Discussions Workshop June/July 2020

Most students at The English Farm enjoy discussions. Why? What works? 

  1. The topic is fun and interesting. 

  2. Student talk time is high.

  3. Authentic communication happens.

However, there are problems with discussion lessons.

  1. Understanding vs. learning and producing language
    • Students don't learn the language enough to produce it in the mid-to-long term. 
    • Students learn random bits of language. 
  2. Varied communication is difficult 
    • Learning and employing specific strategies rarely happens 
    • The student just relies on strategies/styles/phases they already know.

Discussion best practice 

How do we make students learn and produce language? 
First, we need students to remember it. 

Memory: research has found that three primary factors determine what people remember:

  1. how much attention the person is paying, 
  2. how novel and interesting the experience is, and 
  3. the kinds of emotions that are evoked.

Goal: grab attention, pique interest and activate emotions. 

Step 1: Use the title of the article to brainstorm associated ideas.

Free-associate related concepts or ideas or facts or anecdotes for a minute or two.

This brainstorming activity activates the groups of ideas around a target idea. It does three important things: 

  1. It gets the student to pay deep attention to the topic.
  2. It sets up expectations, and therefore the potential for surprise.
  3. It activates emotions associated with the idea.
Step 2: Read critically 

Read a few paragraphs at a time.

Compare the brainstorming of the topic with the text’s ideas and language. 

  • "What do you think about the information compared to thoughts earlier?"
  • "I think this phrase was really well said. You said something similar earlier but note the structure here."
  • "I like this phrase. I think you could have used it earlier."
    Step 3: Conversation vs. lesson (a.k.a. definitions vs. schemas) 

    After reading, continue to discuss the language. But, how do we discuss language? 

    Definition:

    You can define a new vocabulary word, phrase or grammar point. For instance: 

    egg - /ɛɡ/ - noun - an oval or round object laid by a female bird, reptile, fish, or invertebrate, usually containing a developing embryo.

    Defining language leads, at best, to understanding. Defining language does not help with production. 

    Schema: 

    You should develop a schema around new language. 

    Take a look at a schema around the word "egg". 

    So how do we build a schema around a new word? It can be challenging.

    Typically, conversations follow a path like this: 

    A: What did you do on the weekend?
    B: I went shopping. I bought a shirt. 
    A: Cool. What kind? 
    B: A casual shirt. It’s quite thick. 
    A: Oh, that’s called an overshirt.
    B: I see. I went out to lunch as well. It was nice. 

    So we see three main schemas: 

    •  shopping -> shirt (overshirt) -> lunch

    The word "overshirt" is new. Rather than defining it and moving on, pause.

    A: What did you do on the weekend?
    B: I went shopping. I bought a shirt. 
    A: Cool. What kind? 
    B: A casual shirt. It’s quite thick. 
    A: Oh, that’s called an overshirt. Is that a new word?
    B: Yea.
    A: Okay, I don’t have an overshirt, but it's cold here. I'm thinking about getting a warm overshirt. Can you give me two sentences with the word?
    B: Yesterday I bought an overshirt. 
    A: Good. One more?
    B: um... I like overshirts. 

    In short, schema building means multiple connections. How is this still a discussion? 

    • Use authentic examples. Try to make them interesting. 
    • Help the student to express themselves using new language.  

    Conclusion: steps to an effective discussion

    1. Choose a good article.
    2. Student reads just the title. 
    3. Brainstorm related ideas to make the topics self-relevant and build expectations.
    4. Read the article critically.
    5. Identify new/useful language (vocabulary, phrases, grammar) and build schemas around it.
    6. Keep being authentic, discussing relevant topics, and keep the student talk-time high. 

    The TLDR version:

    • Brainstorm a topic before reading an article to trigger attention, expectation, and emotion.
    • Then, as you come across new language, build a web of connected ideas around it. 

    Non-TEF places for discussion posts: 

    Research and background: 

     

    Discussion lessons session 1
    Discussion lessons session 2