Request from Chris

5 thoughts on “Request from Chris”

1. Robert Harrell

   May 9, 2012 at 9:45 am

   Hi Chris, Let’s see if we can get the discussion started.

   My first two criteria would be something like:
   “The teacher speaks the target language in a manner that is comprehensible to students for at least 90% of the class period”
   “The teacher engages students in negotiating / constructing meaning.” [Choose the one that is used in your setting. We use Constructing Meaning as the buzz word.]

   This his a highly quantifiable criterion that is totally under the control of the teacher. A stopwatch could show whether or not 90% is reached. Comprehension checks will show if the language is comprehensible.

   A third criterion could be:
   “The teacher addresses rigor by
   1. engaging students in the class conversation for sustained periods of time
   2. pursuing topics in depth
   3. holding students accountable for their portion of the interpersonal communication piece
   4. asking mediative questions that allow students to demonstrate higher-level thinking skills.”

   A fourth criterion:
   “The teacher addresses relevance by pursuing topics of interest and personal application to students.”

   Those are initial thoughts, subject to revision through further discussion.

   Log in to Reply
2. Robert Harrell

   May 9, 2012 at 10:03 am

   After posting, I re-did Susie Gross’s checklist. Here’s my new version. Feel free to comment.

   Checklist for observing a Comprehensible Input Classroom

   The teacher speaks in the target language at least 90% of the
   time in a manner that is comprehensible to students yes no
   The teacher engages students in constructing meaning yes no
   The teacher checks for comprehension yes no
   The teacher raises the level of student’s attention yes no
   The teacher demonstrates enthusiasm yes no
   The teacher addresses rigor by yes no
   1. engaging students in the class conversation for sustained periods of time
   2. pursuing topics in depth
   3. holding students accountable for their portion of the interpersonal communication piece
   4. asking mediative questions that allow students to demonstrate higher-level thinking skills.
   The teacher addresses relevance by pursuing topics of interest
   and personal application to students yes no
   The teacher offers opportunity for sophisticated language use yes no
   The teacher models pro-active classroom management yes no
   Students are actively engaged in the lesson yes no
   The teacher promotes grammatical accuracy yes no
   The teacher demonstrates appropriate correction techniques yes no
   The teacher tailors the tasks to individual student abilities yes no

   Log in to Reply
   1. Judy Dubois

      May 9, 2012 at 12:39 pm

      The teacher demonstrates appropriate correction techniques yes no

      I’d be interested in learning some “appropriate” techniques. I pretend to echo what the student just said, saying it correctly and acting as if that is what they said, but I often get the impression that they don’t really hear the difference. When suitable I pretend not to understand, so they correct themselves. My EFL students have a lot of problems with do, does, did in questions. They ask “Who Max see?” and I repeat “Who ….? ” with a gesture that hints there’s something missing and they often catch on. Any other suggestions?

      Log in to Reply
3. Ben Slavic

   May 9, 2012 at 10:03 am

   I knew you would address this, Robert. You rock.

   Log in to Reply
4. Chris

   May 9, 2012 at 6:34 pm

   Somebody give Robert a medal! Thank you so much. I will be typing this out nice and neat and printing it out to bring with me.

   Log in to Reply