ENGLISH WEEK Monday 7 November - Friday 11 November 2022

A. WE START IN THE MIDDLE OF THINGS AND ONLY AFTERWARDS LOOK AT WHAT WENT BEFORE

TWO GROUPS: A DIFFERENT STORY IS TOLD TO EACH GROUP - ALL GROUP MEMBERS RETELL THEIR STORY TO ONE PARTNER FROM OTHER GROUP

STORY ONE

As Nasruddin emerged form the mosque after prayers, a beggar sitting on the street solicited alms.
The following conversation followed:
- Are you extravagant? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes Nasruddin. replied the beggar.
- Do you like sitting around drinking coffee and smoking? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes. replied the beggar.
- I suppose you like to go to the baths everyday? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes. replied the beggar.
- ...And maybe amuse yourself, even, by drinking with friends? asked Nasruddin.
- Yes I like all those things. replied the beggar.
- Tut, Tut, said Nasruddin, and gave him a gold piece.
A few yards farther on. another beggar who had overheard the conversation begged for alms also.
- Are you extravagant? asked Nasruddin.
- No, Nasruddin replied second beggar.
- Do you like sitting around drinking coffee and smoking? asked Nasruddin.
- No. replied second beggar.
- I suppose you like to go to the baths everyday? asked Nasruddin.
- No. replied second beggar.
- ...And maybe amuse yourself, even, by drinking with friends? asked Nasruddin.
- No, I want to only live meagerly and to pray. replied second beggar.
Whereupon the Nasruddin gave him a small copper coin.
- But why, wailed second beggar, do you give me, an economical and pious man, a penny, when you give that extravagant fellow a sovereign? - Ah my friend, replied Nasruddin, his needs are greater than yours.

STORY TWO

There was a poor family living in Ireland during the times of the potato famine.
An old man and his wife, who was blind. Their daughter and her husband, who had been waiting for a baby that wouldn't come.
Potatoes was practically all they had tp eat. The young man always went to get some potatoes from the garden every day.
One day, when he came out into the garden there was a strange smell in the air.
- Oh, my God, I hope our potatoes haven't gone bas as well.
When he saw the potatoes they had all gone black and squelchy, stank to high heaven.
In the moment of his despair he herd a little voice behind him. It was one of the 'little people' (a leprechaun).
- What's the matter?
- Look at the potatoes! They've all gone bad. We have nothing to eat!
- Yes, I can see that. But I can give you a wish.
- Only one wish?
- Yes, only one wish this time, I'm afraid.
- Can I first discuss it with my family?
- Of course! I'll be here at the same time tomorrow.
And ffft off he was!
His mother-in-law said:
-Wiah for my eyesight. I want to be able to see again.

His wife said:
-No, don't do that. Wish for our baby!
But the old man said:
- No we must think. We need gold. To buy food with.
The following morning the leprechaun was already there waiting for him.
-Well, have you made up your mind?
- Yes, we have. Only one wish?
- Only one. As I said yesterday.
- Well it is this: My mother-in-law would like to see my wife's baby in a golden cradle!

B. WRITING EXERCISES

Writing Exercise 29. MEMBERS OF CLASS DICTATE SINGLE WORDS FROM THESE STORIES TO THREE OR FOUR VOLUNTEERS WHO WRITE THESE WORDS IN COLUMNS ON THE BLACKBOARD. (The children always know which story the word comes from. Each word is like a mosaic stone from a big picture!)
- READ THROUGH THESE WORDS. CROSS OUT ANY DOUBLES, TRIPLES. (This means the class are reading!)
- DO WE ALL AGREE WITH HOW THESE WORDS ARE SPELT? The question is not "right" or "wrong" but "Can we agree?" (Class reading again!)
- LET'S TAKE THE FIRST WORD. WHAT WAS THE WORD BEFORE IT; OR AFTER IT?
(Grammar in practice!) - THE SAME FOR AS MANY WORDS ON THE BLACKBOARD.
- WHO CAN REMEMBER HOW EACH OF THE STORIES BEGAN?
- GRADUALLY RECONSTRUCT THE TWO STORIES.
- WRITE OUT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN REMEMBER.
(A writing exercise par excellence!) - LEARN THEM BY HEART.(Some will do precisely that, others will remember the inner pictures)
- Recite and/or write out story by heart.

PRECEDING WRITING EXERCISES 1 - 28 (selection):
1. Write a very short sentence on the board - with words spaced out. Then children suggest a word at a time to make the sentence longer and longer.
2. Teacher prepares a very long sentence and writes it up on the board. Children suggest single words that can be crossed out.
3. Every child says what its favourite animal is – In a second round the children say about "their" animal what it IS LIKE (e.g. My donkey is fat). Then in a third round the children say what their fat donkey IS DOING right now (or what it ALWAYS DOES, every morning etc). Finally the sentence is written down (as well as any others they can remember from their classmates).
4. Write down a list of questions to ask a child in front of a class who 'is' some animal for a guessing game". (Have you got six legs?)
5. Teacher (or child who can) dictates a short text about herself. The class write down what is dictated but change those parts that are not right for them.
6. WRITE 'SIMPLE-SIMON'-TYPE COMMANDS ON SLIPS OF PAPER - FOLD AND PUT IN BASKET - ONE CHILD TAKES SLIP AND CARRIES OUT COMMAND - CLASS WRITES DOWN WHAT THEY THINK IT SAYS ON THE SLIP! - CHILDREN READ OUT THEIR 'THEORIES' UNTIL THE 'ACTOR' CAN SAY "THAT'S IT!" (N.B.This is reading what children hve written themselves!
7. Negative statements that are true (The sun never rises in the west; corks don't sink)
8. Positive statements that are true (Cats like chasing birds).
9. Sequencing a series of sentences written on a sheet of paper in the wrong order. (Gettinga wolf, a goat and a basket full of cabbage across a river, one item every time, wolf never alone with goat, goat never alone with cabbage).
10. How to boil an egg? Make a list of steps (Take a pan, put in some water etc).
11. Tell the same 7-sentence story 4 or 5 times (this can be done by different children like "stille Post") and make notes of the differences.
12. Tell the children a short anecdote or mini-story told in their first language; they then write it in English.
13. Sit in a circle and get the children to "tell" a story only using one, two, or three words. Afterwards everyone writes the story they heard.
14. Write out instructions on how to get from the classroom to the nearest bus-stop, for instance.
15. Write a question to your neighbour in 7 words on a sheet of paper. They then exchange sheets and answer the question in 7 words, handing back the sheet with the first question and answer. Next write a follow-on question in 6 words, then the same procedure as before. Till they get to a one-word question and a one-word answer.
17. Hang up a poster showing a landscape or a street scene and describe it. ("In the foreground …;to the left of the post-office there is butcher's shop, etc).
18. Draw a set of three pictures showing the same action:
- just before it happens using GOING TO (e.g. is going to comb her hair)
- while it IS HAPPENING (e.g. is combing her hair)
- just after it HAS HAPPENED (e.g. has combed her hair).
20. Write down as many questions as you can to which the answer is always "Four".
28. Children think of words of things in their bedrooms. Volunteers write these up on the blackboard.

C. FIRST WRITING BOOK

During the first few months in Class 4 the children copy their 'favourite' verses, rhymes, songs, stories, conversational exchanges, speech exercises, language learning games, circle games, finger plays, the repetitive parts of stories into their 'First Writing Book'.
1. For 15 minutes in every one of their three (!) weekly lessons the children copy WHOLE TEXTS, off the blackboard (whiteboard, flipchart etc.).
2. We don't write single words during this time.
3. We write only texts they know "by heart", have "in their ear"!
4. During this time children will recognize the verses and with a bit of luck will be able to "read", recite or sing them.
5. When the first children have written for two or three weeks we start helping them to "NOTICE" REGULAR SPELLINGS that are "always" pronounced the same way, for example: A, E, O, I, U in short one-syllable words!
6. The word-shape CONSONANT-SHORT VOWEL-CONSONANT can be written more or less as children hear it:
For example: bet, bit, hot
the cat sat on the mat
This is my chin, my chin, my chin
tick tock, the clock

In the word-shape CONSONANT-SHORT VOWEL-CONSONANT the English A (æ) and U (ʌ) may cause confusion.
We try to get the children to discover those two typically English sounds and their spellings as quickly as possible:
rat-tat-tat
Jack
let's get the fishing-net
puff, puff, puff
how much are those buns?
7. SPELLING PRACTICE FOR SHORT VOWELS (later this will be SPELLING RULE 1)
To strengthen the first two steps the children write from hearing.
First begin with words ending in VOICELESS CONSONANTS so as to keep really short vowels:
the cat sat on the mat
let the net get wet
he hit it and it bit
it has not got a lot of dots
cut the nuts into a cup

We could also use the following:
Betty Botter bought a bit of butter
But, she said, the butter’s bitter,
If I put it in my batter,
It will make my batter bitter,
But a bit of better butter,
That would make my batter better.

If the children get the hang of this they will enjoy these "dictations" - many children will get everything right simply by listening and writing accurately! You or some of the pupils can make many more of these "listening exercises" yourselves! 8. DOUBLING OF CONSONANTS AFTER SHORT VOWELS (later this will be SPELLING RULE 2)
Rule: When the short vowels come in words of more than one syllable the consonants need doubling:
For example:
bat - battER
bet - bettER
bit - bittER
but - buttER

bed - beddING
bud - buddING
hap - happY
pig - piggY
sop - soppY
sob - sobbED
9. NOT DOUBLING THE CONSONANTS (later this will be SPELLING RULE 3):
LONG VOWELS come if we do not double the consonants in words of more than one syllable:
patter...later
better...Peter
bitter...biting
Bonnie.. phoning
funny...fuming

10. The LONG VOWEL SOUNDS come when a SILENT E follows the RULE-1 words (later this will be SPELLING RULE 4):
Put the following words side by side by side:
mat... mate
sit ... site
not ...note
fun ...fume (F-YOU-M)
and we "discover" the "rule" that long A, I, O, U appear when a SILENT "E" comes after the short words!

11. The second exercise has words ending in VOICED CONSONANTS which LENGTHEN the short vowel (later this will be SPELLING RULE 5):
the bad lad had bag
she fed the hen in bed
it hid the fig in the bin
the mob nod to the dog and the hog
the cub dug in the mud

12. Also LONG VOWELS become SHORTENED before UNVOICED CONSONANTS (later this will be SPELLING RULE 6)
made mate
feed feet
bide bite
road rote
code coat
hood foot
good put
booed boot


D. READING PRACTICE

1. The teacher writes out a series of complex commands on the blackboard before the lesson begins and covers them with a flip-chart sheet. Then she shows one command at a time to a count of 6 or 7 and the children who have understood carry out the action.
2. Teacher writes a very long sentence on the board while children look on. Children are then asked to suggest a word that could be left out without changing the core meaning of the sentence. At some stage near the end more that one word will have to be eliminated in one go.
3. Read the following as clearly phrased for meaning as possible:
He drove to work after he had finished working in the garden.
You'll find the apples next to the oranges on the shelf over there.
Maggie must have been visiting her aunt in Springtown last weekend.
Could you pass me the mustard, please?
They have been considering buying a new car as soon as they have saved enough money.
By the time he receives this letter, I will have caught the train to Paris.
Following closely behind the herd was a group of filthy, disgusting vultures.
I'll make sure to give him a ring the next time I'm in town.
Not only are the exams required, but they are also absolutely imperative for your further education.
Hey, have you seen the new film with Bruce Willis? You know, the one where he's supposed to be a sensitive doctor.

4. Put the stress on a different word changes the mean each time:

Do you want to stay here?
DO you want to stay here?
Do YOU want to stay here?
Do you WANT to stay here?
Do you want to STAY here?
Do you want to stay HERE?

5. Now do the same for:

Can you come to lunch today?
Must he go now?
Is Mary going to wear that hat?

6. Long and short vowels, voiced and unvoiced consonants. Read carefully:

A bat sat in a cap in the back of the cab.
Ned had a hat on his head.
He said Nag was sad.
The mad cat sat on the mat.
Harry had a bat in this hut but not in his hat.
A match doesn’t give much light.
It’s fun to have a fan.
Can you carry the curry and put it in the pan?
I’ll bet you Sid hasn’t fed his pet.
Minnie’s pet has hidden itself in the hedge.
The wretch is very rich.
Ken hates making his bed.
Kate doesn’t want to get her head wet under the gate.
You will get your cape wet this way.
It’s Johnny’s job to chop the meat.
Georgie had a badge on his hat.
Fetch the cheese and jam. Jack’s jumped off the bridge, the chump.
The doctor chap gave me jab.
I saw a fairly lovely fairy in the valley.
Vicky, can you follow that fat fellow in the Rover this evening?
He dropped some food on his foot. As a rule you shouldn’t shoot a coot.
You could pull on some boots when the moon is full.
The cook has put a book by the pool.

E. RHYTHM - METER (METRE) - BEAT (NOT TO BE CONFUSED!)

The LENGTHS of the SYLLABLES vary from line to line. They constitute the RHYTHM or FLOW of the poem. The long syllables (which usually end in VOICED CONSONANTS) are in upper case:
Jack and JILL went up the HILL
(two long sylables)
To fetch a PAIL of water;
(one long syllable)
Jack FELL DOWN and broke his CROWN

(three long syllables)
And JILL CAME TUMbling after.
(three long syllables one after the other!)

The POETIC METER is basic structure of a line of poetry. The bold syllables are STRESSED causing a regular BEAT:
Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crown And Jill came tumbling after

The pattern of STRESSED-UNSTRESSED is called FALLING RHYTHM,
The pattern of UNSTRESSED-STRESSED is called RISING RHYTHM.

F. GRAMMAR

These patterns (of STRESSED-UNSTRESSED/FALLING - and UNSTRESSED-STRESSED/RISING RHYTHM) play an important part in the way the English Language gives a subtle emphasis to certain verb forms, thereby also determining the GRAMMATICAL MEANING of a particular Tense!!Here are some examples, but I am fully aware there should be many more to make this good!

1. Infinitives (especially clear in infinitives with 'TO') are RISING RHYTHM which gives them emphasis (or prominence) unlike the ING-Forms, which are FALLING RHYTHM making them merge more into their surroundings. Compare:

I saw the cat COME down the stairs. (completely)
I saw the cat COMING down the stairs. (on the way down only)

2. George Best gets the ball, he drives it before him, passes it to Bobby Charlton who shoots. Goal!
These are all actions happening at the moment of speaking but they are all COMPLETED (ONE AFTER THE OTHER)!

3. Oxford IS ROWING beautifully. Cambridge is three lengths behind. It's a wonderful day. The sun IS SHINING. Thousands of people ARE WATCHING. Ah, now they'RE APPROACHING Hammersmith Bridge.

Here the actions described are on-going (and happening simultaneously)! 4. Yesterday I was playing the violin when the telephone rang. I put down the violin and went to answer the phone.
What was I doing? (I was playing the violin).
What did I do? (I put down the violin. I went to the phone to answer it).
The verb form in bold print give the verb emphasis and express completed actions.

5. I began TO LEARN my French words as soon as I got home.
(The Infinitive gives LEARN emphasis). I began LEARNING French when I was three.
(The ING-Form is merged to BEGAN giving BEGAN the emphasis).

6. Compare:
Do you like SAILING. Would you like TO SAIL.
In the first action is more on the level of the idea of it; in the second there's a real possibility of actually doing it!

7. Compare:

Do you remember SITTING on that park bench? Did you remember TO SIT on that park bench?
What's the difference?

Grammar Awareness as it Develops over the Years

5 Proverbs When in Rome do as the Roman do.
A stitch in time saves nine.
The early bird catches the worm.
Barking dogs don't bite.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
5 Counting-Out Rhymes
Eeny meeny miny mo, catch a monkey by his toe, when he hollers let him go, eeny meeny miny mo!
One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, four, five potatoes, six potatoes, seven potatoes more O-U-T spells out, so out you must go, because the King and Queen say so!
Jeremiah blows the fire, puff-puff-puff, first you blow it gently, then you blow it rough!
Acker Backer soda cracker, Acker Backer boo, Acker Backer soda cracker, out goes YOU!
One two, put on your shoe, three four, close the door, five six, pickup sticks, seven eight, lay them straight, nine ten, say it again!

Mannheim Course on Middle School (Writing and Reading) Tuesday 27.9 to Friday 30.9.2022

MANNHEIM Tuesday 27 (3 p.m.) Intro. Enact English Speaker visiting a Class 5 ('Try out your Enhlish on him' 'Ask any questions you like' ...). The 4 Main Concerns of a Teacher of English: 1. Can we generalize on what Children in Class 4 or 5 are really like? 2. Formats, activities, approaches that prompt children ro learn a modern language 3. The English language and culture that we are trying to bring to life. (Pronunciation, Rhythm, Structure). 4. What can we as teachers do? Wednesday 28 9 a.m. The 3 Main Goals for the Children: 1. Dare to speak. 2. Know how to speak. 3. Have something to speak about. We practise Language-Learning-Games and learn to spell. We practise Recitation, Singing and Speech-exercises. And we get to know word-pictures. We invent Dialogues for the children. We learn to write (1). We get children to invent Play-scenes. We learn to write (2). Story-telling: We tell stories, the children learn to tell stories. We learn to read (1). 3 p.m. Writing and Reading to discover the Few Rules of Spelling the English language. Thursday 29: No sessions. Friday 30 3 p.m. Open session to pick up threads still dangling.

Hochschule Stuttgart: Approaches to Language Teaching (Part II) and Grammar

TUESDAY, JULY 5th 2022 Let us begin by retracing some of the steps we made in Part I (May 9 - 12) UNIT 1. On the last day of Part I we finished with the 'Alibi'game, where three 'culprits' were questioned separately, we composed a dialogue for a sketch involving a ticket inspector with a difficult train passenger; we wrote our own poems ALIBI GAME 1. Where were you between 7 and 10 p.m. last night? 2. Where you alone or together with someone else? 3. Who else was there? 4. What did you do? 5. Who arrived first? / Who was there when you came? 6. How did you / the other two get there: on foot, by tram? 7. Whose idea was it to meet up? 8. Ask details about other people. Waiter / Man or woman at ticket window. 9. Ask details about cost. Who paid? 10. Ask details about seating arrangement. Who sat next to whom? Were there many people there? 11. Did you have anything to eat? To drink? The others? Who paid? 12. What did you talk about? Did you talk to other people? 14. What did you do afterwards? Who left first? Did you / they go together? 16. What time was that? 18. What was the funniest moment? The worst moment? Was the evening boring? 20. What was the colour of the room / hall you were in? 21. Did you have a meal in the Hilton last night? Where were you at 10 p.m.? Discuss the language learning implications of this 'game'. Context informs question content. General and detailed question. Why is the question so powerful? In what other situationa could we practise questions meaningfully? The role of the question in dialogue. >/p>

UNIT 2. SKETCH 'The TICKET INSPECTOR' Discuss the idea of the sketch for language learning. Sketch: Short scene. Usually with unexpected twists. Stock (comic) charcters. Practise-read Sketch 'Desmond and Keith' in desk pairs. >/p>

UNIT 3. RHYTHM in POETRY Remember "Jack and Jill" in connexion with rhythm? (Long and short vowels). Lengthening ans shortening of vowels depending on consonants following. Prepare a poem for recitation. Yeats's "I will arise and go now" (See PArt I) Wordsworth's "Earth has not anything to show more fair" Anonymous "Do not stand at my grave and weep" >/p>

UNIT 4. Is writing one's own text as an intro to studying a text a generally valid approach? This approach is there very early on when we write before we read! Are there spalling rules in English (Remember the 'Long' and 'Short' Vowels). Expand. We start writing with "listening exercises" (dictated words to be written according to sound). Compose tongue twisters with difficult phonemes (each as prompted by first language). >/p>

WEDNESDAY, JULY 6th 2022 >/p>

UNIT 5. STORY-TELLING How do stories contribute to language learning? The follow-up exercise of getting three groups to wtite up single words they remember? Listening Comprehension strategies? Working out new meanings from known words? Connex with Reading Stories? Reading silently / aloud? Two more stories: ("The 17 camels" and "The man who came to London to visit a friend") Composing stories on the theme of Proverbs. >/>

UNIT 6. GRAMMAR What is Grammar? Do we need it to learn a foreign language? Why does it tend to put off child learners? When doesn't it? Can we define definite grammar learning stages (according to age perhaps)? Is the connection between grammar and clear thinking a goal for grammar teaching? What grammar approaches do we have? (Mnemonics, Mistakes, Misunderstandings?). Long and shortened syllables in Grammar (e.g. "feel - felt" Rhythm in Grammar "I slept - I have slept"; infinitives with "to" contrasted with "ING"-forms) >/p>

UNIT 7. Examples of historical development of influences and changes in the English language. >/p>

THURSDAY, JULY 7th 2022

English Teaching Approaches Hochschule Stuttgart 9.5. - 12.5. 2022

 

SCRIPT SEMINAR 'Class 4-8 with additional Class 9 if time' 

This is to be very much an inter-active seminar. I propose we go right into 6/7, and back to 5/6 tomorrow to look at the work that needs to go before 6/7 (i.e. spelling - writing - reading). Some ice-breaker warm-ups to start with (we moved all the tables aside and arranged the seating into a circle).

A. MONDAY Class 6/7

1. THE BEAT

Five COUNTING-OUT RHYMES

Index-finger moves from one to the next stressing the beat. 

Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, Acker, Backer BOO; Acker Backer, Soda Cracker, OUT goes YOU!

Jeremiah blows the fire 'Puff, Puff, Puff.' First you blow it gently then you blow it ROUGH.'

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggarman, THIEF.'

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, Catch a monkey by his toe. If he hollers, make him pay, Fifty dollars every DAY!

One potato, two potatoes, three potatoes, four! Five potatoes, six potatoes, seven potatoes more! So out you must go, because the King and Queen say SO'

NB Beat is not the same as rhythm (see further down).

2. Five RIDDLES:

 It's got hands and a face but no legs. (A clock) 

 I'm tall when I'm young and short when I'm old. (A candle) 

 What gets wetter and wetter as it dries? (A towel) 

 What month of the year has 28 days? (All of them) 

 What has legs but doesn't walk? (A table)

3. READER

A round of reading aloud to the others. All listeners close eyes and LISTEN OUT FOR Names, Numbers, International Words, Words they might already know.

Title:'The Curious Incident of the Dead Dog in the Night-Time'.

This was to establish how hard it is to read a text straight off, i.e. without knowing beforehand what you are going to read! As from tomorrow we will work our way backwards to discover what goes into good reading:

Knowing enough words to make sense of the sentence.

Knowing what the next sentence is saying.

Seeing clearly in the mind's eye who is the narrator, (in case of direct speech) who is speaking;

Atmosphere, situation, context etc.

 

 

4. Short DISCUSSION on 'What is Foreign Language Teaching for me?' Elements or teaching items for language lessons: Riddle, recitation, counting-out rhyme, teacher-pupil(s) interactive dialogue, speech exercise, set dialogue, grammar learning game, writing work/grammar repeat, writing exercise, finish up with story, song, etc. 

 

5.SPEECH EXERCISE for sounds:

C (aspirated C) and CL (C not aspirated)

Come and clean the chaos in your closet.

Sheep should sleep in a shed not a ship.

'What cheek!' said one chick to the other.

The witch which bewitched this switch is Swiss.

for individual sounds: (deep/dip, sleep/slip, read/rid; for individual sounds: (deep/dip, sleep/slip, read/rid; 'Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.') 

'Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.') 

Six sticky skeletons (3x)

Unique New (nju) York (3x) 

 

6. SPEECH EXERCISE connected with GRAMMAR:

'One dog, two dogs, One leaf - two leaves, One Life - two lives, One ox - two oxen etc.

'Where's the broom? - Inside the cupboard.

Where's the cupboard? - By the door.

Where's the door? - Beside the table.

Where's the table? - On the floor.

See Peter Oram "Just Mind Your Language" publ. by Starborn Books (sales@starbornbooks.co.uk)

How man cans can a cannibal nibble if a cannibal can nibble cans

(Can be conducted to emphasize the mini-pauses between parts of the whole 

 

7. POEM: A longer poem telling a STORY. 

Old Morgan had a lovely harp, / But he was no musician. 

One day a man called ar his door  / Upon a curious mission. 

 "I'm very hungry," said the man, /  "Just hear my tummy rumble." 

 "Come in," said Morgan, "take a seat, / I'm not the man to grumble." 

 "I've eaten nothing," said the man, / "I'm as empty as a drum." 

 "Sit down," said Morgan, "rest yourself, /And please don't suck your thumb." 

(If you cannot find the rest of this poem please don't hesitate to drop me a line).

 

B. TUESDAY, MAY 10th Class 4/5 

1a. Leprechaun STORY: This happened in Ireland 180 years ago. Many people died because the only food they had was potatoes and many potatoes rotted so they had nothing to eat. An old man lived in a little cabin with his wife, who was blind. Their daughter and her husband also lived with them. The daughter had been waiting for a baby that wouldn't come.1b.Nasruddin Story ("Nasruddin came out of the mosque one day and found two beggards sitting there"). 

2. Transit into Discovering SPELLING RULES. In a first step towards systematic SPELLING, help the children to notice Short vowels: 

bat/bad, bet/bed, bit/bid, rot/rod, cut/cud.

 'Are there Spelling Rules for English?'

pat     hate      patting        hating

pet     Pete     petting        petered

hid     hide     kidding       hiding

cop    cope    copping       coping

cup    cube     cupping      cubed

 

 

3.SPEECH EXERCISE: 'This is a pencil. - What is it? - It´s a pencil'. Ideal in U-shaped classroom seating order. The above is started at one end, a similar question with a 'biro' (=ball-point pen) is started simultaneously at the other end.

 

4. Dialogue Exercise: Where's the broom? - Inside the cupboard. Where's the cupboard? - By the door. Where's the door? - Beside the table. Where's the table? - On the floor. Where's the floor? You're standing on it. (See Peter Oram "Just Mind Your Language" publ. by Starborn Books Link: sales@starbornbooks.co.uk)>

 

5. RHYTHM First note the BEAT (in bold print). Then note the LONG syllables (red). Jack and Jill went up the hill, To fetch a pail of water, Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after. Note that the 'longs' do not always coincide with the beat. The rhythm comes from a beat in the background and the interplay of LONG and SHORT syllables.

6. SPEECH EXERCISE

Tonguetwisters.s ('The bloke's back brake-block broke'). Speech exercises like having an argument.Repeat: How many cans ...' Counting up/down 100 -3/3-100 

C. WEDNESDAY 2 p.m.

Class 5/6

1. Remember words from Leprechaun Story. Reconstruct. Order sentences. Learn by heart. 

2. GRAMMAR: Irregular Verbs 

3.  Discuss. L/C strategies. 

4. VOCABULARY round the circle miming a given object.

THURSDAY, MAY 12th Class 7 

1. Write a POEM.  

Look for something in the room. Write a sentence just describing it scientifically, not poetically.

Notice the lught in the room. Shadows, patterns. Write a sentence.

Listen out for noises in or outside the room. Write a sentence.

Look at one of the participants (as if you had never seen a human being before). Sentence about ONE THING you see.

Look at yourself in the same way. Write one sentence.

Now go back to all the sentences you have written. Now start being poetic. Cross out, add, change, reorder, rewrite, thinking about how it sounds. Make your rough notes into a poem.

Write it out neatly.

2. Write a SKETCH (Ticket Collector: See YOUTUBE 'The Ticket Inspector Sketch').

3. The 'ALIBI' Game

 college meeting waldorfska šola maribor 7 april 2022

General Intro:

    the question about marks/grades is easily asked; the answer is rather more difficult!

    grading is the world's oldest bad habit ...

    of course as a Waldorf School we should avoid grades as much as possible.

    Our motto: Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's give to God the things that are God's.

    my talk is without knowing where the discussion is in SLO, MB or in this college

    

The children:

Let me begin with the children: Natural learners, curious, inherently creative

    for them the Teacher-Pupil relationship is very important: it is one of trust, respect and friendliness

    we do not want to risk poisoning it with grading (whether fractiona, percentges, words, lo numbers)

    remember red mrkings mistakes I can bysensitive children be understood as ! (= "how stupid!")

The teacher:

    is not only there to pass on information

    has a basically creative profession

    provokes, engages 

    allows children to be creative (if they want)

    encourages chldren to take responsibility (for their own learning process)

    doesn't ony teach, also gives support when and where necessary

    example how doing MCQs /gap tests can be taught by getting students to make them up themselves!

    Yang-YING (the teacher begins with reciting loudly, talking a lot and gradually talks less/more softly!

       (And the children will recite more loudly and say more allowing children to find their own voices!)

    ensures children keep their natural born enthusiasm, creativity and not successively lose them!

Positives and Negatives of Marks:

    they presuppose a class norm where we compare students

    students mostly want to know where they stand/howgood they are/ to show what they can do / a mark 

    of recognition from the teacher / a reward / to be noticed by the teacher/ to feel taken seriously

    grading is an instument that most teachers find simple to use

    most teachers' marks are on the whole reliable

    they could be used prognostically (but often aren't)

    they never tell the whole story

    they are a blunt sort of feedback and so ack accuracy

    most students know they coul have got a better grade if they had ...

    grades JUDGE performance but son't say much about a student's real or other abilities

    they do not take into account a student's social background, home conditions, fears, social competences

    generally have discriminating effect

    tempt minimalist students to work stategically ("I can afford a bad grade if I can compensate ...")

    tend to undermine edcational goals (students judge subject for easy good marks)

Self-Assessment and Peer-Assessment:

    - Students are asked when they learn well (if teacher corrects homework/if teachers is consistent/if I can 

    work on my own/with a partner/with music/when teacher explains/when I can help classmates etc.)

    - Or students can put crosses to what pplie to them (I often can't concentrate/I like tables and lists/I like 

    being corrected etc.)

    - Students are asked to suggest criteria for judging oral presentations, for example (once a class came up 

    with 49 criteria! Had to agree on 4 or 5, judging was in groups. End grade was average of all groups).

    - Grades can be formal and informal; relative importance can be discussed with students.

Different methods of assessment:

    - Portfolio Method (see Rupert Vierlinger, Salzburg)

    - Dialogue Method (peers judge essay: what was new to me? what moved me? a word of advice! (See

           'Dialogisches Lernen', Urs Ruf, Zürich).

    - Dialogue Learning: Students to become Masters (not Slaves) of tasks, execises!

What the older children cannot stand hearing:

    "als ich so alt wie ihr war"/"when I was your age" ...

    "ihr lernt das nicht für mich"/ "you're not learning this for my sake" ...

    "du hättest auch in der Pause auf die Toilette gehen können"/"you could have used the loo in the break"

    "das darf ich doch von einem Achtklässler erwarten"/"surely I can expect a class-eight student to"

    "in the test everything we've done will be asked"

    etc.!

Education:

    is about children learning to observe, to discover, to think clearly, to weigh up before judging, to find 

    their footing, their roles in their lives ...

    Grades can be part of keeping track of progress in competences as well as knowledge ...

    

 Communication, Cooperation are College Responsibility:

    Criteria, achievement goals, assessment procedures (especially how grades are arrived at) should always be clearly and repeatedly communicated to both parents (as 'critical friends' of the school) and students.         

    This means all teachers (try to) agree as much as at all possible on where the school should go strategically for its educational and social goals here and now (Maribor in 2022!), and work out/ work on a general framework of minimal goals, subject teachers agreeing on details for their respective subjects.

    But: Grades should never become a school's dominant culture!!

    

parents meeting waldorfska šola maribor 5.4.2022

Three topics:

Why do we do foreign languages at all? Why do we do two of them? How do we decide which languages?

Story of the 17 camels. In English as well as in German. See how close these two languages are.

Illustrates that the logic, the thinking is common to all languages. Illustrates that one language can reinforce the other as well as the students' first language!

The differences (as well as similarities!) between individual languages depend on geography, history, culture etc.

Reason for foreign language teaching from class 1 in Waldorf Schools (revolutionary at the time): After war in 1919 the need for more openness to other cultures, mindsets and mutual understanding amongst nations. At bottom all peoples are one big family!

Language families. Participants help remember which languages are Romance, Germanic, Slavic. In between we also have unique languages such as Basque, Albanian; Finnish/Estonian, Hungarian; Latvian/Lithuanian are between Germanic and Slavic (sirdeis, srtse, herz, cordis are not all that far apart, which is why we include these European languages under the idea of 'Indo-European').  Greek was not mentioned.

In a way, English could count as a Romance language owing to Latin and French influence!

Why two languages? Two are in a sort of opposition, in a 'straight line' so to speak, could enhance nationalistic feeling about own language; three languages, as in a triangle which opens 'a space'. 

Which languages ? As far apart as possible (Slovenes English and Chinese for example)! The stranger the language the better for the deeper goal of developing the mind.

Examples of different words stemming rom diferent views/approaches for the same concept: God/Bog/Dieu/Allah; bird/ptitsa/oiseau/madár/lintu/paikstis/pajaro.

We feel how wonderfully exhilarating even briefly looking at these different languages!

English as universal second language has a tragic side. English as a language is becoming poorer (cf. loss of plant, bird, insects species in nature). English children find Shakespeare (which is alteady modern English) more and more difficult to understand/ some see it as a 'cool dialect'!

Story "Barking Dogs Don't Bite" (about a 'Slovenian' visiting English friend in London).

Proverbs like "Barking dogs don't bite."

Younger chilren learn languages quickly. The 'ear for languages' starts becoming less sharp from age 9.

Finish up with a word on the troubles in Ukraine and a poem:

Do not stand at my grave and weep. (See Ecosia.org).

Vienna Weekend Workshop Tilgnerstrasse 4

SCRIPT SEMINAR 'Zentrum für Kultur und Pädagogik' Wien 1-2 April 2022  

 

A. FRIDAY 5 p.m - 6.30 Class 4 (Good at discovering shapes of words and what determines shapes) 

1. COUNTING-OUT RHYMES stress the beat as index-finger moves from one participant to the next participant. NB Beat is not the same as rhythm (see further down). Tinker, tailer, soldier, sailor; Rich man, poor man, beggar-man, THIEF! Acker, Backer, Soda Cracker, Acker, Backer BOO; Acker Backer, Soda Cracker, OUT goes YOU! Jeremiah blow the fire 'Puff, Puff, Puff'. First you blow it gently, then you blow it ROUGH! 

 2. RIDDLES are good for the Teacher before preparing the lessons. (Trying to) solve riddles by extension helps solving all sorts of other problems as well! Connection between RIDDLING and READING! 

RIDDLES:

Voiceless it CRIES, Wingless it FLUTTERS, Toothless it BITES, Mouthless it MUTTERS. 

 What goes round and round the tree but never into it? (The bark on a tree) 

 It's got hands and a face but no legs. (A clock) 

 I'm tall when I'm young and short when I'm old. (A candle) 

 What gets wetter and wetter as it dries? (A towel) 

 A joke-riddle: What has a bottom at the top? (A leg). 

 Another: What month of the year has 28 days? (All of them) 

 What has legs but doesn't walk? (A table)

3. Short DISCUSSION on 'What is Foreign Language Teaching for me?' Elements or teaching items for language lessons: Riddle, recitation, counting-out rhyme, teacher-pupil(s) interactive dialogue, speech exercise, set dialogue, grammar learning game, writing work/grammar repeat, writing exercise, finish up with story, song, etc. 

4. SPEECH EXERCISE for sounds: C (aspirated C) and CL (C not aspirated) Come and clean the chaos in your closet. Sheep should sleep in a shed not a ship. 'What cheek!' said one chick to the other. The witch which bewitched this switch is Swiss. Six sticky skeletons (3x) Unique New (nju) York (3x) connected with Grammar: 'One dog, two dogs, One leaf - rwo leaves, One Life - two lives, One ox - two oxen etc. How man cans can a cannibal nibble if a cannibal can nibble cans (Can be conducted to emphasize the mini-pauses between parts of the whole). for individual sounds: (deep/dip, sleep/slip, read/rid; 'Round and round the rugged rock the ragged rascal ran.') 

5. POEM: Old Morgan. aa longer poem telling a STORY. 

Old Morgan had a lovely harp, / But he was no musician. 

One day a man called ar his door  / Upon a curious mission. 

 "I'm very hungry," said the man, /  "Just hear my tummy rumble." 

 "Come in," said Morgan, "take a seat, / I'm not the man to grumble." 

 "I've eaten nothing," said the man, / "I'm as empty as a drum." 

 "Sit down," said Morgan, "rest yourself, /And please don't suck your thumb." 

(If you cannot find the rest of this poem please don't hesitate to drop me a line).

 6. Dialogue/Conversational Exchange ('Baker, baker! How much areose buns?') and:

'Where's the broom? - Inside the cupboard.

Where's the cupboard? - By the door.

Where's the door? - Beside the table.

Where's the table? - On the floor.

See Peter Oram "Just Mind Your Language" publ. by Starborn Books (sales@starbornbooks.co.uk)

 

B. FRIDAY 7.30 p.m. - 9 p.m. Class 4/5 

1. Leprechaun STORY: This happened in Ireland 180 years ago. Many people died because the only food they had was potatoes and many potatoes rotted so they had nothing to eat. Anmold man lived in a little cabin with his wife, who was blind. Their daughter and her husband also lived with them. The daughter had been waiting for a baby that wouldn't come. 

2. POEM: Colonel Fazackerley (This was handed out).  

3. Transit into Discovering SPELLING RULES. In a first step towards systematic SPELLING, help the children to notice Short vowels: 

bat/bad, bet/bed, bit/bid, rot/rod, cut/cud.

 'Are there Spelling Rules for English?'

pat     hate      patting        hating

pet     Pete     petting        petered

hid     hide     kidding       hiding

cop    cope    copping       coping

cup    cube     cupping      cubed

 

C. SATURDAY 9 a.m. - 10.30 Class 6 

1. SPEECH EXERCISE 'I saw Esau sitting on a see-saw' - swop words progressively. Tonguetwisters.s ('The bloke's back brake-block broke'). Speech exercises like having an argument.Repeat: How many cans ...' Counting up/down 100 -3/3-100 

2. POEM: 

3. Remember words from Leprechaun Story. Reconstruct. Order sentences. Learn by heart. 

4. GRAMMAR: Irregular Verbs 

5.  Discuss. L/C strategies. 

6. VOCABULARY round the circle.

7. LANDESKUNDE: What do we know about Wales? Colloquial English. Pardon? Excuse me. Sorry. Geography. History. Customs/Festivals. Dialects. Idiomatic expressions. Irish Alphabet Ailm (Silver fir), Beth, Coll, Duir, Eadha (White poplar), Fearn (Alder), Gort (Ivy), Uath (H, Hawthorn), Idho (Yew), Luis (Rowan), Muin (Vine), Nion (Ash), Onn (Furze, Pethboc (Dwarf elder), Ruis (Elder), Saille (Willow), Tinne (Holly), Ur (Heather) 

8. STORY: The donkey's tail.  

 

D. 11 a.m. - 12.30 Class 7 

1. SPEECH EXERCISE with grammatical analysis: ('I saw Esau sitting on a see-saw' - swopping words progressively. 

2. POEM: William Butler Yeats on YOUTUBE reciting 'I will arise and go now.'

3. Discuss. L/C strategies. Try with '17 camels' 

4.Order scrambled sentences / 'Karagöz'  One day the King seemed depressed and Karagöz his Fool said, 'I can cheer you up.' - 'How can you do that?' said the King. - 'I'll tell you a bloody great lie.' The King said he would bet 100 silver shillings Karagöz could not make him believe a lie. - 'All right, said Karagöz, I'll tell you a lie then. - Twenty years ago my father and yours played at cards. Your father lost and my father had to lend your father 100 silver shilligs. - 'That's a bloody great lie,' shouted the King. - Why did the King now have to give Karagöz a 100 silver shillings?

5.  Write a SKETCH (Ticket Collector: See YOUTUBE 'The Ticket Inspector Sketch').  

 

E. 2 p.m. - 3.30 Class 8 

1. Write a POEM.  

Look for something in the room. Write a sentence just describing it scientifically, not poetically.

Notice the lught in the room. Shadows, patterns. Write a sentence.

Listen out for noises in or outside the room. Write a sentence.

Look at one of the participants (as if you had never seen a human being before). Sentence about ONE THING you see.

Look at yourself in the same way. Write one sentence.

Now go back to all the sentences you have written. Now start being poetic. Cross out, add, change, reorder, rewrite, thinking about how it sounds. Make your rough notes into a poem.

Write it out neatly.

2. POEM: Do not stand at my grave ... (If you cannot find it drop me a line).

3. READER: The Curious Incident  Memorable thoughts and phrases:

 

F. 4 p.m. -5 p.m. Summary Session A - E / Classes 4 - 8 

1. SPEECH EXERCISE: Count to 20 (only one at a time) 

2. People give feedback to the lesson items dealt with: Riddle, Poem Recitation/Declamation, Counting-out rhyme, Teacher-pupil(s) Interactive Dialogue, Sketch, ...

3. Grammar Learning Game, Grammar pictorially/imaginatively/rhythmically, Grammar Hands-On, Grammar and developing minds, Grammar emerging from directing a speech exercise.

4. Closing Comments