? Each group shares one problem which is noted on the board, poster or computer screen. Demonstration Lesson 1 Tell the participants that they will now be students in a sample lesson and they should suspend their teacher minds until after the lesson. Leave the room and then enter again, greeting the students as you would at the start of your teaching day. 2. Tell the participants a true story from your personal experience, making sure that it follows the storytelling structure outline: Introduction: Introduce the story by telling what kind of story it is Beginning: How the story started The Story: The main events related in order The End: What has changed or how things are now Moral: Final comments or moral conclusions about the story. 3. Follow up the story with some basic comprehension questions: who, when, where, what? 4. Ask the participants to put the reading into the correct order and underline key vocabulary items that introduce and relate the sequence of events (handout 1):

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I guess this all just shows how you can never stop believing in yourself, even if everyone around you thinks you are crazy!

First of all, Jack immediately went to New York after he had graduated. He then got a job as a stock broker in a small trading company. After a few months, and a lot of lost money, he decided to bet his future on a new Internet company by convincing his clients that it was a fantastic investment. Unfortunately, that was in April of 2001 - right at the moment of the Internet bust! Needless to say, the company went bankrupt and all his clients were furious with him! He eventually was fired and found himself in New York City without a job.

This is a great story about my best friend at college who everyone said was a loser. He became a famous rock and roller after he had failed completely at trying to become a stock broker on Wall Street.

In the end, he decided to start playing his guitar again in a nightclub with a group of friends. Well, they were discovered and signed a contract with a major recording company three months later! The rest is history and Jack is currently enjoying a wonderful career as a rock and roll star.

5. Have the participants fill out the questionnaire in pairs by asking each other the questions: handout #2 Answer the following questions: Think of a story that has happened to you or a friend of yours that is remarkable. What happened? Was this a happy or sad story? Why? What were the main events of the story? In what order did they happen? How have things changed because of this story? What are things like now? What lessons did you learn from the story?

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6. Instruct the trainees to review the storytelling structure above. Point out how your story and the reading in part 4 follow the same structure and ask them to use the information from the above questionnaire to write their own true story. 7. Tell participants to get into pairs and tell each other their stories while listening carefully to the partners story as they will need to retell it later to another partner. 8. Instruct participants find another partner and to retell them the story that they have listened to. Analysis and Reflection 9. Exit the room and come back in. Tell the teachers they are teachers again. Have the participants reconstruct the steps of the demo lesson (which could be given to them in a jumbled up order). This is done so they will have an accurate record of the demonstration lesson for when they try the lesson in their own classes and it also gives them a visual so they can better analyze the lesson. 10. Ask the participants to brainstorm about the strengths and possible weaknesses of the storytelling activities and what other skills besides speaking do these activities develop. Record their answers and display them on a poster or the board. Evaluation and Action Planning 11. Have the participants sit in a circle so everyone can see each other. Ask them to think about and then share their thoughts about the following questions: What did I learn today? How can I adapt the storytelling activities for my classes? Guide the conversation, asking for clarification and adding your own thoughts when necessary.

References: Bleistein, T. & Smith, M.K. (2013) Teaching Speaking. Washington DC: TESOL International Association. Ur, P. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mariam Kuchukhidze is a teacher and trainer in Kutaisi Public School #8.

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Spoken Fluency through a Dictogloss

Aims: By the end of the session, teachers will be able to compare a dictogloss to a traditional dictation and then analyze the dictogloss for further application in their classrooms as an integrated-skills task with speaking elements. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint Developing speaking fluency is often neglected in our classrooms due to the great need for tests to be passed and a simple lack of ideas on how to do it effectively. Using an engaging dictogloss coupled with communicative tasks is one way to get students talking. This interactive workshop will clearly demonstrate how these techniques can be utilized and easily brought to your learners.

Procedure
Warmer 1. Divide the participants into two groups according to their birthday month. They will stand in one line from January till December. There will be a Group A and a Group B. Then they will stand in two circles, face to face with each other. Group B will be the inside circle. A

Now ask a question and the Group A members will talk to their partner in Group B, who will respond with their own ideas. After one minute, stop the conversations and Group A will move one step to the right. There will be another question and now Group B will begin talking. This can continue for as long as you have time or questions. In this case, the questions can be: Talk about one thing from a previous professional development event you attended that you want to try out in your class and why. What is one aspect you would like to improve in your classroom?

2. In order to process this warm-up activity, you can ask the trainees the following questions: 1. What kind of activity was this? 2. Can you use it in your lesson? 3. How can you change it?
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Demonstration 1. Tell the group that you are going to give a sample lesson using a new technique. They need to just relax and participate as if they are students. When the demonstration is finished, they will have the chance to talk about the technique and its practical applications. a. Show the class a picture of the prince Louis Charles XVII, but dont tell the students who he is. Participants have to make predictions and try to guess.

b. Read the text about Louis Charles XVII as naturally as you can while the participants listen. The mystery of Louis XVII Louis Charles was the handsome son of Louis XVI, king of France, and of the infamous Marie Antoinette. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had very public executions, killed by the guillotine in January and October 1793. But what happened to little Louis Charles? Louis Charles was taken to a small, dark room in a tower of the Temple prison. People said that the boy was continually hit, insulted and tortured. He shared his room with rats, he was always hungry and he received almost no medical care. The official records say that he died soon after from tuberculosis. The date was 8th June 1795. He was just 10. A tradition of the time was to take the heart of the king and preserve it. A doctor who examined the body secretly cut out the boys heart and took it away. When the monarchy was restored in France in 1814, suddenly hundreds of people said that they were Louis Charles. A German clockmaker called Karl Naundorff convinced people and after some years he changed his name to Louis Charles de Bourbon. His latest descendant still uses this aristocratic name. Might he be the true descendant of Louis XVII? c. Read the text again and have the participants write key words while listening. d. Participants have to construct the whole text themselves in group using their notes.

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e. Give them the original text and have them discuss the similarities and differences between the original and their reconstruction. Have them make list of 3 things they can learn about English by looking at these differences. f. Organize a discussion about the text. Give them these questions to talk about: 1. Do you think Naundorff was the true descendant of Louis XVII? Why/ Why not? 2. What do you think was the solution to the mystery? 3. How do you think they discovered the solution?

g. Students discuss and try to analyze the mystery of Louis Charles XVII. You can demonstrate the magic ball technique for use with quiet students: sit in a circle and explain to them that you have a magic ball and you will throw the ball to one of the students and the student who catches the magic ball starts talking. h. After the discussion, show the solution of the mystery on the slide for the group to read:
After 200 years a curious tradition helped modern scientists to solve the mystery at last. Remember that a doctor took Louis Charles heart when he died. In 1999 it was in a church in Pars, safe in a crystal jar. To solve the mystery, they decided to do DNA tests on the heart. The tests proved that the heart must belong to a relative of Marie Antoinette. The terrible truth was that the boy, who died ill, hungry and alone in a dark room in the prison tower, was indeed Louis Charles, the lost King of France.

Analysis and Reflection 2. Tell the participants that the demonstration is over and they may now think like teachers again. Ask the trainees the following questions: How did you feel to be a student in this lesson? What steps did we use? What skills did we use? (you can write the trainees answers on the board in order to make all the details visible and understandable) What is the difference between the traditional dictation and dictogloss? How does the dictogloss work in a speaking lesson? What makes it interesting? At the end of the session, give the trainees the handouts of this lesson plan and the additional resources about dictoglosses.
Elene Changelia is a teacher and trainer in Tsalenjika Public School #1

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The What and Why Diary: Encouraging students to speak

Aims: By the end of the session teachers will be able to apply the What/Why Diary to integrate

speaking into their reading classes.

Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Flipchart, examples text from coursebooks, blank What/Why Diary handout

In many village schools in Georgia, teachers still tend to only provide students with reading or writing activities, lacking activities or methods that can encourage students to develop their speaking ability. This session demonstrates that even with the boring texts often inherent in textbooks, it is possible to encourage students to talk and turn every text into a speaking activity by using a What/Why Diary.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Give a short introduction and tell the teachers what the session will be about in order to raise their motivation and focus their attention. 2. Brainstorm the topic by asking the group: What do we write in a diary? Why do we write it? Demonstration Tell the participants they will now be students in a language lesson, so they should relax and put their teaching caps aside for the time being. 3. Model the diary by telling a personal story based on any word or sentence from a sample textbook text. 4. Reveal the text on a flipchart. Get the participants to work individually; they read the text and fill in the What/Why Diary chart: they write what they liked in the text(it can be any sentence, word, paragraph or the whole text) and why they liked it, what they associated it with: Text What you like: Why you like it: Association/s:

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5. Have the participants share in pairs about what they have written in their What/Why Diary. They can talk about what they liked in the text most of all and why and then they tell their personal stories. A few participants can volunteer to report on what their partner told them. Reflection The participants can put their teaching caps back on in order to analyze the experience they have just had. 6. Participants answer how they felt as a student while doing the What/Why Diary. Draw out their answers and emphasize that they enjoyed talking, that the boring text was useful in creating interesting stories, etc. 7. Participants work in groups and reconstruct what they did and why; then they share it for the whole class. This reconstruction gives them a written record of how to use a What/Why Diary that they can refer to when planning their own classes. 8. Participants now talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using a What/Why Diary. Hopefully this will consolidate the usefulness of the task while drawing out different ideas from the teachers. 9. Finally, ask the trainees to fill in the chart by finishing these sentences: Something that I want to try out in my class to encourage Ss speaking is(what).. because(why) How I will adapt what/why diary for my students to encourage them speaking is by Volunteers can share what they have written.

Rita Tukvadze is a teacher and trainer in Kutaisi public school #21.

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Handout

What-Why Diary
What did I like most in the text? (any word, sentence, paragraph or whole text) Why did I like it? What do I associate it with? What does it remind me?

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Using Rubrics in a Speaking Class

Aims: By the end of the session teachers will be able to assess a speaking class using rubrics. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Handouts with questions and rubrics, audio recording of students speaking
As teachers, we often feel unsure of what to do with our students oral output. By creating and using rubrics, completed both by peers and teachers, we can approach speaking assessment in a more principled and deliberate manner. This workshop gives trainees the opportunity to both create and practice using rubrics for speaking classes.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Introduce yourself. Smile. Breathe deeply and relax. 2. Have the participants stand in semi circle. Stand in front of them and dictate different letters of the alphabet as the participants try to make these letters with their bodies. Model if you need to. (R, U, B, R, I, C, S). Trainees try to guess the topic. 3. In order to gauge your participants current practice with rubrics in speaking classes, distribute handouts with questions and ask them to answer the questions individually and then discuss in groups.
1. 2. 3. 4. What kind of speaking activities do you use in your classes? How do you assess speaking activities? Do you use peer assessment forms? Do you use rubrics for assessing speaking activities? 5. If you were to create a rubric for a speaking class, what would it include?

4. Elicit criteria for rubrics from the groups and write some of their ideas on the board: fluency, accuracy, confidence, performance skills. Have the groups discuss why these are important. Demonstration 5. Tell the group that there are different kinds of rubrics and you will distribute one example. Ask the participants to look through the rubric in the handout and share their ideas in groups. Inform them that you will demonstrate how this rubric can be used in a speaking class.

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Rubric for assessing speaking activity

0 = not at all, 1 = somewhat true, 2 = consistently true

Content Grammar Vocabulary Fluency Creativity Shows a full understanding of the topic. Follows required time- limit. Making few grammatical errors which dont interfere with the meaning. Making good use of cohesive devices Can use vocabulary sufficient to express ideas and feelings Can speak fluently; can produce connected speech occasionally disrupted by hesitations as student search for correct form or expression Shows creativity/Uses new words and expressions 0-1-2 0-1-2 0-1-2 0-1-2 0-1-2

Notes (grammatical/lexical errors, comments on overall performance):

6. Play the recording of 10th grade students performing a speaking activity (Gateway A2, Student book p.86: Talking about summer holiday). Participants assess the students on the recording using the above rubric. First, the participants listen for assessing fluency, then grammar, vocabulary and accuracy. They share their ideas in groups. Repeat this process with 2-3 different speaking examples. 7. Elicit the scores from the groups and write them on the board. Show the participants that one of the samples had been graded by another group of teachers and then have them compare the grades and discuss the similarities and differences 8. If time allows, write three topics on the board: i. my dream vacation ii. my best past vacation iii. my dream city Ask the participants to roleplay being students. Participants choose one of the topics and prepare a one-minute talk, keeping in mind the rubric criteria. Participants work in groups of three to choose the most interesting and effective story and present it in front of the participants. Others listen, evaluate it using the rubric and give points. Then the participants discuss with the whole group how they evaluated each other. Reflection 9. Give these questions to the participants. Allow them time to think about their answers, and then discuss with a partner before opening the discussion to the whole group.
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What are advantages of using rubrics? With what kinds of activities would rubrics work well? How does peer evaluation help students? What would you add to this rubric to offer more specific feedback for your students? What level students is this appropriate for? How would you adapt this for higher levels? Lower levels?

Natia Katamadze is from Batumi School #14 and La Gagnidze is from Telavi Public school #3. Both are teachers and trainers.
Reference Spencer, D. (2011). Gateway A2 Student Book. Oxford: Macmillan Education. Notes from Natia: the rubric I used for this workshop I made myself. I used the following internet resource: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

Alternative rubric:

Peer-evaluation Rubric
Speech topic: Describe your dream vacation or your best past vacation.
1 Spoke only a sentence or two. Speech was not about topic. Speech could be much better, had few examples and needed more, had little descriptive language. Major portions of speech not clear or understandable. 2 Spoke for less than one minute or far more than one minute. Speech was close to topic, but not entirely about the topic. Speech was fine, but contained a few examples and could have used more, lacked descriptive language. 3 Spoke for one full minute. Total

Speech was completely about topic. Speech was interesting, contained examples, descriptive language.

Some parts of speech more understandable and clear than others.

Almost all speech was clear and understandable.

Notes on language use:

Total Points:

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The Structure of a PDP Listening Lesson

Aims: By the end of the session, the teachers will be able to analyze a textbook lesson to ensure it

has a Pre-During Post (PDP) structure and add appropriate activities in order to make it better support student learning.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Handouts of scrambled lesson plan, listening activity types

Teaching listening is a problematic issue in Georgian classes. By showing them PDP, a commonly used framework for teaching receptive skills (listening and reading), it should help teachers be more confident about selecting and adapting appropriate tasks to develop our students listening skills.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Ask the participants to think about these first three questions, then discuss them with a partner and finally share their ideas with the group. What do you think are some helpful ways to develop listening skills? Why do you think so? What do you personally do to develop your own listening skills, as well as your students? (If time: What do you enjoy listening to vs. what do your students enjoy listening to? Why is this important?) How much time of your lesson do you devote to listening activities? If the answer is none, explain why.

2. Give the participants a scrambled lesson plan (handout 1) and ask them to unscramble it individually. Then ask them to compare their work with a partner and then the group will discuss the structure of the lesson. 3. Ask the following questions: Does the teacher start the lesson by immediately having the students listen to the tape? How many times do the students listen to the tape? What is the aim of the first listening? What is the aim of the second listening? What activity finishes the lesson? 4. Hand out the list of instructions for pre-, during- and post- listening activities and ask the participants to put them in appropriate places (handout 2, below). Have them compare with a partner and then facilitate a whole-class discussion to clear up any questions. 5. Facilitate a final discussion of the following questions:
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How does the PDP structure help the teacher? How does it help student learning? Take a look at 3 student book listening exercises and see if they have the PDP structure. If not, what do you need to add? Design tasks to make the lesson more effective.

Ketevan Papava-Lobzhanidze is a teacher and trainer in Batumi Public School #2.

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Handout 1

Sample Lesson Procedure Stage 1: The teacher writes on the board the following quotation from the Dalai Lama: Mother earth is showing us the red warning light. Be careful she is saying. To take care of the planet is to take care of our own house. She divides the class into small groups and asks them to discuss the following questions: How would you express the quotation in your own words? Do you agree with the quotation? Why or why not? The teacher allows 5 minutes for this small group discussion. Then she asks for volunteers to report the results of their groups discussion to the class. Stage 2: The teacher shows pictures and asks students to talk about these points in groups of 3. They may come up with the sentences: Our climate is changing all the time. Many scientists think that the world is getting warmer, etc. After a few minutes the groups report back to the class. Suggested answers: Planes cause pollution and tremendous heat which affects the environment. Deforestation in many parts of the world affects the production of oxygen and the climate. Aerosol sprays can damage the environment. Factories and exhaust fumes from cars also cause the temperature to rise and affect air quality. Changes in the sun (sunspots) also affect our climate. Note: As key vocabulary comes up, the teacher puts this on the board. Some key vocabulary items are: pollution, air, oxygen, ozone layer, exhaust fumes. Stage 3: Listening for general information. The teacher asks the students to listen to a recorded text about an international climate conference, and to identify the main topic of the conference. The students listen and produce the answer: To help the environment by taking action against the use of cars.

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Listening for specific information. The students work in pairs. One of them can choose List A and the other one List B. They have to complete the table about each countrys plans based on the information they hear. List A Spain Italy Japan Plan List B The US Germany The UK Plan

The students produce their answers and the teacher writes them on the board. Answers: List A: Spain: Ask car companies to make smaller cars; Italy: Stop car traffic in city centres; Japan: Look for a new gas for refrigerators. List B: USA: Change the type of petrol we use, or ask oil companies to make cleaner petrol; Germany: Have cheaper buses and trains; United Kingdom: Recycle more paper and glass. Stage 4: Writing. It has recently been announced that a new factory may be built in your neighbourhood. Write a short article to your local newspaper, trying to persuade them to take action against building a new factory. Use some of the words and phrases from the recording.

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Handout 2 Types of Activities for Listening Lessons Label each activity: Pre if most likely to be used during the pre-listening stage D if most likely to be used in the during-listening stage Post if most likely to be used after the listening stage. 1. D_ Ss match beginnings and endings of lines. 2. _____ Using a picture as stimulus, Ss brainstorm/predict the words and predictions likely to appear in the passage. 3. _____ Ss complete a drawing (a map, city picture, house, etc.) based on the passage. 4. _____ Ss stand or raise hand when they hear a certain word or phrase. 5. _____ Ss retell the story from the passage. 6. _____ Ss describe the feeling or mood of the character(s) in the passage. 7. _____ Ss check to see if predictions made in pre-listening are correct. 8. _____ Ss listen to a list of words and tick off or categorize words as they hear them. 9. _____ Ss put pictures/lines in the right order. 10. _____ Ss complete multiple choice or true/false questions. 11. _____ Ss write letters, postcards, messages, etc., related to the passage. 12. _____ Ss hold interviews/discussions, do roleplays, etc., associated with the passage. 13. _____ Ss fill in the missing words. 14. _____ T writes 8 words/phrases on the board. Ss look at the title of/picture about the story and guess which appear in the passage. 15. _____ Ss match phrases with characters in passage. 16. _____ Ss write down all the words that have stress on the first syllable. 17. _____ Ss make up sentences using the new words. 18. _____ Ss circle the items mentioned in the passage. 19. _____ T elicits things (ideas, vocab, etc.) from students that are associated with the topic. 20. _____ Ss act out the dialog.

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Teaching Listening Skills in Mixed Ability Classes

Aims: By the end of the session, the teachers will be able to design differentiated tasks for a

listening text.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint, Handouts with exercises and explanations We all face situations in which our classrooms are filled with students of differing levels and abilities. In this workshop you will learn how to deal with this situation so that all of your students are receiving the attention they require at the level that best meets their needs.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Ask the participants to discuss in pairs what their understanding of a mixed-ability class is. Have them brainstorm and write their ideas on the board. Ask the participants what differentiated instruction is and then show PowerPoint slide 1:
<slide 1> Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. At its

most basic level, differentiation consists of the efforts of teachers to respond to variance among learners.
Tomlinson (2000)

Participants discuss in pairs what makes a mixed-ability class and report back to the whole class. Demonstration 2. Divide the class into 3 groups. Tell one group of participants to pretend they are beginner-level students, another group that they are lower pre-intermediate and the third group intermediate. Distribute differentiated tasks and then play half of the song Toms Diner by Suzanne Vega (1987, A & M Records). Participants work on their differentiated tasks and then compare their answers with their group members. When finished, they read the lyrics and check their work. When everyone has finished, tell the beginner students to write their words on the board. Instruct the participants to make connections between words and recall the sentences from the song. Finally, tell the students to summarize the song. Handout 1: Sample task for pre-intermediate students Listen to the song and replace the underlined words with the correct words: It is always 1) lovely to see you, says the man behind the counter to the woman who
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has 2) walked in. She is 3) folding her umbrella. And I 4) stare the other way as they are 5) saying their hellos. And Im pretending not to 6) hear them and instead I pour the 7) coffee. I open up the paper and theres a 8) picture of an actor who dies while he was 9) thinking. Sample task for intermediate students Listen to the piece of music and answer the following questions: 1. Where is the singer? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. What is she waiting for? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Who is the man looking at? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. What is the woman doing? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. What are the man and the woman doing? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. What story is here in the paper? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Analysis and Reflection 3. Show the PowerPoint: Four Elements of Differentiation for discussion. (slides 2-6). Have the participants try to make connections with what they see on the slides with the demo lesson. (Distribute Handout 3, see below)
<slide 2> Four Classroom Elements of Differentiation Content Process Product Learning environment <slide 3> Content A change in the material being learned by the student. e.g.: if the classroom objective is for all students to write persuasive paragraphs, some of the students may be learning to use a topic sentence and supporting details, while others may be learning to use outside sources to defend their viewpoint <slide 5> Product The way in which the student shows what he or she has learned. 90 <slide 4> Process The way in which the student accesses material. e.g.: One student may explore a learning center while another student collects information from the web.

<slide 6> Learning Environment Learning environment the way the classroom works and feels.

e.g.: to demonstrate understanding of the plot of a story, one student may create a skit, while another student writes a book report.

e.g.: physical layout of the classroom where interact with others individually, in small groups, and as a whole class. Overall atmosphere of the classroom. Safe and supportive learning.

4. Give samples of different listening tasks (handout 4, see below). Get the participants to differentiate the tasks for three different levels. Representatives of each group fill in the chart on the board that you have prepared:
Beginner Pre-Intermediate Intermediate

5. Tell the participants to look at the listening sample (the second half of the Toms Diner lyrics by Suzanne Vega, handout 2) The participants will work in groups to prepare one set of differentiated tasks and then share with the class, inviting questions from their peers. Feel free to give feedback. 6. Give the participants questions for reflection: How do differentiated tasks help your students learn? What problems do you foresee in creating differentiated tasks? How can we overcome these challenges? What role does challenge play in creating differentiated tasks; how much is too much or too little? 7. They will write their answers to the questions and then volunteer to present them to the whole group Resources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLP6QluMlrg

Dali Aburjania is a teacher and trainer in Batumi School #18.

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Handout 2:

Toms Diner- Suzanne Vega (1987, A & M Records)

I am sitting in the morning At the diner on the corner I am waiting at the counter For the man to pour the coffee And he fills it only halfway And before I even argue He is looking out the window At somebody coming in "It is always nice to see you" Says the man behind the counter To the woman who has come in She is shaking her umbrella And I look the other way As they are kissing their hellos I'm pretending not to see them Instead I pour the milk I open up the paper There's a story of an actor Who had died while he was drinking It was no one I had heard of And I'm turning to the horoscope And looking for the funnies When I'm feeling someone watching me And so I raise my head There's a woman on the outside Looking inside does she see me? No she does not really see me Cause she sees her own reflection And I'm trying not to notice That she's hitching up her skirt And while she's straightening her stockings Her hair has gotten wet Oh, this rain it will continue Through the morning as I'm listening To the bells of the cathedral I am thinking of your voice... And of the midnight picnic Once upon a time Before the rain began... I finish up my coffee It's time to catch the train

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Handout 3

Simple Ways to Differentiate Materials for Mixed Ability Classes

Teachers can differentiate content, process, product and learning environment for students (Tomlinson, 1997). Differentiation of content refers to a change in the material being learned by the student. For example, if the classroom objective is for all students to write persuasive paragraphs, some of the students may be learning to use a topic sentence and supporting details, while others may be learning to use outside sources to defend their viewpoint. Differentiation of process refers to the way in which the student accesses material. One student may explore a learning center while another student collects information from the web. Differentiation of product refers to the way in which the student shows what he or she has learned. For example, to demonstrate understanding of the plot of a story, one student may create a skit, while another student writes a book report. Learning environment refers to the way the classroom works and feels. For example, classroom environment that supports students ability to interact with others individually, in small groups, and as a whole class. The learning environment includes the physical layout of the classroom, the way that the teacher uses the space, environmental elements and sensitivities including lighting, as well as the overall atmosphere of the classroom. Below find some ideas of how you can support your weaker students and offer extension activities for your stronger students whilst using the same materials as the starting point for the class.

Extension activities for stronger students

Support for weaker students

Pre-teach difficult vocabulary and leave it written on the board for students to refer to. Use visuals if possible.

Ask early finishers to write new vocab up on the board with definitions. Rewrite a part of the text in a different tense / Reading person.

If there are gaps, give students the answers in a jumbled order, with a few extras. Draw attention to the title, pictures etc and set the scene beforehand so their mind is on Write their personal opinion / a short summary of track for the topic. the text. Write questions about the text. Break the text into chunks and give the option of only reading some of the text. Give out the tape script and nominate a Pre-teach vocabulary, use visual prompts vocabulary master to look up tricky words or when appropriate. Listening expressions in a dictionary to then explain to the Give students time to discuss answers group. before feeding back to the class. 93

Focus on the accents or intonation of the speakers and get students to copy chunks. Give students the tape script on second listening. If its a true/false activity, follow on by asking why/why not?) If its a gap fill, supply the words with a few extras. Correct the draft together before students copy up in neat. Give creative tasks that students can do at their own level. Reduce the word limit. Indicate mistakes using correction code to give students a chance to self-correct. (Sp = spelling, Encourage use of dictionaries / vocab books. Writing Gr = grammar etc.) Increase the word limit. Indicate where they could use more interesting ways of saying something. Give an example piece of writing as a model before they begin writing. Pair or group weaker students with stronger students. Give students time to rehearse and gather their ideas before a role play or discussion. Pair weak and strong together. Let students make notes before the Ask students to justify / defend their opinions. speaking activity begins. Allow for Ban easy words like nice to push their vocab to a thinking time. higher level. Speaking Get students to record themselves and self-correct. Pair students of higher level together so they really go for it. Grade students on the effort they make rather than their ability. With a whole class mingle like a class survey or a find somebody who... practise the questions as a group beforehand. Give weaker students more listening and thinking time before calling on them to answer questions.

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Look at these listening tasks arrange them in each box in three categories challenging, more challenging and the most challenging:
Task Type: Gap Filling
A. Listen and circle the correct word: I'm driving around in my _______ A) bike B) car C) cart D) cake

Task Type: Comprehension Check

A. Listen and match the halves of the sentences: 1. I'm sitting here a) I'm waiting for you 2. It's just another b) ever happens and I wonder 3. I'm wasting my time c) in a boring room 4. I'm hanging around d) rainy Sunday afternoon 5. But nothing e) I got nothing to do B. Tick the activities and objects that are mentioned in the song:

B. Listen and write the correct word: I'm driving around in my-------------

C. Listen and circle the correct word:

I'm driving around in my _______ A) bike B) car

a)

b)

Task Type: Grammar

A. Listen and use Present Continuous to fill in the missing parts: I.. waste. my time, I got nothing to do I. hang.. around, I wait for you.

c)

d)

e)

f)

B. Listen and fill in the gaps: I.my time, I got nothing to do I..around, I..for you.

C. Listen and number the lines in correct order: ___But nothing ever happens and I wonder ___I'm wasting my time, I got nothing to do _1_I'm sitting here in a boring room ___I'm hanging around, I'm waiting for you ___It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon Sentences are taken from Lemon Tree by Fool's Garden

C. Listen and cross out the words that you hear: driving sitting wasting hanging

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Using Songs to Teach Listening

Aims: By the end of the session, having experienced a demonstration lesson using a popular

song, participants will be able to explain the value of using a Pre-During-Post (PDP) framework to teach listening.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Song (Daniel by Sir Elton John), audio equipment,

Listening is one of the most difficult language skills for students to master. Songs can be a rich, fun and enjoyable source of listening material. This workshop allows participants to experience several activities in a PDP format lesson that they will then discuss to extract teaching ideas for their own classrooms. But perhaps you should bring a tissue, as Daniel is a very touching song!

Procedure
Introduction 1. Introduce the title and the objectives of the session. Then ask participants what materials they use in their English language classrooms to develop their students listening skills. Participants will first work individually and then share their ideas with a partner. Finally, ask for volunteers to share their ideas and while they are reporting back, write their ideas on the board in a mind map. Now ask the participants to work in groups to brainstorm the challenges, advantages and disadvantages of using songs. Follow this with a whole-class discussion. Record the advantages and disadvantages on the board. Demonstration Tell the participants they will now be language students and to suspend their teaching judgments. 2. Pre-listening tasks: Introduce the name of the song (In this case, Daniel, by Sir Elton John). Show a picture (see below) and ask the participants to predict the content of the song. Scaffold by asking questions to help them predict the content. Now distribute handout #1 (see below) and ask the participant to only read the sentences to guess/predict the content of the song. Do not tell them what the right answer is and encourage them to listen carefully when the song plays to check their answers. 3. During-listening tasks: i. Circle the right answer: Play the song to check how close the trainees predictions were. Ask them to circle the answers to the 5 sentences on the handout they did before listening. First, have them check their answers in pairs and then with the whole class. Ask them if they can retell any more information from the song.
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ii.

iii.

Order the lines: Give the participants slips of paper with the lines from the song. They have to put them in order. Play the song again so that Ps can check the order. (handout 2, see below) Find the mistakes: Give the participants handout #3 (below). They read the text. Explain that there are some factual mistakes. Participants should listen and correct the mistakes. Then they check in pairs. After that the whole class checks together.

4. Post-listening tasks: Ask the participants what they know about Daniel from the song. Then ask them to imagine the answers to some other questions about his life. Participants should describe Daniel. It can be done in three ways, depending on the participants: i. As an interview in pairs: Pairs get questions and first the Partner As ask the first 6 questions, and the Partner Bs answer. Then they switch their roles. Bs ask another set of questions, As answer. ii. Participants write a paragraph about Daniel. iii. Fill in the gaps: Participants complete the paragraph using the song text and their imagination. They then compare their descriptions and find the differences. They can either read their partners text or they can ask and answer questions. (handout #4, below) Analysis 5. Let the participants know that the demonstration is over and they can think like teachers again. Give the participants slips of paper with all the steps of the demo lesson in a jumbled order. Participants are to reconstruct the procedure of the listening lesson. After that, divide them into three groups to think of other PDP listening activities that could be done with a song. One group works on Pre, the second on During and the third on Post listening tasks. Groups present their versions. Reflection 6. Pose the following questions for reflection to the participants: How does the PDP format aid learning? What is the function of the pre task? The post task? What kind of music do you enjoy? How about your students? How should this help guide your song selections for lessons? One new thing I want to try out in my English classroom. One thing I find difficult to do with my students. Have the participants jot down their ideas on small pieces of paper. They post the papers on the wall for everybody to walk around and read or if there is enough time, share in groups.

Tinatin Kutivadze is a teacher and trainer in Kutaisi Public School #3.

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Picture

Handout #1

1. Circle the answer you think is correct:

brother. 1. Daniel is the singers friend. father. 2. Daniel is going to America. Britain. Spain.

train. 3. Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane. boat. is happy Daniel is going. 4. The singer lives near Daniel. misses Daniel. worst 5. Daniel thinks this country is the most boring place in the world. best 98

Handout #2 2. Order the lines 1. God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Oh and he should know hes been there enough, Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye, They say Spains pretty, though Ive never been, Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much. I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain, Well Daniel says its the best place hes ever seen, Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane,

Handout #3 3. Find the mistakes Oh Daniel my brother, You are younger than me, ____________ Do you still tolerate the pain, Of the scars that wont heal? ______________ Your dogs have died, but you see more than I, ____________ Daniel youre a planet in the face of the sky. ______________

Handout #4 4. Describe Daniel Task A. 1. How old is Daniel? 2. What does he look like? 3. What is his favorite food/ color/kind of music? 4. Does he live alone? 5. Why does he like Spain? 6. What is his job? 7. What does he usually do at the weekend? 8. Does he play any musical instruments? 9. How often does he go to the cinema? 10. What kind of books does he read? 11. What about his character? Is he usually happy? Is he shy? 12. Do you like Daniel? Why/why not?

Task B. Daniel is ______________ years old and hes got _____________ hair and ___________ eyes. Hes ________ meters tall. He usually wears ____________ but sometimes he wears __________ . He lives in a ___________ in ___________. He lives with ____________. He works ____________. He _________ his job. His favorite color is __________. ____________ is his favorite food and _____________is his favorite drink. He likes __________ music and his favorite ___________ is _________. In his free time he usually ____________ . Sometimes he ____________, but he doesnt often _____________, and he never ____________. He plays ___________ very well and he can also ___________. He enjoys __________, but he prefers ___________. He quite likes ___________.

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Dictogloss
Aims: By the end of the session teachers will be able to modify and use dictoglosses in their

lessons as a tool for improving grammar, listening and writing.

Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Photocopies of coursebook reading material This workshop on dictoglosses will be interesting not only for the experienced teachers but also for the novice teachers, as this activity is a great tool for improving grammar, writing and listening skills. This activity is student-centered and it doesnt take a lot of time for preparation. .

Procedure
Introduction 1. In order to help teachers to think about the value of using dictation, ask the teachers these questions and give them 2 minutes to think about their answers: Do you use dictations in your classes, and if so why? What are some ways in which dictations help your students learning? After private thinking time, open a short discussion with the whole class. 2. Introduce the term dictogloss and briefly explain what it is and how it can involve using the four skills to complete. Demonstration 3. Tell the participants, I am exiting the room as a teacher trainer. When I re-enter, I will be a teacher and you will be my students. Exit the room and then return and greet the participants as if they were your students. Demonstrate a dictogloss by going through all the stages of the activity. The stages of the activity are: i. Preparation: The teacher gives instructions on the activity; students find out about the topic of the text: ii. Reading the text (handout 1, see below): The text is read at a natural speed. The students arent allowed to write down notes the first time they listen. During the second reading, students write down the key words. They work individually on this. iii. Reconstruction of the text: Students work in groups of four and reconstruct the text using their notes, trying to be as accurate as possible. iv. Analysis and corrections: Students analyze and correct their own reconstructed texts. The teacher will then read the text aloud and the students identify the places where there are significant differences in grammar or lexis with a pen of a different color. Students will then attempt to discover the reasons for the differences, either by asking the teacher or looking at reference material. Following this stage, you can lead the participants to notice how these significant differences show where the students interlanguage is not as accurate as a native speakers. Thus, it is a great tool for upgrading a students accuracy, either lexical or grammatical.
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Analysis and Reflection 4. Exit the room again and come back in, greeting the participants as teachers again. Participants will now attempt to write down the steps of the activity for the future use in their own lessons. Once they have written down what they think the steps are, you can step in to help make sure they noted the stages of the dictogloss correctly. Ask the participants to think about the activity: How can it help Ss? Why do you think so? When they finish discussing in pairs, they can share their ideas with the whole class. 5. Now, ask the participants to think about the tasks that they can provide to their students before reading, in order to activate students schemata. Participants think individually and then share their ideas with a partner. Next, open the discussion for the whole class to share. On a large poster, make a written record of the tasks that the participants come up with (possible answers: showing a picture or a photo, creating a mind map that represents elements of the story, telling a related anecdote). Then the participants should think about the text which they will read to their students. They should think of and write down at least two types of texts that can be used as a dictogloss (possible answers: it may be a long single sentence, the beginning of the story, a poem, a song, idioms, proverbs, short newspaper articles, short scenes from a film, an email to a friend) 6. As a last step, you can get teachers to use their experience and creativity to think about the ways of modifying this activity. Provide photocopies of interesting readings from the coursebooks and asks teachers to choose one they like and then modify it according to the level of Ss. While monitoring their work, challenge the participants to justify their choices: what are the reasons and purposes that are they doing the activity in this or that way? Finally, the teachers present their variations, giving reasons for their staging and text choices and name the purposes that the dictogloss is meant to address. References: Ur. Penny. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://nergizkern.com An Experiment with Dictogloss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRQIDMCjS9c Dictation Dictogloss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DtEuf0wNck

Elena Petrova is a teacher and trainer in School #3 in Rustavi.

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Handout 1: Sample dictogloss text

It started raining. I had to go back to the apartment to get my umbrella. The elevator was not working, so I climbed six floors to my place. When I got back downstairs, I was so tired that I sat down on a bench to rest. By that time, it had stopped raining, but the ground was still wet. A brown dog walked toward me and bit my pants. He splashed water all over my new shoes. Finally, the bus came, and I left to the supermarket. When I arrived at the supermarket, I realized I forgot my shopping list, so I couldn't remember everything I wanted to buy. I bought some beef, pork, and chicken. I also bought lots of fruits and vegetables, like strawberries, apples, carrots, potatoes, and corn. After the cashier took my money, she gave me the wrong change. I asked for the correct amount of money, and he looked angry. I was not happy when I left the supermarket. Also, I had a terrible time on the bus ride home. First, the bus driver yelled at me because I took too much time to get on. Couldn't he see that I had so many groceries? Then, there were no seats. I had to stand in the bus with all my groceries. Then my carrots fell out of the bag, and I had to pick them up. And the worst thing? When I arrived home to cook dinner, I remembered I forgot the pasta I wanted. What a day!

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Introducing Process Writing

Aims: By the end of this session, participants will be able to analyze a process writing lesson that they experienced in order to draw out the steps of the lesson, the rationale behind them, and create plans for adapting process writing for their own students. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Paper
Many teachers have heard the term process writing, but do they really know what it looks like? This workshop allows teachers to fully experience a process writing lesson and then think about how it could be implemented into their own classroom practice.

Procedure
1. Hand out a list of statements made by teachers about writing. Have the participants discuss in small groups about which they agree or disagree with and why.
Warmer Handout#1 A. Writing in class is a waste of time. The learners may as well do it at home B. I mainly use writing to practice grammar and vocabulary: learners are more accurate when they write than when they speak

C. Writing should be done individually or else weaker writers will simply rely on the stronger ones.

D.

Learners sometimes see writing as a chore. The most important thing is to make in fun and to encourage learners to express themselves

E.

I dont think you should correct every mistake when learners write something. I only pick out what I think are the main points and I always write comments saying what I like about what was said, or what I thought was surprising and so on.

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Demonstration 2. Tell the participants that you are going to present one of the approaches of teaching writing by demonstration; participants will behave as students while the trainer acts as a school teacher. Step 1: Tell the students that they have a task to write an essay, Why it is a good idea to study abroad. Step 2: Divide the participants into groups and ask them to brainstorm all the ideas why they think it is good to study abroad. They can make individual notes, mind maps, or any other way they have of recording their ideas. Step 3: Tell them to look at their notes and try to organize them into three main points. For each point there should be a main idea and one or two examples to support it. Demonstrate by putting an example on the board. Step 4: Give the participants time in groups to write their first essay. Tell them that it is their first draft and they will have chance to make changes later, so it is not important to worry about grammatical mistakes. Encourage them to get their ideas down on paper quickly. Step 5: Ask groups to exchange their drafts. Ask participants from other groups to read one classmates essay and put a tick next to the ideas they like. Underline any grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes. They should not correct but only identify the mistakes. Step 6: Groups return their writings; they correct their own mistakes and rewrite their essays. When they have finished this second draft, they display them on the walls. Everyone will then walk around the room, read the essays and vote for the one they like the most. Step 7: Tell the participants that this might not be their final draft, and that they may need to revise it again and rewrite it until they are satisfied with the quality. Analysis and Reflection 3. Tell the group that the teaching simulation is over and they can now think as teachers again. Have them recall the stages of the writing lesson. Write down the steps on the board. Have the participants answer the following questions: Who does the bulk of the correcting? Why is this important? Why are students writing displayed on the wall? What effect would this have on motivation? How would you adapt these ideas about process writing with your teaching?
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Be sure to draw out the idea that process writing is done in steps, with peer review, writing for an audience and that writing several drafts as essential. Also note that the topic was of immediate interest to the students lives and thus motivating.

Ketevan Barkhudanashvili is a teacher/trainer in Telavi Public school #3.

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Scaffolding for Writing Activities

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to scaffold a textbook writing lesson to

provide better learning support for their students.

Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Handouts on Vygotsky and instructed scaffolding, markers, flipchart/whiteboard,

feedback questionnaire
Scaffolding is one of the central components of effective teaching but knowing how much our students need and what kind of scaffolding is appropriate is often less obvious. This workshop gives teachers practical experience in scaffolding writing lessons in order to increase the quality of student writing and motivation.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Ask the participants, Which strategies do you often use to teach writing for young learners? What about scaffolding? What is scaffolding and what are the benefits of scaffolding instructions? After discussing with a partner and sharing their ideas with the whole group, distribute handouts (see below) with more specific information about scaffolding. Demonstration 2. Tell the trainees that they will now be students in a simulated classroom. Demonstrate the following two different activities: Activity 1- Model how to write big letter "A" and small letter "a" and draw these letters on the board and ask the participants to do the same. Activity 2- Show one big cube and one small cube and ask the participants what the differences are between them. Then explain about big and small letters in the English alphabet. After this, draw these letters in the air using clear instructions and have the participants do the same and then they copy them in broken lines. Analysis and Reflection After these simulations, ask: What did you feel? and What are the differences between the instructions and your performance in the two simulations? and What do you think about using scaffolding while teaching writing? Have the participants talk in pairs for 2 minutes and then share their ideas with the whole group (the idea is that the first activity did not have enough scaffolding for students to be successful while the second activity moved logically from step to step, ensuring that students would learn the necessary skills to reproduce the letters more effectively).
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Action Planning

3. Divide the participants into four groups and give each group a different lesson from a student's book for young learners. Instruct the participants to write lesson plans with appropriate scaffolding and that it should include individual work, group work, wholeclass work as well as a role for the instructor. Each group has specific objectives of the lesson plan: i. ii. iii. iv. Ss will be able to write letters Cc and Dd (for grade 1) Ss will be able to develop new vocabulary about animals and make simple sentences using them (for grade 3) Ss will be able to develop the school subject vocabulary and describe them (for grade 4) Ss will be able to write a story, My farm (for grade 6);

After finishing, they will make presentations about their plans. Allow for 5-10 minutes of discussion after the presentations, to answer any questions and deal with any issues that have arisen. 4. In order to consolidate the learning and clarify any confusion, ask these questions: a. What were the stages of the activities? b. What did you learn? c. How will you adapt it with your lessons?
Participants will share their ideas in pairs. Elicit and respond to their ideas in the whole group.

Tea Khachoshvili is a teacher and trainer in Naphareuli Public School.

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Handout 1 Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory Scaffolding instruction as a teaching strategy originates from Lev Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory and his concept of the Zone of proximal development (ZPD). Lev Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist whose works were suppressed after his death in the 1930s and were not discovered by the West until the late 1950s. (Lev Vygotskys archive, n.d) His sociocultural theory proposes that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Vygotsky theorized that learning occurs through participation in social or culturally embedded experiences. (Raymond, 2000, p.176). Vygotskys view, the learner does not learn in isolation. Childrens social interaction with more knowledgeable or capable others and their environment significantly impacts their ways of thinking and interpreting situations. A child develops his or her intellect through internalizing concepts based his/her own interpretation of an activity that occurs in a social setting. The communication helps the child develop inner or egocentric speech. The inner speech is abbreviated speech for oneself that eventually directs personal cognitive activities. Inner speech is developed as the adult initially models a cognitive process and communicates the steps as in think-aloud modeling. Over time and through repeated experiences, the child begins to internalize, and assumes responsibility for the dialogical actions (Ellis, Larking, Worthington, n.d., Principle 5 Research section, para. 3). The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) The second foundation for scaffolding instruction is Vygotskys concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). It is that area between what a learner can do independently (mastery level) and what can be accomplished with the assistance of a competent adult or peer (instructional level). (Ellis, Larkin, Worthington, n.d. Principle 5, Research section, para. 1). Vygotsky believed that any child could be taught any subject effectively using scaffolding techniques by applying the scaffolds at the ZPD. Teachers activate this zone when they teach students concepts that are just above their current skills and knowledge level beyond their current skills level. (Jaramillo, 1996, p. 138)
From: Van Der Stuyf, R.R. (2002) Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy. City College of New York.

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Handout 2 Instructional Scaffolding to Improve Learning One of the main benefits of scaffolded instruction is that it provides for a supportive learning environment, students are free to ask questions, provide feedback and supportive their peers in learning new material. When you incorporate scaffolding in the classroom, you become more of a mentor and facilitator of knowledge rather than the dominant content expert. This teaching style provides the incentive for students to take a more active role in their own learning. Students share the responsibility of teaching and learning through scaffolds that require them to move beyond their current skill and knowledge levels. Through this interaction, students are able to take ownership of the learning event. The points below are excerpted from Ellis and Larkin as citied in Larkin and provide a simple structure of scaffolded instruction. First, the instructor does it: In other words, the instructor models how to perform a new or difficult task, such as how to use a graphic organizer .For example, the instructor may project or hand out a partially completed graphic organizer and asks students to think aloud as he or she describes how the graphic organizer illustrates the relationships among the information contained on it. Second, the class does it: The instructor and students then work together to perform the task. For example, the students may suggest information to be added to the graphic organizer. As the instructor writes the suggestions on the white board, students fill in their own copies of the organizer. Third, the group does it: At this point, students work with a partner or a small cooperative group to complete the graphic organizer. More complex content might require a number of scaffolds given at different times to help students master the content. Fourth, the individual does it: This is the independent practice stage where individual students can demonstrate their task mastery (e.g., successfully completing a graphic organizer to demonstrate appropriate relationships among information) and receive the necessary practice to help them to perform the task automatically and quickly. From: http://www.vtaide.com/png/ERIC/Scaffolding.htm

References Alibali, M (2006). Does visual scaffolding facilitate students mathematics learning? Evidence from algebra http://ies.ed.gov/funding/grantsearch/details.asp?ID=54 Hogan, K., and Pressley, M. (1997). Scaffolding Student Learning: Instructional approaches and issues. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books. Piper, C. Teaching with Technology (2005). What is scaffolding? http://www1.chapman.edu/univcoll/faculty/piper/2042/graphorg.htm Dalton, J., and Smith, D. (1986). Extending childrens special abilities: Strategies for primary classrooms. http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm
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Dennen, V.P. (2004). Cognitive apprenticeship in educational practice: Research on scaffolding, modeling, mentoring, and coaching as instructional strategies. In D.H. Jonassen (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (2nd ed.), (p.815).Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Johnston,S., and Cooper, J. (1997). Cooperative Learning and College Teaching. Vol. 9, No. 3 Spring 1997. Larkin, M. (2002). Using scaffolded instruction to optimize learning. http://www.vtaide.com/png/ERIC/Scaffolding.htm

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Writing an Argumentative Essay

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to compare the differences between types of argumentative essays and use scaffolding language to build and assess an argumentative essay. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint, Handouts with sample essays, tasks and rubrics
Argumentative essay writing is one of the important language issues for students and for teachers as well, as both have to produce an essay for the National Exam and the National Certification Test in English. Many teachers mention the challenges of the writing process their students encounter. The main issue is that students are required to think of various language aspects, such as structure, content and organization of ideas, correct grammar, meaningful vocabulary and spelling at the same time. This workshop is intended to help teachers find effective ways to lead students through the writing process and to recognize the differences between several types of argumentative compositions.

Procedure
1. Prepare the trainees for this topic by asking the following questions: What do you think are some good ways to develop essay writing skills? Why? What do your students find easy/difficult while writing an essay? Participants think of the answers to these questions and share with their colleagues. Ask volunteers to share with the whole audience. 2. In order to familiarize the trainees with the structures of various types of essays, distribute handouts with model essays to groups of four participants and they have to guess the type of the essay (1. essay giving advantages and disadvantages, 2. for and against, 3. agreeing or disagreeing when expressing an opinion). Groups discuss the model essays, answering the following questions (sample essays are below): What type of essay is it? Why do you think so? How many paragraphs are there? What is the aim of the first paragraph? Second? ..

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Demonstration Activities 3. In order to help teachers to identify for themselves the steps needed for students to practice essay writing and to show participants step-by-step activities to teach students how to compose an essay, lead them through the following activities: A. Show two different pictures (two forms of transport) and participants compare working in pairs.

Then ask the participants to read a set of writing task instructions and answer the questions that follow: Task: Your class has been studying transport. You are asked to write an essay explaining whether you agree or disagree with the following statement: People should be encouraged to use public transport more. Questions: Should your answer be formal or informal? Do you agree with the statement? B. Distribute papers with jumbled linkers on it: Linking vocabulary: This is due to To begin with, As a result In the first place, On the one hand The first thing to take into account is, On the other hand Secondly, However What is more Despite In addition to this In conclusion Another point to be made is that To conclude Because of this, I am convinced that I would argue that Then have participants arrange them under the sections: 1. to introduce your first point 2. to introduce a further point
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3. to express causes and results 4. to express contrast 5. to introduce a conclusion and express opinion C. Participants read the answer to the writing task (essay) and recognize whether the writer agrees or disagrees with the statement. Participants then skim to find words and phrases in the essay which mean: because, but, firstly, in addition, in conclusion. Essay: There is no doubt that traffic adds to pollution. Public transport offers a possible solution to the problem, since many people can be transported in one vehicle. The government has a responsibility to encourage the public to use buses and the underground more. However, there are a number of changes which need to be considered. In the first place, public transport should be made free. The government should raise taxes to pay for the service. If it was free, most people would decide to leave their cars at home and travel by bus or train. What is more, the service must be clean and reliable. People need to know that they can get to work on time. They also need to know that their journey will be comfortable. To sum up, I would argue that a clean, reliable service which was free would encourage many people to use public transport. The government should take action on this to prevent environmental damage. D. Participants read the essay again and circle the correct answer to the questions related to the structure of the essay: Read the essay again and circle the correct answer: 1. In the first paragraph, the writer: a. introduces the subject and generally agrees or disagrees with the statement b. lists all the reasons why she agrees or disagrees with the statement in detail. 2. In the second paragraph, she: a. explains some points against her point of view. b. explains some points in favor of her point of view. 3. In the third paragraph, she: a. introduces her conclusion and states her opinion. b. explains more points in favor of her point of view. 4. In the second and third paragraphs, a. the first sentence of each paragraph expresses the main idea. b. the last sentence of each paragraph expresses the main idea.
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5. In the final paragraph, she: a. summarizes her argument. b. Introduces extra points. 4. Participants work in groups to write an essay between 120-180 words explaining whether they agree or disagree with the following statement: The invention of the car changed the world. On a PowerPoint or handout, provide useful phrases to help them: Useful phrases: To move from horses to cars To get to faraway destinations faster useful invention To provide comfortable traveling Fast transportation High usage of gasoline Millions of people employed in the automobile industry

Participants are also given a self-assessment rubric so that they know what is required. Use this self-assessment rubric to check your work. Tick what you have done. Cross what you have not. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. I have used formal language. I have used some good connecting phrases. I have explained why I agree/disagree with the statement. I have used paragraphs. I have summarized my argument in the last paragraph. I have checked my spelling and my grammar. My essay is between 120 and 180 words long.

Groups display their writing on the walls and read each others essays and then share what they have noticed. Reflection 5. In order to process the demonstration activities and to help the trainees identify the stages and aims of the activities, have them give answers to the following questions: 1. How did you feel as a student? 2. What did the teacher do to lead students in the actual writing process? 3. How else would you provide to support students to practice their essay writing skills?
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6. Display key things to remember on a slide and summarize the session.

Key Things To Remember
Use formal language Use good connecting words and phrases Present your argument clearly Use a new paragraph for each main point Only make points that are relevant to the question Make sure you do what the question asks you to do

7. To further consolidate the key learnings from the workshop, have participants fill an evaluation form giving answers to the questions: What did I learn from this session? What was the most interesting part of the session? What will I definitely try out with my students from the session and why? Briefly ask for volunteers to share their ideas with the whole group.

Irma Kiria is a teacher and trainer from Tsaishai Public School.

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Handouts: Sample Essays A. Computers are a major technological breakthrough of the twentieth century. Their benefits are numerous yet much can be said against them. The main Disadvantage of computers is that staring at a screen for long periods of time can be damaging in the eyes, and sitting on a chair for hours at a time is certainly not healthy. Secondly, computers distract from social interactions such as conversation. Also, people can be inclined to become anti-social and stay at home to use their computer. Finally, the most persuasive argument against the use of computers is that the more jobs which are done by computers, the less are done by people. However, the advantages of computers are numerous, such as the undeniable educational benefits, especially to children. School subjects become more interesting when presented on a computer screen. Moreover, computers can be fun with a seemingly endless variety of games which can be played on them. In addition, computers are valuable to any business, making life easier and saving time by being capable of storing and retrieving vast amount of information at the touch of a button. Furthermore, personal gains can be seen as the use of computers increases powers of concentration. To sum up, there are strong arguments both for and against the use of computers. Yet, despite the health problems, risk to jobs and lack of personal interaction, it seems that as long as the use of computers is regulated, the benefits computers provide to education and business are valuable. B. The subject of animal testing is very controversial. In my opinion, animal testing should not be banned for the number of reasons. The first reason for supporting animal testing is that many products must be tested on animals to ensure that they are safe for use by humans. For example, diabetics would not be able to inject insulin to control their diabetes if it had not been developed by testing it on animals. Moreover, the effects of certain chemicals such as insecticide can be observed on animals and their offspring and results are achieved faster since animals have a shorter life span than humans and the ability to multiply easily.

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The final and most important point in favor of animal testing is that it is aimed at finding cures for diseases such as cancer. Most of these tests cannot be done in any other way. Forty years ago polio was a common calamity amongst children. Animal testing led to the discovery of a vaccine and now this disease is very rare in developed countries. While some animals undoubtedly suffer, the end justifies the means. Contrary to popular belief, laboratory animals are not ill-treated and their suffering is kept to a minimum. As already stated, I am in favor of animal testing, provided that it is conducted under strict conditions and that there is no alternative. C. Moving towards the 21st century, technological advancement has become a focus of todays society. Technology has entered the lives of even the poorest members of society, and it is very rare to find anyone who does not have some form of modern technology, such as a TV or a food processor, in their home. There are many things to be said in favor of technological advancement, the most obvious being that it undoubtedly makes peoples lives easier. Without the benefits that technology brings, the world would be a much harder place to live in. For example, how would any business operate without faxes, photocopiers, computers or telephones? On the other hand technology also has the potential to destroy everything at the touch of a button a point made by Quentin Reynolds when he said, The scientists split the atom, now the atom is splitting us . The danger of technological advancement is that machines will completely replace humans leaving fewer jobs and reducing human contact in everyday life, which cannot be a good thing for society. In conclusion, although technology has the potential to provide a better quality of life for everyone, it is also capable of destroying everything within very short space of time. As such it should be developed with caution and should never be allowed to take the place of human contact because this is what ultimately held a society together.

Outline: Expressing Opinions Introduction: State your opinion clearly without using too many personal opinion Words. Main Body: Para.2 Give the first point supporting your opinion.
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Para.3 Give the second point supporting your opinion. Para.4 Give the last point supporting your opinion. Conclusion: Re-state your opinion, using different words.

Outline: Expressing arguments for and against a topic Introduction: Introduce the subject of the essay. State why it is an important Issue at the present time. Main Body: Para.2 Give the arguments in favor of the statement. Para.3 Give the arguments against the statement. Conclusion: Conclude by giving a well-balanced consideration.

Outline: Giving advantages and disadvantages Introduction: general statement about the topic Main Body: Para.2 advantages and statements to support your point of view. Para.3 disadvantages and statements to support your point of view (Note: if you believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages write them in the third paragraph so that it will be easier for you to lead the reader to the conclusion. Conclusion: Give a balanced consideration or give your opinion without using personal words or expressions.

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Activating Schemata before Reading

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to create schema activation tasks for a

short reading text.

Timing: 60 minutes Materials: handout, text, evaluation questionnaire Rarely in real life do we pick up a reading text and begin reading it without having a clear idea of the topic of the text. But often we ask our students to do this! Activating schemata, or background knowledge, can help students be more motivated to read and more successful at understanding when they do read. This workshop will allow the participants the opportunity to experience a reading lesson with schemata activation in order for the teachers to personally feel the benefits. Then they will have the chance to create their own activation tasks and get feedback from their peers.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Introduce yourself and the objective of this training session. Asks the questions: Do your students like reading? Do you often activate students schemata before reading a new text? These questions are answered in the whole group. If needed, provide or elicit a concise explanation of schemata activation. Hand out half-sheets of paper and then ask the participants to fold them and on each side write one fear and one expectation they have of this topic. On the other side, the participants will write a little bit about themselves (school, family, hobbies, etc.). Participants will mingle with the drawing side visible to the others. They are to ask questions and learn as much as they can about their colleagues. Participants will present their ideas as you paste their Fears and Expectations on the flipchart/wall. Then ask them what generalizations can be made; what are the major trends; what can be concluded from this? Demonstration 2. Give the participants a number of words (see text below) from a text (on the board) and the description or translation if necessary. Ask the participants these questions about the words and phrases before they predict what story the text tells:

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What is the National Mall? What is the Smithsonian Institute? It was named for Smithson, who was this man? Participants are then to make a story using the words and phrases in pairs/groups of 3 and share them with others. 3. Participants read the original text to see if their own stories and answers were correct. While reading the text they try to find any of the words/phrases from the list on the board and cross off the words/phrases they found. Volunteers discuss with the whole group. Reflection and Planning 4. Ask the participants: How did you feel while activation/reading? Why is it important to activate students schemata? What other activities could be used? Participants answer the questions first by themselves, then with a partner and finally volunteers share with the whole group. 5. Give the participants a short text, possibly from a textbook. Divide them into 2 groups and ask them to demonstrate how they would activate schemata for their text. Groups will make short presentations as other participants listen and ask questions. Feel free to step in and challenge participants if you think their tasks are not specifically activating schemata. 6. In order to gauge which were the most important or effectively presented points of this workshop, distribute pieces of paper in 2 groups and asks Ps to write: one thing they remember
from the workshop and one thing they will use in their teaching.

Tamar Remishvili is a teacher and trainer at Gori Public School #3.

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The text The Smithsonian museums are the most widely visible part of the United States and consist of nineteen museums and galleries as well as the National Zoological Park. Seventeen of these collections are located in Washington D.C., with eleven of those located on the National Mall. The remaining ones are in New York City and Chantilly, Virginia. As of 2010, one museum, the Arts and Industries Building, is closed in preparation for a substantial renovation, and another, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is slated to open in 2015. The birth of the Smithsonian Institution can be traced to the acceptance of James Smithson's legacy, willed to the United States in 1826. Smithson died in 1829, and in 1836, President Andrew Jackson informed Congress of the gift, which it accepted. In 1838, Smithson's legacy, which totaled more than $500,000, was delivered to the United States Mint and entered the Treasury. After eight years, in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was established. The Institution grew slowly until 1964 when Sidney Dillon Ripley became secretary. Ripley managed to expand the institution by eight museums and upped admission from 10.8 million to 30 million people a year. This period included the greatest and most rapid growth for the Smithsonian, and it continued until Ripley's resignation in 1984.Since the completion of the Arts and Industries Building, the Smithsonian has expanded to twenty separate museums with roughly 137 million objects in their collections, including works of art, natural specimens, and cultural artifacts. The Smithsonian museums are visited by over 25 million people every year. Eleven of the 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and galleries are at the National Mall in Washington D.C., the open-area national park in Washington, D.C running between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol, with the Washington Monument providing a division slightly west of the center. Five other Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are located elsewhere in Washington. Two more Smithsonian museums are located in New York City and one is located in Chantilly, Virginia. The Smithsonian also holds close ties with 171 museums in 41 states, as well as Panama and Puerto Rico. These museums are known as Smithsonian Affiliates. Collections of artifacts are given to these museums in the form of long-term loans from the Smithsonian. These long-term loans are not the only Smithsonian exhibits outside the Smithsonian museums. The Smithsonian also has a large number of traveling exhibitions. Each year more than 50 exhibitions travel to hundreds of cities and towns all across the United States.

* highlighted words from a text will be on the board.

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How to Scaffold Reading

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to create tasks for a coursebook reading

text that move from prediction tasks, to gist comprehension, scanning for specific details, and finally to a whole and complete understanding.
Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint on Vygotsky and ZPD, 2 worksheets, 1 poem, evaluation and feedback form Lev Vygotsky has had a pronounced impact on how we think about teaching and learning languages. This workshop introduces participants to one of his key ideas: scaffolding. By scaffolding our lessons, we are better able to serve our learners, building knowledge and skills one bit at a time. Participants will experience scaffolding firsthand and then have a chance to think about how it can benefit their own teaching.

Procedure
1. Give small groups of participants the situation of a mother helping her child to build a house. They have to put the actions in a right order: Put in the right order 1. Showing the child how to place one block on another 2. Get four big blocks 3. Now you have to go

2.

Ask the participants: What did the mother do first? Next? Why didnt the mother help the child directly from the beginning?

Elicit or explain that the case shows how the mother is helping the child to learn and progress on his own. Step by step, she first gives general encouragement, then specific instructions, and finally direct demonstration. 3. Explain that certain processes aid effective scaffolding: a. Gaining and maintaining the learners interest in the task b. Making the task simple to do, challenging but achievable c. Emphasizing the certain aspects that will help with the solution d. Control the childs level of frustration e. Demonstrate the task Also emphasize what teachers have to consider in the learning process: students skills and ability, what they can do alone and where they need assistance from a knowledgeable other.
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4.

Sample Lesson

Step 1: Prepare the participants for the demonstration lesson by telling them they will have a chance to be language learners and not teachers for a short while. Before reading the poem, The Red Brocade Pillow, give the teachers charts and ask them to complete the before reading column of the anticipation guide individually, by writing T if they think the statement is true or F if they think the statement is false. Anticipation Guide
Before reading Statements

Text
Line number(s) After reading

This poem describes hospitality customs of eastern Europeans The poet suggests that when someone comes to your door, you dont ask their name because you dont know them. The poet implies that people become friends when they take time to get to know one another. By armor people wear the poet means that people should protect themselves from strangers.

Step 2: After reading the poem, learners respond to the statement again in the text column. This time they base their answer on information found in the text, noting the lines in the text where the question is answered. Step 3: Discuss the answers as a group Step 4: Have the learners underline key words/phrases from the text. Step 5: Cooperative sentences: Divide participants into groups of four and give them scripts. They have to construct sentences and answer questions. Each group is given 2 questions to be answered. Each learner says only one word of the answer at a time, so one by one their answer is built cooperatively Questions: i. ii. iii. iv. v. What is the poem about? Whose hospitality customs does the poet write about? What are the hospitality customs? Why does the poet say you should wait three days before asking guests their name, where they come from and where they are going? What do you think the poet means by the line, Lets go back to that?
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vi. vii. viii.

What does the poet mean by the words take the red brocade pillow? What does the poet mean by the words No, I was not busy when you came What is important for good hospitality in your country?

Step 6: Introduce the 3-2-1 summary that the participants have to complete:

3-2-1
3. Write three important details in the story.

2. Write two events in the story that are connected to one another.

1. Write one statement or question about the meaning or main idea of the text, or one thing you would like to learn more about after reading the text.

5.

Briefly discuss the nature of scaffolding and how this demonstration lesson exemplified it. Put the participants into small groups and give each group a text from one of the coursebooks. They are to make a short lesson from this text using scaffolding to aid student learning. When finished, groups will do a gallery walk to look at how the other groups accomplished scaffolding. Wrap up the session by talking briefly about the interesting examples you saw in the group work and answering any questions the participants may have.

Marina Goguadze is a teacher and trainer at Ureki Public School.

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Handout

Red Brocade Pillow by Naomi Shihab Nye The Arabs used to say, When stranger appears at your door, Feed him for three days before asking who he is, Where hes come from, where hes headed. That way, hell have strength enough to answer, Or, by then youll be such good friends you don care. Lets go back to that. Rice? Pine nuts? Here, take the red brocade pillow, My child will serve water to your horse. No, I was not busy when you came. I was not preparing to busy. Thats the armor everyone puts on To pretend they had a purpose in the world. I refuse to be claimed, your plate is waiting We will snip fresh mint into your tea.
From: 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East, by Naomi Shihab Nye, Published by HarperCollins, 2002.

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Teaching Reading for Beginners

Aims: By the end of the session, teachers will be able to describe different techniques for

teaching the alphabet to young learners.

Timing: 60 minutes Materials: Handouts for jigsaw reading Teachers in Georgia are required to teach reading from the first grade, even as the children cannot read in their native tongue. What is the best way to do this? This workshop offers practical advice to answer some of your most burning questions.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Write these questions on the board: Should I teach only spoken English or start reading from the beginning (1st grade)? Should I teach my students only single letters or the written forms of meaningful words? If I decide to teach single letters, should I teach their names first or their phonetic sound? Trainees think about the questions individually, then share in pairs and finally discuss as a whole group. Jigsaw Reading 2. Divide trainees into 3 groups and give each group a different handout (see below) Trainees read the texts individually Discuss in groups Change the group members so that the new groups each have one person who read parts 1, 2, or 3 of the text. One by one, have them share the information that was in their text, answering any questions that arise. The other group members should be taking notes and actively listening. Activity Demonstration 3. One participant draws a letter on the back of next participant and the group tries to guess the letter and say the name. 4. Divide trainees into groups of three and ask them to demonstrate how to teach a letter or a word. 5. The trainer will add at least two more techniques for teaching reading from her own repertoire at this point in the session. Reflection 6. Ask the question:
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Which useful reading techniques do you remember? (Get them to draw a mind map and write the points on it). Have them share these with a partner and then possibly draw one mind map for the entire class with the key points on it.

References:
Slattery, M. & Willis, J. (2001) English for Primary Teachers: A handbook of activities and classroom language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ur, P. (2012). A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nino Sarauli is a teacher and trainer in Mejvriskhevi Public School.

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Handout 1) Both for students learning a new alphabet, and for those who already know it, it is generally preferable to begin reading only after acquiring some basic knowledge of the spoken language. Then reading can quickly become a matter of recognizing meanings, rather than just decoding symbols. This also means we can give much more interesting tasks for reading practice. For those learning a new alphabet, teaching letters before they know much spoken English would mean that we would have to provide exercises based on meaningless combinations of letters, which would be boring and demotivating.

2)

With students learning a new alphabet, it is probably most practical to begin with single letters (the conventional phonic method), starting with the most common and useful. As soon as they have a few of the most common letters (for example, a, e, i, o, s, n, t, r,), students can read and write an enormous number of common words. The most common digraphs (two-letter combination that make a single sound, like th, sh, ee) are worth teaching even before you teach the least common letters like q, z. Having said this, I would add the reservation that it is worth teaching very early on a few very common words whose spelling and pronunciation are not transparent (for example: the, he, she, what, are) and practicing recognition through tasks that involve searching them within an authentic, unsimplified text. Students who already know the Latin alphabet, on the other hand are likely to pick up the different sound-symbol correspondences as they encounter them in context: from you reading aloud of texts or single items, or from reading texts in their course materials. However there may also be a place for taking time early on to clarify explicitly the sounds of single letters if these are obviously different from those in the L1: for example: for French speakers, how English u is usually pronounced(/^/).

3) It is more useful for reading if the student knows the most common sounds of the letter. The name of the letter is used only for explaining spelling. It is possible, of course, to teach both- This letter is called aitch and is pronounced /h/- if the class can cope. This would be appropriate for older beginners; but with younger once , it is arguably more helpful to teach them first how to pronounce the letter as it is read in a word, and leave the names until later. Note that even students who already know the Latin alphabet are going to have to learn new letter names as well as some sounds.

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D, F, G, T, E, F

o, s, t, f, r, l

s, b, m, n, I, d, u

P, F, B, N, M, A, E

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Using the KWL Chart for Reading

Aims: By the end of the session the teachers will be able to describe the benefits of using the

KWL chart as a tool for developing reading skills.

Timing: 35 minutes Materials: Handout with KWL chart, reading text

Classes in Georgian public schools consist of students of different language levels, learning styles and abilities. It makes developing reading skills quite challenging as most students find reading boring and uninteresting. Teachers need to know activities that motivate and engage every student in their work. Some teachers lack experience and knowledge of modern approaches and methodologies for dealing with this problem. The KWL should make an important tool in the teachers struggles to teach reading effectively.

Procedure
Warm up Ask the participants to recall different techniques they use to motivate students to read. At first they share their ideas in pairs and then with the whole class. Elicit ideas from the trainees and put them up on the blackboard Demonstration 1. Draw the KWL chart on the board and ask the participants to copy it. Explain what the abbreviation KWL stands for, in case they dont know it:

K
What do you think you know about _________?

W
What do you want to know about ________________?

L
What did you learn about ___________?

2. Announce and write the title of the reading text, Learning Styles, on the blackboard. Make sure the participants understand the title but dont reveal too much information about it. 3. Individually, the participants fill in as much as they can in the first two columns about learning styles.
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4. In pairs, participants share what they have written and add to it if necessary. After that they share in groups of 4 or 5, then report to the whole class; one person from each group shares what they have written. 5. The participants read the text silently and fill in the third column. They are to underline in column 3 what they had wanted to learn and now have learned. Then they tell the whole group what new things they have underlined. Analysis and Reflection 6. Give the participants slips of red and green paper. On the red slips are all the steps of the demonstration lesson in a jumbled up order. On the green slips are written the reasons for each step. Participants first reconstruct the procedures of the lesson. After that, they match the steps with the reasons and post them on the wall under the titles What I Did and Rationale. 7. Participants talk about the strong and weak points of using the KWL chart. If necessary the trainer scaffolds by asking further questions to clarify meaning and direct participants to the main points. 8. Participants answer the questions: How will this activity motivate students to develop their reading skills? Where else can you use the KWL chart apart from reading? The participants write their answers to the questions and then share with the whole group.

Tinatin Kutivadze is a teacher and trainer representing Kutaisi Public School #3.

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Alphabet Teaching Strategies

Aims: By the end of the session, participants will be able to analyze and sequence several different methods for teaching the English alphabet to 1st graders. Timing: 60 minutes Materials: PowerPoint with questions and ABCs, string, dough, paper, scissors, glue. Teaching the ABCs in Georgia is particularly tricky because we are required to do this in the first grade of primary school, when the children do not even know the Georgian or Russian scripts of their first and second languages. How do we make this meaningful and engaging? This workshop attempts to help solve this quandary.

Procedure
Warmer Show the Japanese Kanji for love on a PowerPoint slide and ask the trainees to draw it. Trainees attempt to recreate it and then try to guess the meaning of the symbol. Ask them what difficulties they had and what they needed to know in order to write it correctly. Board these ideas as they are essential to the struggle of our own students when learning a new script.

Activity 1 1. Put the participants in groups or three or four and give them three pieces of paper with the following pictures on them, and ask the trainees to put them in a logical order.

2. Groups present and stick their papers on the board in what they think is the correct order. 3. Show the following proverb: Tell me and I will forget; Show me and I might remember;
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Involve me and I will understand. (Confucius) 4. Ask the trainees to reorder their versions according to the proverb. 5. Groups discuss whose answers were the closest. The answer should be as follows:

Rose is a beautiful

Activity 2 a. Ask the question: What does this mean for alphabet learning? Trainees discuss in groups and present their answers. b. Elicit the participants preferred methods of teaching the ABCs. Trainees work in groups and discuss the following questions: 1. How do you teach the ABCs? 2. What is the age of your youngest learners? What challenges do you face? 3. What materials do you use for teaching the ABCs? Board some of the ideas. Demonstration Tell the participants that they will now act as students as they experience a number of activities they can use to teach the alphabet. Hand out instructions of each method to different groups and then have them lead the demonstration with the rest of the participants. After each method is demonstrated, do a mini-feedback session in which you elicit what age/level/sequence the activity is appropriate for. They can fill in the cline after each mini-feedback: ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[ True Mastery beginner level Method 1: Say the letters and have the students repeat after you. Give them copies of the letters and have them try to draw them (this could also be done with tracing). Method 2: Group 1 demonstrates: The teacher will say the letter and the group will repeat. The teacher writes the word on the board and the group guesses what letter it is. The participants then use

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colored dough to make the letters on their desks, which they can show to their neighbors. The teacher can choose the best ones to show the whole group. Method 3: Group 2 demonstrates: Following the same procedure of showing and guessing, the teacher then shows the participants how to make the letters using string, glue and piece of paper. Method 4: Group 3 demonstrates: This time, the students draw the letters and then cut them out. They may paste these on a master sheet or in their ABC notebook. Method 5: Group 4 demonstrates: The teacher shows the class the letter and then shows them how to make the letter using their whole body. Participants can then attempt to make the subsequent letters on their own with the teacher drawing attention to those who make the clearest figures. Method 6: Trainees listen to the ABC song. They have letters in their hands, which they made on their own. Have the participants kneel. When they hear their letter, they stand up and wave. Method 7: Ask two volunteers to come to the front of the room. Give them pieces of rope and ask one of the trainees to form capital letters on the floor. The other forms small letters. You make this into a competition with the winner being the one who makes the letter the fastest and the most precise. Method 8: Ask two new volunteers to come to the front and then face away from the rest of the students. Write letters on their backs and the volunteer trainees guess what letter was written. Method 9: Write letters in the air and have the trainees guess. Analysis and Reflection Tell the participants that they are now teachers again and to think back on the different methods they experienced. Ask them the following questions which they first think about alone, then share their ideas in pairs and finally listen to volunteers share their ideas with the whole group. a. Fill in the cline with activities we experienced today and any of the different methods we heard about at the beginning of the workshop. Compare with a partner. b. Why is it important to have different methods for teaching and reviewing the English alphabet? c. Do you think these methods are suitable for 1st graders? d. Can you think of any adaptations for these methods? References: www.Teachingenglish.org.uk http://www.japanese-symbols.org/japanese-symbol-for-love http://www.reading-tutors.com/tips/TH_Tips_Alphabet.pdf
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http://www.justmommies.com/articles/teachalphabet.shtml http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/expeng/Experiential%20English/What%20is%20exp eriential%20learning.htm

Nino Maisuradze is a teacher and trainer at Batumi Public School #1.

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Using Reading Texts as Information Gap Activities

Aims: By the end of the session, after taking part in an integrated-skills demonstration lesson, participants will be able to elaborate on the communicative benefits of using a text for information-gap language practice. Timing: 35 minutes Materials: Handouts with Find someone who activity, gapped texts One of the challenges that Georgian teachers face is motivating their students to speak in the target language. They need to actively engage students in speaking activities that are enjoyable and based on a communicative approach. Showing one type of information gap activity will encourage teachers to use communicative activities in class to help their students to develop their speaking skills.

Procedure
Introduction 1. Give the participants instructions to do a typical Find someone who activity (handout 1, below). Model the task and check understanding by asking CCQs. 2. After they finish the task, ask for a few participants to report their results and then asks questions like: What type of speaking activity is it? Was this a practice or a fluency task? How do you know? What was the language focus? How many times did you hear or use the target language? What other information gap activities do you know? Demonstration 3. Tell the participants that they are going to look at how a text can also be used as an information gap activity. They will be acting as students in this demonstration, not as teachers. 4. Elicit ways of asking about past actions. Participants will answer with questions using simple past, past progressive, present perfect and perhaps past perfect. 5. Give pairs the same text with but with different information missing (handout 2, below). Model the instructions with a volunteer and then ask a couple CCQs to check understanding: Pairs have to sit back to back, asking each other questions to find the missing information and fill in the gaps.

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6. Once the participants have finished the task, have them compare their texts to see what they missed.

Reflection and Analysis 7. Ask the participants to work on these questions in pairs and then ask for volunteers to share with the whole group: What was the purpose of the activity? What language did you use to find the missing information? What skills are practiced in this activity apart from asking questions? Does pronunciation matter? To what extent? What are some ways this activity can be modified? What would be the objective then? How else could a text be used in for an information gap? Think of different text types (letters, texts, tweets, academic abstracts) and different kinds of target language. Put some of their useful points on the board. 8. Finally, ask the participants to reflect individually on the following questions and then share: How can this activity help learners improve communicative skills? How can you see yourself using this next week in your own classes? For what age and level?
References

Ur, P. (2012) A Course in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Harmer, J. (2012). Essential Teacher Knowledge. Essex: Pearson Longman. Harmer, J. (2007). How to Teach English. Essex: Pearson Longman.

Inga Gelashvili is a teacher and trainer in School #4 in Rustavi

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Handout 1

Find someone who

Find someone Has a pet Drives a car Likes Chinese food Plays musical instruments Cooks well

Name

Handout 2: Gapped texts

A. One afternoon, _________________ was standing outside the gates of Athens when he noticed ______________________ who had been staring at him for a long time. Socrates asked the man _____________________. I was thinking of moving to Athens, he said. What is it like to live here? Socrates_____________________. First, would you tell me what it was like in your home city? The man replied. Oh, it was awful. Everyone stabs you in the back and wants to steal money from you. Frowning, Socrates told him, Well, you will find the same thing here and he suggested the man to go somewhere else. Socrates was standing there a few hours more when another man ____________________. This man too had just arrived in Athens and he was considering____________________________. He too asked Socrates, Can you tell me what it is like to live here? Socrates asked, First would you tell me what it was like in your previous home city? Where I come from the __________________all worked together and helped each other, said the man, kindness was everywhere and you were never treated with anything but complete respect . Well replied Socrates, you will find the same thing here. Welcome to Athens.
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B. One afternoon, Socrates was standing outside __________________ of Athens when he noticed a traveler who __________________________at him for a long time. Socrates asked the man why he had come to Athens. I was thinking of _____________________, he said. What is it like to live here? Socrates looked at him. First, would you tell me what it was like in your home city? The man replied. ____________________. Everyone stabs you in the back and wants to steal money from you. Frowning, Socrates told him, Well, you will find the same thing here and he suggest the man _______________. Socrates ___________________there a few hours more when another man approached him. This man too had just arrived __________________ and he was considering moving to the city. He too asked Socrates, Can you tell me what is it like to live here? Socrates asked, First would you tell me what was it like in your previous home city? Where I come from the people all worked together and helped each other, said the man, _________________ was everywhere and you were never treated with anything but complete respect. Well replied Socrates, you will find same thing here. Welcome to Athens.

The full text One afternoon, Socrates was standing outside the gates of Athens when he noticed a traveler who had been staring at him for a long time. Socrates asked the man why he had come to Athens. I am thinking of moving to Athens, he said. What was it like to live here? Socrates looked at him. First, would you tell me what it was like in your home city? The man replied. Oh, it was awful. Everyone stabs you in the back and wants to steal money from you. Frowning, Socrates told him, Well, you will find the same thing here. And he suggested the man to go somewhere else. Socrates was standing there a few hours more when another man approached him. This man too had just arrived in Athens and he was considering moving to the city. He too asked Socrates, Can you tell me what it is like to live here? Socrates asked, First would you tell me what it was like to live here? Socrates asked, first would you tell me what was it like in your previous home city? Where I come from the people all work together and help each other, said the man, kindness is everywhere and you are never treated with anything but complete respect. Well replied Socrates, you will find the same thing here. Welcome to Athens.

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