TeachingEnglish
Difficult does not mean productive
Submitted by TE Editor on 14 October, 2009 - 13:33
It is not easy to meet the needs of very high level classes. I often find that I select material for these kinds of groups because I know it will be really difficult, especially vocabulary. This is not right. Difficult does not mean productive, and I still need to find material that is challenging but achievable – as with lower levels. As I have seen, advanced learners can lose motivation just as quickly as lower levels.
By Paul Kaye
Do you have any tips for teaching vocabulary to high level classes? Tell us - leave a comment below.
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Comments
I used to have the same kind of problem in teaching multilevel class where you have students who need more challenging tasks and others who are not in a position to do it. Teaching vocabulary is no doubt difficult so i have started looking for another way to deal with it and I came across one strategy.
My students are very fond of using conditionals most of the times they make complex sentences which actually are conditionals and finding if after every second sentences is not so pleasant for eyes and mind. So, I started ...
A long text with lots of tough vocab can be a bit dull if students aren't interested in the topic. I often use the letters page of a newspaper. Letters tend to be quite short but the register can differ greatly which can be quite challenging for students, and a page of letters will often have 5 or 6 different topics, so the students can choose the one they find most stimulating.
I also find the "review of the tabloid week" in the broadsheets quite useful, where there's a review of how the topics have been covered in different newspapers, often using different registers and vocab.
With internet access, the readers comments to a news story can also be a good way to start a debate.
I definitely agree with your comments. Difficult is not productive for another reason too because it does not motivate pupils/students to work and learn. Difficult lessons lessons usually are thought to be called "I CAN'T" by pupils/students. Therefore, difficult is not productive, it harms the learning and teaching process.
Let's just keep in mind that "difficult" does not mean "challenging", which is what we should always aim for.
If you've got good teaching skills and are able to to make sense of what you're trying to teach, I guess your lesson will be succesful, and productive.
Providing context is another, often overlooked aspect of finding quality materials for advanced students. You can use articles from the Economist or the New York Times, but you must carefully prepare the material, write questions, and highlight core vocabulary and/or grammar points. Sometimes asking students to work in groups and paraphrase each paragraph is also a practical skill.
If you are familiar with the Academic Word List, you can also point out the words that appear to re-enforce the importance of more practical words for both TOEFL preparation and academic success.