|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Browse > ELT > Products > CES > Cambridge World of English Magazine > Questions and Answers |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Questions and AnswersYour chance to ask the authors themselves for their thoughts on all those questions you have. Write in, and your question could be answered in the next issue of this Magazine. Elizabeth Mendiola, from Bilbao, Spain, writes:
Andrew and Diana: Very many thanks for your stimulating questions. Here are some answers - as best we can! Tests Yes, it is certainly OK to use the tests at the beginning of one level of the course as final evaluation tests for the previous level. That's precisely what they are meant for. After a summer break no doubt the students will have forgotten quite a bit, so you could go quickly through the Extension section of the next level as a way of easing them back into the school year. Some teachers have also used the Language Worksheets from the Teacher's Book as tests too. Evaluation Unfortunately we haven't any pre-prepared sheets for this, but we have given some thought to getting students' opinions in different ways. If you look at Levels 3 and 4 for example, you'll notice that we have changed the 'Evaluation' section in the Revision and Evaluation units, and the new format here may give you some ideas. If you want students to be able to express their ideas fully, you might consider asking them to write in the mother tongue. As far as topic areas are concerned, the list in the 'Write a letter to the authors' section at the end of the book might help. You could also add language learning topics such as 'grammar', 'vocabulary', 'writing', 'listening' etc. There are then a variety of things you could do. 1. A questionnaire For each topic, and allowing students to look back through their books, you could ask students to tick their answers on a scale and provide an open comment, In general, we've discovered that it's best to avoid a 5 point scale, as many people just mark the mid/neutral point. e.g.Theme B
Some other ideas which you could experiment with as you think appropriate to your situation (they have all been used successfully by teachers in a variety of contexts): 2. Word association Ask students to write down their ideas (in the mother tongue) as you slowly read out a list of topic/activities which they have done. They should write what comes into their heads. Give them time to think, and then go back to reading out the list again. After that they can compare with their neighbour before you collect the papers in. You could also talk to some students in a group about what they have written. 3. 'Put yourself in the circle' For how much they liked/felt involved in the classes you could do a 'put yourself in the circle' diagram. Students need to be given an example first which consists of a largish empty circle. Underneath is a unit number or a theme letter. There is then a smaller circle (which represents the student) somewhere in, on the line of, or outside the circle. The student's level of involvement is indicated by the position of the small circle in relation to the big circle (small circle in the middle of big circle = 100% involvement - outside the big circle = lack of involvement). The circles in themselves won't tell you a lot, but the next step would be to talk to just a few students in a small group to find out why they drew their circles in the way they did. 4. Self-evaluation of skills Students can be asked to produce a mind map for each skill. For example, in the middle of the 'map' is the word 'listening' with lines out to the north, south, east and west with empty circles at each point. In the north circles students write the things they feel they need a lot more practice in; in the south circles, the things they need some/a bit more practice in; in the west, things they are good at; and in the east, exercise types they have enjoyed. The results can then be confirmed in the next lesson by giving the students a list of different listening skills you have practised over the year, and asking them to grade themselves 1-6 (Excellent - Needs a lot more practice). One general piece of advice is, unless you are very confident of the result, not to make an evaluation discussion too public, as a few students' opinions tend to dominate, and the quieter ones never get to express their views. Written evaluations are better for this reason, but it is also often useful to talk to a small group of students about what they have written. Also, if the aim is to find out what students think, we wouldn't advise correcting what they have written - just read and think about it! Good luck, and we should be interested in seeing a copy of any questionnaire you do design. Perhaps it could be included in an issue of this Magazine? Best wishes, Andrew and Diana Other Cambridge
sites: ©
Cambridge University Press |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
