Classroom language journal

CLARA MONLEÓN PINTO 1
CLARA MONLEÓN PINTO
GRADO EN MAESTRO DE EDUCACIÓN PRIMARIA
70894372T
claramonleonpinto@usal.es
claramlpinto@gmail.com
ClassroomLanguajeJournal
OralCommunicationinEarlyLanguageLearning
Environment
2017-2018

Educación Primar
LESSON 1
To begin with, as this subjest is called Oral Communication in Early Language
Learnings Environments, let´s start by classifying different tips a teacher has to bear in
mind before, during and after every English class depending the children´s age and their
cognitive development.
This way, the first chart compares teachers tips according to children´s needs and
their age, whereas the rest of the charts collect useful information and tips for each part
of a lesson.
Finally, some vocaroo recordings are attached in order to illustrate teachers and
students interaction in lesson with useful examples of communication context.
1. Teachers tips to satisfy children´s needs.
Very Young learners Young learners
Children´s
abilities
- They can hear voices from the
time the born
- They can responde to the
voices of their mother, father
o carer
- They can listen a lot of
sounds
- They can play with sounds
and practice making sounds
- They can begin to associate
the sounds with what they can
see and understand
- They can begin to use the
language to interact with
others and get what they want
In addition to VYL´s
abilities, Young learners can
also:
- They can say what they
hear others saying
- They can pick up the
accent of those around
them
Teachers
tips
 Introduce English slowly with
enjoyable activities.
In addition to VYL´s tips,
the teacher should include:

according to
children´s
needs
 Support what you say with
gestures, actions, movements
and facial expression.
 Help the children feel secure
by repeating familiar
activities, e.g. songs and
rhymes.
 Repeat in English what
children say to you in their
mother tongue.
 Use a puppet to talk to in
English.
 Tell the children the puppet
can only speak English so
they have to speak in English
to the puppet. If a child
speaks in his/her mother
tongue to the puppet, you can
recast and speak to the
puppet.
 Use drawings and photos.
 Tell lots of stories using
pictures for support.
 Have fun
 Explain in mother tongue
on the first day why you
are using English during
the English lesson.
 Teach the class useful
phrases about language
use, e.g. Can / use...
(mother tongue)?
What's... in English?
 Plan for success and a
positive experience.
 Talk about your own
personal experiences,
e.g. What you like/
dislike.This is like telling
stories
 Have fun
2. Teacher´s tips to keep in mind in each part of a lesson
A lesson could be divided in four parts: greetings and forms of address, ways of
staring a lesson, organising the classroom and ending a lesson.
1) Greetings and forms of adress:
1 Teacher Children
GREETINGS
AND
FORMS OF
ADRESS
Good morning, children
Good afternoon, + everybody
Hello, boys and
girls
Good morning,
Miss/Mrs/Mr/Ms
Good afternoon + (surname)
Hello (First name)

Girls and
boys
(teacher)
2) Ways of starting a lesson:
In addition, we can make a difference between class teachers who teach English
and other subjects and specialist teachers who only teach English:
Class Teachers Specialist Teachers
 Do something special whenever
the English class starts, e.g.
Singing a song.
 Wear something special during
the lesson, e.g. a badge, a bat, etc.
 Stand in a different place o
arrange the room differently.
 Put up a picture or get out toys
that children associate with
English.
 Plan something familiar in
English at the beginning of the
lesson to make the change of the
teacher easier.
 Use a special name chart to check
who is present.
 Prepare a routine that the children
like, e.g. singing a songo r a
rhyme.
2.1. Checking attendance:
Ways of
starting
a lesson
Checking
attendance
Singing a song
Do question
routines, e.g.
days of the
week, the
weather,
birthdays
Rearranging
the classroom
Playing a
game
Taking the
register/ call
the roll
Saying a
rhyme

Teacher
Two
examples:
Before checking if someone is
missing
After checking if someone is missing
Option A -Let's call the roll.
-Let's take the register.
-Let's check to see who is here.
-Remember to answer 'I'm here'
-Thank you, everybody.
-So, everyone is here except...
-So, only two people away.
Option B -Is everybody here?
-Is anyone away?
-No-one absent today?
-Who is missing?
-Let's all count to see if
everyone is here - girls first,
then boys
a)
-Oh good, Paula, you’re back.
Nice to see you.
Are you all right now?
-Oh, John’s away.
Who knows why? Is he ill?
-So, how many is 13 and 15?
OK... . Yes? So that is 28 all
together.
b)
-Maybe he's gone to the dentist.
What do you think?
-Is that more than yesterday? Or less
than yesterday? Or the same?
3. Organising the classroom
Tips to organise the classroom:
While prepering a lesson, make a list of classroom languagefor each activity.
Prepare to say all of this in English duringthe lesson.
Use songs and rhymes when you change from one activity to another, e.g.
an action song to start a game.
Encourage your pupils to use English for routine classroom requests by
praising any effort they make.
Use wall charts or posters to help children remember what you are doing in the
English class.

4. Ending the lessons
Ending the lessons
To bear in mind Posibles ways of ending the lesson
- If children stay in the same room
- If children go to a different room
- If children have a break
- If children go home
1. OK, that's all for now.
2. Right. We've no time for
anything else-don't do any more-
we don't have any more time
today.
3. OK-just one more time before
going out for a short break.
4. OK, now stop! We haven't
enough time to finish the monster
today. So stand up...
5. OK -just one more time - and then
that's it.
6. OK, pick up allyourthings-and put
the books in the cupboard.
7. That's all for today. On Monday,
there’ll be more.
8. OK, children, make a line to say
good-bye -following the leader.
Bye.
9. OK, it's break-time. So you can
go out to play. But first - line up
quietly by the door.
3. Oral communication recordings
Below are attached, on the one hand, twelve vocaroo recordings of teachers-students
interaction provided in lesson one and on the other hand, a personal vocaroo recording to
exemplify how to greet and start a lesson taking into account the importance of the stress,
rhythm and intonation.
Lesson 1 vocaroo recordings:
1A: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0x09KW8k1nx
1B: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1rtBwNxeW8W
1C:https://vocaroo.com/i/s0LTYxwjrQrj

1D: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1m0OpAA2xpW
1E: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1pvava3ABrg
1F: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1tIi7jd0ojR
1G: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1CdQttXdB2t
1H: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1W0VjFyJ5Ay
1I: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0Hu5s1ejnDa
1J: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0OUlvqtWWzN
1K: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0f77MyjALhu
1L: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0cXamCfPVyM
Personal recording: “Greetings and starting a lesson”
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0joPhfJNDrO
LESSON 2
To start with, this lesson in focus on social skills which are an essential ingredient
of daily routines and they can be defined as the abilities to communicate and interact with
others in an harmonious and respectful way.
Social skills are included in the Spanish curriculum and should be developed in
infant and primary English lesson as well. Nonetheless, teacher should indirectly work
on them.
This way, six types of social skills can be distinguished:
 Class routines
 Feelings
 Personal hygiene and health
 Behaviour patterns
 Sharing and participating
 Showing respect
The followings charts show how a teacher can develop these social skills in class:

Social Skills
Class routines Enjoy participating in a story
Enjoy listening each other in a group context
Show willingness to tidy up and pleasure in helping
Not shout in class
Realise the importance of switching off lights, turning off taps,
flushing the toilet, putting paper in the bin, etc.
Social Skills
Greetings and goodbyes Say good morning, good afternoon, hello and
goodbye.
How are you? Fine, thank you.
Social Skills
Feelings Express feelings: happy, sad, cross, angry, hungry, frightened,
scared, surprised, and shy.
Value the friendship and help of others
Have positive self-esteem, actively participate in class, parties and
celebrations and enjoy seeing displays of their own work and that
of their peers.
Play different roles and express emotions using dramatization
(puppets, soft toys…).
Express love for family and affection.
Social Skills
Personal hygiene and
health
Have an awareness of the importance of a balanced
diet.
Understand and respect dining-room rules like:
“Wash your hands before you eat”, “Brush your
teeth after eating”.
Enjoy eating fruit and understand that eating sweets
cause tooth decay
Realise the importance of protection from the sun in
summer and the cold in winter.
Understand daily routines related to hygiene and
dress.
Social Skills
Behaviour
patterns
Promote positive behaviour patterns and interactions in the
school, in the classroom and in the playground.

Recognise difference between people, avoid
discrimination.
Recognise the importance of a job well d one, and be able
to take on board the idea that correcting errors is part of
“doing something better”.
Promote basic organisational habits: constancy, attention,
effort, initiative...
Respect and appreciate clean and tidy surroundings.
Social Skills
Sharing and
participating
Share classroom equipment as it belongs to everyone,
and take turns to use things.
Enjoy helping in class and in the home, i.e. set the
table at home, have class monitors.
Be interested in contributing towards a frieze,
decorating the class for Festivals, collecting items for a
display, bringing things from home.
Take turns and follow the rules in a game.
Enjoy celebrations and parties.
Social Skills
Showing respect for
people
Respect the equality of boys and girls; understand
the importance of avoiding sexist stereotypes in
games, songs, classroom activities, stories and use
of language.
Have an appreciation of people who help us in our
daily lives.
Have an appreciation of people who help us in our
daily lives.
Have respect for other people’s personal space.
Realise the importance of taking it in turns to
speak.
Sharing and participating Take care of classroom equipment.
Use different areas of the class correctly.
Sharing and participating Appreciate plants and animals and take care of
them.
Show curiosity about the immediate environment.
Know about traditions such as Christmas and other
festivities.
Have an awareness of road safety

In addition, teachers should use visual support such as behaviour posters or golden
rules posters, among others. The link below contains a folder in which some posters have
been collected:
https://www.dropbox.com/home/Clara%20Monle%C3%B3n%20Pinto%204%C2%
BA/Oral%20Communication/Classroom%20language%20journal/Posters
LESSON 3
In this lesson we are going to draw the attention to classroom management strategies.
The following mind map contain some main ideas about this topic:

Moreover, all these ideas connect with the plot of a video focus on classroom
management techniques which is summarized down below:
This report outlines the importance of classroom management techniques as an
efficient tool both to control the class and to create a positive learning environment in
daily school lessons, which is not easy, above all at the beginning of a school term.
This way, the video shows how a first-year teacher, who works in the Urban
Assambly School in the Bronx, tries to improve her classroom management techniques
to deal with disruptive behaviour in an extremely heterogeneous class where children are
not engaged enough.
Hence, to get her aim, Lilia travels to Columbia University´s Teachers College in
Manhattan to meet Jackie Ancess, a teacher who has work for thirty years in New York
City public schools. Thereupon, once Lilia gets there, she shows a video of one of her
Humanities lessons and ask Jackie for professional advices.
Firstly, while watching the video, Lilia share some meaningful classroom
management strategies she has used in her classes, such as using proximity to avoid
disruptive situations and control what students do at any moment or implementing
individual strategies like whispering to calm kids who misbehave, as well as group
techniques, for instance positive narration, whose effect is global. Nonetheless, Lilia
becomes aware that her energy or mood was having a bad effect on the atmosphere of the
class as she seemed to be serious, reluctantly or even a bit crushed.
As for Jackie, on the one hand, she draws attention to the general need of creating
consistent classroom routines. On the other hand, focusing on Lilia´s lesson she suggest
putting into practice dynamics or games which involves competition as children need to
be more engaged.
In light of these advices, Lilia comes back to his class and she introduces some
changes supervised by a mentor who helps her. Thus, the video highlight three classroom
management techniques: firstly, Lilia breaks the lesson down into smallest component
parts in order to control the tasks and time given to do them as some children need more
time to complete the tasks than others. Secondly, Lilia uses positive narration as a whole
class strategy with better results and lastly, she puts into practice a bingo game which the

students loved. In fact, as it is shown the participation considerably increased and both
the teacher and the children had a lot of fun.
In conclusion, both creating a positive learning environment and having the
control of everything that happens in a class is complicated above all if a teacher lack of
experience. However, it is important to deal with these educational aspects because the
way a children learn and feel in a class depends directly on the teacher. That´s why using
classroom management strategies is needed and helps in all senses.
LESSON 4
This lesson is called “Listen and do” and it is focus on the speaking skill as
children need as much exposure to L2 as possible to learn it. However, “Listening and
doing” activities involves an active role with which students can learn while having fun
as the following chart shows:
Aims of “listening and doing” activities
- Acquiring English by listening to instructions.
- Being active and enjoy doing things in English
- Using non-verbal clues (e.g.gestures) to interpret meanings.
- Getting used to understanding general meaning.
- Preparing for spoken interaction.
- Absorbing good pronunciation and intonation patterns
This way, there are a lot of types of activities a teacher can use to get these aims but, in
this case we are going to focus on activities which involve:
1. Giving instructions in English.
2. Listening and identifying.
3. Listening and doing – Total Physical Response.

4. Listening and performing – miming.
5. Listening and responding games.
1. Giving instructions in English
Sitting down and standing up
Come in please and sit down.
OK- sit down now please.
Sit down together at your tables.
OK- everyone - sit down - quietly.
Ana - sit down over there - with your
friend.
Midori, turn round and face the front.
OK, everybody, stop talking now
and listen carefully.
OK, please stand up. And don't make too
much noise. Everybody up! That's right!
Stand still! Don't move. Stay in your places!
Stay where you are.
Right, Taro, can you come here, please?
OK, come out here to the front of the class.
OK, your group, come up to the front. Right,
now, you, you and you ... come over here.
Now, get into a line. Stand in a line.
I want you to make two lines, along
here.. .
Like this ... one behind the other.
Let's see... move up a bit... good... that's nice
and straight!
Can you make a circle? A nice round
circle. Good!
Not too close . . . a bit further apart …
step back a bit, that's better!
Suresh ... come forward a bit... Yes,
that's it.
OK, thank you. Now go back to I Your Places'
2. Listening and identifying
Both, listen and identify activities promote:

a. For vocabulary development
Children will understand and learn better new vocabulary if the teacher
follow the next two stages and bring to the class visual support according
to the topic of the class.
 Firstly, it is important to clarify what we want the children to learn:
Look, here's my bag. Now, what have I got in here? There's a book,
that's my English book ... And my pencíI box, with my pencils in it
... Look... l´ll open it. Here are my pencils . . . some coloured
pencils. One, two, three, four pencíIs ...
 Secondly, in order to see if children have understood the new
vocabulary they can point or show the thing as you say them:
b. For grammatical awareness
Furthermore, “Listen and do” activities make possible to teach grammar
in different ways taking into account the age of the students:
Practising a basic language skill - listening
Making sense of English words and phrases
Developing their vocabulary
Acquiring meaning and soundtogether
Resources
•Classroom
•Charts, pictures and pictures cards
•Cuisenaire rods or colowed bricks or blocks for colour
words or size word
•Realia
•Craft materials

Year 1- year 4 students Year 5 and 6 students
We can indirectly teach them the
following concepts by using many visual
aids:
- Singular and plural
- Gender pronouns
By using cards we can teach them:
- Singular and plural
- Gender pronouns
Moreover, it is always useful to highlight some tips to maintain discipline
in the classroom but in a positive and uncourageous way:
Discipline tips
- Please stop talking now. No more talking for a bit. Good, you lot. That is nice and
quiet. You others . . . sh... sh. Calm down now, OK. That's better.
-Quiet please! Settle down now and listen. That good, Eva. Thank you, Emilio.
- Everyone is sitting really nicely... except for Tom! Tom, could you sit down like the
others please? Thank you. OK . . .
- OK we need to be quieter to hear what everyone is saying. These two groups are
doing an excellent job. Thank you for being quiet. And now we are waiting for ...
- Now who can tell me the name of the book. Lots of hands raised. Excellent.
3. Listening and doing - total physical response
To begin with, total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching
method with which children learn by doing as they follow some physical
instructions provided by the teachers to promote interaction and
communication. Thus, this approach can be used to begin a lesson as it is
completely related with warm up activities.
This way, it is possible to make a difference between what teachers and
children have to do when implementing a TPR dynamic:
Teachers Children

- tells the pupils what to do
- uses clear pronunciation and natural
intonation
- helps them understand by gestures or by
doing the actions.
- have to listen carefully to the instructions
- enjoy doing the actions
- can do the actions all together or on their
own
- do not have to speak (but often do!) -
understand because the movement and
language go together.
In addition, some examples of activities which involve TPR are:
Lastly, if is a good idea to reflect about some teachers tips which can help
in case we have not implemented a TPR dynamic or in case our class is too
big:
Teaching tips
Total Physical Response TPR with big classes
The first time you use TPR you can
explain in the mother tongue before
If you have a large class, divide it up
into groups depending on the space
Follow the leader (appropiated for very youg learners)
The children copy the movements the teacher does and
listen what she says.
Topic-based TPR
The children who have what the teacher says have to do an
action or movement.
TPR routines
Useful to warm up students or let them have a break.
TPR for arrangling the class
This dynamic helps the children to get used to directions in
English.

you start. Do simple actions and say
what you are doing.
you have: Six pupils go first, then six
more. The group(s) waiting will be
watching the activity, listening, and
trying to understand, so will still be
learning.
4. Listening and performing – miming
Listening and performing or miming is another type of “listen and do” activity
which is more complex than TPR activities as miming requires being familiar with
the vocabulary used.
In this particular case, the children should not speak, they just have to act
silently. So, taking this into account some teaching tips to implement miming in
class could be:
Teaching tips
Miming
- Give very young learners one instruction at a time.
- With VYLs you can say pretend you are a squirrel.
- Increase the number of instructions in a sequence as learners progress.
- Make the activities simpler or more complicated.
- Using real things can make the mime more realistic. Let children use things
they make or bring in.
- Play a game like statues. The children mime an activity to music - and then
stand still like statues when the music stops. Anyone who moves after the music
stops is out.
- Later, use mime as a speaking activity and let the children describe what is
happening.
- Groups or individual children can mime different people or animals. The others
guess what or who they are miming.
Moreover, miming helps to learn rhymes and chants. Let´s see some teaching
tips to put into practice physical break chants:

Teaching tips
Physical break chants
- Use pictures to help the children remember the meaning of the words.
- Use movements to help them understand.
- Use big gestures to help them enjoy the chant.
- Later once they understand some of the words, you can gradually remove the
pictures.
You can change the chant by
- Putting in different animals or things you want the children to mime
- Making it shorter or longer
- Letting individual children do the actions.
Later on the children can say and do the action rhymes on their own.
5. Listening and responding games
Finally, it is worth to draw our attention to another possibility to extend
listening activities which is implementing responding games like true/false or
“Simon says”.
On the one hand, to put into practice true/false activities we can follow
some instructions like these ones:
Instructions for true/false activities
If it is true Clap once, like this
If I´m right Nod your head, like this…
Shout out “yes”.
Put one hand up.
If it is not true Clap twice – two claps.
If I´m not right Shake your head, like this.
If I´m wrong Shout out “no”.
Put both hands up, two hands up.
On the other hand, if we play “Simon says” activity we should bear in mind
the following key factors:

“Simon says”
- If possible, have a space where all the pupils can stand up
- With big classes choose actions that children can do sitting down
- Stand in front of your pupils
- Explain before you begin
- Tell them they can only move when you say “Simon says”
- Explain that if you don't say “Simon says”, they must keep still
- Tell them if they move when you do not say “Simon says”
- They are out
- Tell them that, when they are out, they have to sit and wait for the next game.
This way, to scaffold listening and responding activities properly, firstly, the
teacher has to explain in mother tongue the game and then explain it again in English.
Secondly, the teacher should move from simple instructions to complex ones. Finally, the
students can play the teacher´s role to give their own instructions to the rest of the class.
In conclusion, “listening and doing” activities are a good opportunity to check
understanding and learn while having fun. Thus, they should be definitely included in
English lessons.
Vocaroo recordings of “Listen and do” lesson
2A https://vocaroo.com/i/s1FWNZYLfyUq
2B https://vocaroo.com/i/s1FWNZYLfyUq
2C https://vocaroo.com/i/s0QHTPxlMo3L
2D https://vocaroo.com/i/s16twkxDxRV8
2E https://vocaroo.com/i/s0HUSJEtZreL
2F https://vocaroo.com/i/s1KSEbUYTC9H
2G https://vocaroo.com/i/s1ldrZOZHm6P
2H https://vocaroo.com/i/s0mcWhDUdoYk
2I https://vocaroo.com/i/s0BwvCeZnz8F
2J https://vocaroo.com/i/s13RiBV1XQPX
2K https://vocaroo.com/i/s10lRfgXdaLf
2L https://vocaroo.com/i/s1IxDtYinte9

LESSON 5
To start with, this unit has to do with the previous one but it not only involves
listening and doing things, but also following a more creative process with which children
have to make decisions as well as to communicate and collaborate with their colleagues.
In light of this learning process let´s see how to prepare and set up “Listen and
make activities”:
Tips to prepare “Listen and make”
activities
Tips to set up “Listen and make”
activities
- Prepare what to tell the class about the
topic or theme.
- Collect the things you need so you can
show children what to do.
- Practise explaining in English what they
have to make and how they have to make
it. - Think of gestures and actions that
will help them understand more clearly.
- Prepare and practise phrases that will be
useful while they are making it.
- Think of things children might say to
you in their mother tongue and plan how
you will recast their questions and
comments in
English.
- Begin by introducing the topic and
talking a little about it.
- Explain to the class in English (as far
as possible) and show them what they are
going to do or make. Use gestures and
actions to help children understand.
- Repeat your instructions to the whole
class and then later to small groups or to
individual children.
- While they are colouring or making
their things, go round and comment in
English on what they are doing.
In addition, apart from these useful tips let´s focus on specific “listen and make”
activities related to colouring, drawing or making things about a concrete topic.
5.1. LISTEN AND COLOUR

First of all, this is a simply activity which very young children and young children are
able to do. This way, all they need is, firstly, to know the name of the colours and
secondly, to have the materials required. For this reason, before starting the activity, the
teacher should revise these vocabulary and resources.
Furthermore, the following tips could be helpful:
Teaching tips
- Let the children help you organize and give out the materials for colouring.
- Display all the children's work- on a wall chart or on the walls.
- Comment positively on each child's work as you take it and put it up on the wall,
e.g. That's lovely! I like his black nose!
- Use plain flashcards for colouring - children can use this set of cards later for word
games.
- Use drawings of animals, food, clothes which can later be cut out.
- Make the activity more challenging:
 Give out two pictures, one of a girl and one of a boy, and give two
instructions at a time, e.g. Colour his hair brown and her hair black, etc.
 Give children alternatives, e.g. Colour his hair either red or yellow.
 Divide the class in two and give different instructions to each group. Later
use these pairs of different pictures for games like 'Spot the difference'.
Last but not least, although this kind of activities are simply it is relevant to pay
attention to teacher´s language when implementing them. In this sense, the chart below
shows some examples of possible teacher-student interactions:
Language focus on explaining and demonstrating
Today we are going to do some colouring.
do some drawing.
do some painting.
do some sticking.
Look, like this . . .
Look at what we are going
to make.

Next, we are going to make a monster. Here's one Class 3 made.
Look, here's a picture for
you to colour.
Over the next few lessons
we are going to
make an Easter Card.
colour some animals.
make a farm.
make a circus picture.
Here's a sticker sheet for
you to share -one between
two.
We'll start like this .. .
You can all choose a
different animal.
Let's do some together as a class first, so you'll see what I mean.
what it might be like.
what to do.
how to do it.
5.2. LISTEN AND DRAW
This kind of activity consist on giving instructions to the children so that they can
draw a picture at the same time the teacher shows these steps. After this, there are different
possibilities to see how far the children can go, for instance, they can compare and
contrast the pictures they have drawn on their own or even create a story to guess what
will might happen after that or what could have happened before.
Thus, some teaching tips could be the following ones:
Teaching tips
- After drawing let children compare pictures and then colour them
quietly.
- Go round and talk to them in English as they colour, and comment on
their work like this teacher:

Ah, Mei Li, so you have coloured your birds red and green, Iike
parrots. Very pretty . .. Mmmm. That's a nice green tree, Eng Soon .. .
but where's your cat? Oh, l see him, hiding behind the tree.
Moreover, in order to give clear instructions it is worth to mention some phrases
both to describe position and to ask who wants a turn, as it is shown in the next chart:
Describing position Asking who wants a turn
- on the left
- in the middle
- a bit to the left
- in the corner, at the front
- at the top of the tree
- at the back next to the tree right
- at the front of the picture
- behind the tree
- in the back ground, faraway
- under the tree
- at the front
- in the corner, at the back
- in front of the tree
- on the right
- In the middle
- -a bit to the right
- by the bus stop
-whose turn is it to do a mime? OK, Mei
Li, so you want to show us your mime?
Out you come, then.
- Who wants to start? Hands up!
- Whose go is it?
- Whose turn is it to do a mime?
- Who has still not had a turn?
- One more go. Who wants the last go?
- Blue team? But you started last time.
- Maria again? But you've just had a go.
- Who still wants a go?
- Which group has not been?

5.3. LISTEN AND MAKE
As it is shown in this part of lesson, children are able to do lots of things in class by
using plasticine, modelling clay, play-dough, paper or cards. In this case, firstly we are
going to focus on making greeting cards and, then on making Easter cards.
a) Making greeting cards are an opportunity to go in-depth on foreign cultures as
it allows knowing special days like Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day,
Father's Day, Easter. In addition, making greeting cards promotes creating a
positive learning environment as they could be used to express children´s positive
feelings and thoughts to someone in his birthday.
In this case, let´s show some useful expressions the teacher could use:
 We're going to do it this way .. .
 Now look ... see the line ...
 One between two desks ...
 Look, cut like this. Only cut that bit . . .
 No Pat. OK I'll show you . . .
 OK, fold it like that ...
b) Focusing on making Easter cards, here is a sequence every teachers can follow:
1. talks about Easter
2. talks about what they already know about –the Easter Bunny
3. prepares for the “listen and make” part of the lesson
4. shows the children how to cut out the Easter Bunny
5. uses words to show here to cut-as she cuts
6. repeats to children in groups or individually
7. Praises their work.
Finally, let´s summarize this part thanks to some teaching tips:
Teaching tips
 Let children
- become familiar with all the names they need for drawing and painting:
crayons, scissors, brushes.

- take charge of materials such as the paper, the colours, the scissors.
- find materials in the places where you keep them: on top of cupboard . . . in
the painting corner.
 Talk to small groups/individuals while they work.
 Cut out shapes of all the name sets children are working with - such as
animals, monsters, food and drinks, etc. Keep them in envelopes. You can use
them for guessing games or for “mix and match” games or to put labels on.
In conclusion, “Listen and make” increases the amount of work demanded from a
creatively point of view. In doing so, children not only develop their listening skills but
also their general understanding of a foreign language through putting into practice
simply activities they might enjoy.
Vocaroo recordings
3A: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1ff34X9Dww8
3B: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1XynBHctmkB
3C: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0S1zRxVAboe
3D: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1F6e5mgcT8f
3E: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0sGYH9B1S6W
Ponunciation point: https://vocaroo.com/i/s19rV2xDNnOz

LESSON 6
This unit shows how to support the children so that they can start to speak English.
That´s why this is a further step which is achievable if the teacher follows the next
guidelines:
Speaking with support by:
- Encouraging the use of set classroom phrases.
- Introducing new vocabulary using pictures, gestures and repetitions.
- Helping learners remember new words and phrases in context.
- Teaching pronunciation and vocabulary together.
- Collecting suitable rhymes and songs.
Taking into account all these ways to support children, there are some aspects that
teachers should bear in mind related to using classroom phrases, saying rhymes and
singing songs, practising new vocabulary, playing vocabulary games and practicing
pronunciation of new sounds.
6.1. Using classroom phrases
As English teachers we have to bear in mind that learning a foreign language is
not an easy thing. It takes time and effort. That´s why children sometimes needs to use
L1 if they want to communicate something they don´t know how to say it in English. In
these situations the teacher shouldn´t punish them as they are making an effort but he or
she should answer in English.
In addition, to help the student understand the classroom language it is a good idea
to use classroom phrases more frequently in order to satisfy communicative children´s
needs as the following chart shows:
Children Teacher

I haven't got
l've lost
l've forgotten Look,
l've got
my pencils.
my colours.
my book.
a new bag/pencil
case.
some new felt
tipped pens
Has anyone seen
Giorgio's
pencil/book/colours?
Can someone lend
Giorgio a
pencil/some
colours?
Who's got a spare
pencil?
Don't worry- l've got
a spare one/set here
Did you leave it at
home? OK, never
mind.
Here's one. Here
you are.
Go and get one from
my table.
Leila -can he look at
your book?
Can he share with
you?
That's/Those are
lovely. Who gave
you that/those?
Excuse me! Can you help me?
Please Miss X! ls this right?
I don't know what to do!
Please can I ask in Spanish?
Yes - of course, just coming.
Wait a moment, Ana, l'm just helping Peter
Yes ... what is it you need?
That's fine like that.
Yes ... What do you need to know?
Hence, a teacher has to bear in mind:
6.2. Saying rhymes and signing song to practice, pronunciation, stress and
intonation
Children understand the general meaning before understanding individual words.
Children hear connected sounds and then they acquire the capacity to
separate them.
Only the written language can be devided into words and sentences.
Young learners who can not read hear a flow of sounds
Children will say first the words which follow intonation patters and stress rules
they identificate.

Step by step children learn more vocabulary and chants what makes them feel
more confident. Hence, they may repeat words or actions in class because of this feeling
of achievement. In light of this, it is a good idea to use chants, rhymes with the following
purposes:
- for enjoyment
- as part of your teaching plan
- as a change in activity
- to revise vocabulary
- to connect with new or familiar topics
- to practise up-to-date expressions
- for drama and to practise punctuation.
Nevertheless, to choose appropriates songs, chants or rhymes the teacher has to
take into account some tips that are provided in the chart below:
Teacher tips
Songs, chants and rhymes
- Start with very short rhymes or chants.
- Look for songs and chants that have topics your children are learning about.
- Make sure the children generally understand what they are saying – they do not
need to understand every word but maybe the gist of the lines.
- Use songs and rhymes to play with sounds: speaking softly - shouting loudly.
- Use simple instruments to add to the rhythm, such as tambourine, bell, drum,
cymbal.
- Encourage your pupils to say them for family and friends outside school.
6.3. Practising new vocabulary
As pointed out above, children are constantly learning new vocabulary as well as they
increasingly want to speak more. For this reason, the teacher should promote
communicative contexts in which the children get familiar to new vocabulary by:
 encouraging them to repeat the new items

 using pictures, sounds, and other senses, e.g. touch and feel materials, to support
meaning
 using gestures, movement, and actions
 getting children to colour pictures of the new things they can name
 repeating new words as often as possible and use them in context.
Moreover, it is crucial to remember that if the pupils cannot read yet they have to
remember the word as a sound and if they can, it is better if they firs remember the sound
of the word and then learn the spelling because if the teacher shows first the spelling he
or she is spoiling the process as the children will start reading with L1 strategies.
In addition, if we want the students to remember new vocabulary, the teacher should
help them by:
Making class displays of pictures and other memory aids to support new
vocabulary.
Preparing to teach new words and phrases in a meaningful way by linking with a
topic they are familiar with.
6.4. Playing vocabulary games
To begging with, playing vocabulary games represent an enjoyable opportunity to
absorb new vocabulary and intonation patterns as the children are pushed to guess and
memorise. For this reason, the teacher should choose the appropriated games and play his
or her role as the tips below support:
Teacher tips
Vocabulary games
Show children how to play the game and give instructions in English while you
are doing this.
Use lots of different games but use the same vocabulary to help children become
familiar with it.
New words and phrases need to be used a lot after you have introduced them so
that the children learn to use them actively.
Here are some vocabulary games that could be implemented in class:
A. FINDING PAIRS: a memory game where children have to pick up two cards
with the same picture or word. (The cards are spread out face-down.)
B. SHOPPING GAMES: children act the parts of shop assistants and customers in
different kinds of shops to practise different vocabulary.
C. HAPPY FAMILIES: a card game: players in groups of three or four have to
collect four cards from each other from the same 'family' or topic.

On the one hand, focusing on “finding pairs” game, it is interesting to bear in mind the
following chart which contain useful vocabulary for both the students and the teacher:
Vocabulary games
Here are some cards.
These are picture
cards.
These are word cards.
Here are some cards
with phrases on.
Here are some cards
with actions on.
Can you
Will you
give them out?
deal them out?
share them round?
mix them up?
put them face down
on your table?
You should have
three each.
Each pair should
have six,
Check you have
eight on each
table.
Put the rest in a
pile, face down.
Don't look at them yet.
Just look at your own.
Spread them out so you can see them all
Don't show them to anyone else.
Don't look at anyone else's.
Which ones make a pair?
Whoops!
Oh dear!
Watch out!
Careful!
Wait a minute!
One's gone in your
lap.
One's fallen in your
bag.
One's gone under
your chair. One's
fallen on the floor.
You've got an extra
one.
You are one short.
Can you pick it
up?
Can you reach it?
Who hasn't got
all six?
Who's got one
missing?
Who's got one
extra?
On the other hand, it is relevant to take into account some tips when implementing
“Shopping games”:
 When children are familiar with shopping play routines, you can have two or three
shop assistants and more customers. Then they can play in groups.
 With more advanced learners you can add lines to the script: Can I help you? What
colour? White, please.

6.5. Practicing pronunciation of new words
Finally, as the children learn the intonation patters and consequently, they learn
how to pronounce the words correctly thanks to hear how the teacher speaks, it is
interesting to put into practice the following ideas:
Teaching tips
In the classroom
- you can arrange pictures of words with the same sound together: blue-
shoe -two
- if the children can read, add the written word underneath
- use actions to help children remember the face movement that produces
the sound: Stretch your arms for wide mouth sounds
Use other expressions when you are playing the game 'l spy'.
I can hear with my little ear a word beginning with ... I can remember ... I
can remember a word beginning with...
You can use this little activity at any time and for one or two words to
remind children of sounds and vocabulary.
Last but not least, the chart below contains the vocaroo recordings of this unit:
Vocaroo recordings
4A: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1EnnQw9lmrf
4B: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1IASoOp1fG9
4C: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0Bmw8Af77yk
4D: https://vocaroo.com/i/s1YsdXL13ZZe
4E: https://vocaroo.com/i/s14OM3FNca49
4F: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0Oo2PrRgsfL
4G: https://vocaroo.com/i/s0SYyCpx3VIy

Blog
Click on the link below to access to my blog:
https://asgreenasaseed.blogspot.com.es/search/label/Classroom%20Language%20Journ
al
Final conclusions
ime to say goodbye! Surprisingly time is over! I have decided to start this
personal review of the course in this friendly way as it brings me back memories
of my first journal´s entry. However, I now turn to a slightly more formal
register to focus my attention on reflecting about Oral Communication in Early Language
Learning Environment (OR) and then about Literature and Literacy in Early English
Language Education (LL).
A. Oral Communication in Early Language Learning Environment:
First of all, I would like to say that in my view, if we hadn´t learnt what we have learnt
in this kind of “subject” no one would have taught the contents it contains. This way, I
am grateful for that.
The reason why I say this is because the contents of OR have an enormous potential
as it provides knowledge on how to teach phonics, phonological awareness or grammar,
as well as it enables to know how to build this learning process, considering some relevant
aspects such as scaffolding and creating a positive learning environment where the
children are slowly pushed to communicate in a foreign language.
Hence, I think that the strengths of this intensive subject are firstly related to the
efficient organisation of its contents, which allows learning how to translate the
curriculum objectives into real, motivated and successful activities, taking into account
the correct teacher´s role.
Secondly, there have been lots of opportunities to learn how to create activities by
using appealing tools and thirdly, it is worth to mention that having a constant feedback
with the teacher is another positive aspect.
T

In contrast, if I had to remark a less positive aspect I would say that we have produced
a lot of materials in a short period of time and sometimes it is a bit difficult to combine
this with the rest of the degree or even with a job or a volunteering job. Thus, those people
whose life has more work commitments may have more problems to achieve the
established goals. This way, a possible solution could be to extend the delivery time.
In addition, adding a subject to learn and certificate advanced level of English could
be a good idea both to enrich the contents of this course and to facilitate the access to the
labour market.
Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude for the opportunities that the English
department has provided throughout these four months not only because, thanks to them,
some students, including myself, are going to spend part of our Practicum II in Coventry
(UK), but also because they inform us of every scholarship programmes or training
courses that could be interesting and enriching for us.
To sum up, OR contains the main ingredients to ensure a productive learning which
contributes to build our role as English teachers who work for the benefit of the children
because as we have learnt the more you offer them the further they get.
B. Literature and Literacy in Early English Language Education:
First of all, Literature has a great importance in the process of learning a foreign
language as it lays the foundations for the understanding of how it works.
In light of this, studying LL has helped me to know the way we should teach the
strategies to acquire Literacy skills. In this sense, it is compulsory to let the children get
familiar with English stories from the very beginning of Primary Education or even before
starting it.
Nevertheless to do so, it is crucial to bear in mind a clear structure of the needs
and demands of each curse in order to work properly with word level, sentence level and
text level. In this regard, LL has given examples of stories that are appropriated for each
year. That´s why my colleagues and I have been able to design a huge variety of activities
according to the cognitive demand that should be required in each case.

In addition, apart from this, LL also has the same strengths as OR has. However,
in this particular case the tools used has been Kidspiration, Inspiration and Nearpod,
which make possible to achieve linguistic targets in a motivated and appealing way.
Nonetheless, the stories chosen also should be interesting for the children. If not
LL will be just a subject which destroys their motivation. This way, being on the right
track means teaching by taking into account that LL is important because it allows
understanding ourselves and learning of almost everything we are interested in.
In conclusion, the balance of the course is clearly positive and everything we have
produced is ready to be used in the best way. Thus, it is time to continue because our
teaching adventure has only just begun.

Classroom language journal

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