According to the new Russian higher education standards work done by students outside classroom should take the same amount of time or preferably even more as inside.Such work is called independent but it should not be confused with homework,because independent work includes everything except homework and is given in addition to the latter.
What can it be? The types,forms and ideas are numerous; for example,doing additional Grammar\Vocabulary\Spelling exercises, watching films and educational videos, listening to the radio reports, reading authentic literature,etc.
I would not say the idea of independent work is absolutely fresh and innovative.I've always asked my students to read fiction and articles in English and at the end of the semester come and report their results-it's a part of their credit.And in my own students' time we did a certain amount of work independently but voluntarily just for our own self-development and pleasure.
But now independent work cannot be self-guided,it must be controlled by a teacher or tutor who must provide the students with manuals and instructions concerning independent work (what books to use,what films to watch, what to do before,after and while reading or watching them).
These requirements are realizable and they would be realized for sure but teachers are in fact at a loss how to make the most of this innovation.
Dear blogger-colleagues,probably you've already faced the same issue.Could you possibly share your experience of independent work of students and the strategy of its control?
Thank you in advance!
- OxanaKhrushcheva's blog
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Comments
Dear Oxana,
This certainly needs a specific frame which teachers can work according to. Maybe, as you said, with tasks, group work and so on.
nahla,thank you for your comment!The frame is what we need in fact and we try to elaborate it together.
yeahh Oxana,thanks for your ideas,,,,homeworks could bored the students from time to time...but maybe just we can call it not homewortk..just working extra ;) I think on the other side,we should make our Ss conscious of working just for fun :) hahha Does it possible? just for fun working? :)
Thank you,lemanulas,for your response!Your jokes may easily turn into thruth)May be I'm naive or just wrong but I guess students cannot but get pleasure and fun from English because it's so cool to speak it.Every homework, or let's follow your advice and call it mildly extra-work,can be a funny adventure and still remain a useful thing.I adore classes when students laugh.It's so natural and it makes me sure they like it!
Hope like it ;) thanks..
Is this extra work also obligatory, that is, do you check it regularly? Because in that case it is just the same as homework just with a different name? Thank for the post, I am very interested because in my country there has been questions on abolishing homework, I wrote about it here, you can have a look at what bloggers responded to that. I was surprised to read. And I also don´t know yet how to organize myself. The easiest way is to still give them work but call it in a different name. But is that the point??!!
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/singerina/if-i-were-education-mi...
I will put the link to your post there as well so people can continue reading in the subject! Thanks! ;)
Dear Oxana,
I think many teachers suffer from the same problem at least once during their teaching career. I know it must be hard when you have so many students in one classroom.
You can have 3 or 4 students as your assistants and they can help you while checking all these extras.
How does that sound? :)
best,
singerina,thank you very much for your comment and link!they are so helpful, because now I know it's not only me who faces it.
This kind of independent work is obligatory and it must be carried out simultaneously with daily homework.As for checking it's hard to answer now because it's just being implemented at the moment and we're not accustomed to it yet and we have no system of checking and assessing it.It's worth mentioning that students are at a loss as well because this "epoch" of changes makes them feel frightened a bit.
oztrkozge,thank you very much for your response!It sounds appealing!I think I even know who might be such assistants but I only doubt how I should reward them:)
I am glad that you liked it. Well, sometimes just a pat on the back can be motivating for them or you can make it more competitive if you say that there will be extra mark for one of the best work in the end. :)