Техніка перевірки розуміння учнями лексичних та граматичних одиниць

Майстер-клас вчителя англійської мови Абашиної Н.С.

 Перевірка розуміння учнями ЛО та ГО актуальна тоді, коли учні засвоюють нові лексичні та граматичні одиниці. Існує багато методів перевірки, включаючи метод задавання понятійних питань. Такий метод дозволяє уникнути прямого питання:”Чи ви зрозуміли?”, на який вчитель може отримати позитивну відповідь, але не може бути повністю впевненим у позитивному результаті. Також цей метод дозволяє знайомити учнів з новими ЛО та ГО без перекладу на рідну мову, а використовуючи лише мову іноземну. Метод понятійних питань не є діяльністю як такою, а одною із складових перевірки рівня засвоєння матерілу та може використовуватись на різних етапах уроку.

Concept checking 

 How  can you know if students have understood the meaning of grammar or lexis during a lesson?

This presentation gives you some ideas on how to check it.

Concept checking is finding out if a learner has understood a new item. There are lots of ways to do this, including asking concept check questions (ccqs).

Concept checking is an important tool as it avoids asking the question, ‘Do you understand?’, which can be answered ‘yes’ without indicating true understanding.

                                                                                 Ways of concept checking:

• concept check questions,   
  
•  using realia,
• asking learners to repeat instructions,
• learners explaining meaning,
•  open-class questions
• time-lines (combined with ccqs)

 Concept check questions themselves are often difficult to construct since they involve clarifying function and meaning using simple language but not the target language itself.

 Some basic tips for good concept questions are:

• Make sure the questions are simple. Yes/no questions, either/or questions and simple ‘wh’ questions are particularly effective.
• Don’t use the new (target) grammar in your questions.
• It’s Ok to use the word (the target language), while teaching lexis.
• Don’t use unfamiliar vocabulary.
• Bring out basic concepts in your questions.
• Use as many questions as possible to check various aspects of the language.
• When formulating ccqs, think about TIME, DURATION, PEOPLE, RELATIONSHIPS, LOCATION, FEELINGS.

 A good example of conveying and checking the meaning:

Example sentence:

Dave must be at home.

( Concept: deduction, conveyed by the modal verb ‘must’).

Dave has got a Ferrari. Dave’s crazy about his car and drives it wherever he needs to go. He never goes anywhere on foot. Margaret is Dave’s best friend. One day Margaret is going past Dave’s house. She can see Dave’s car near the house.  What might she think?

“Dave must be at home”.

Checking the meaning:

-          Does she think he is at home? (Yes.)

-          Why does she think so? (The car is outside.)

-          What does she know about him? (He always uses his car and never goes anywhere on foot.)

-          Has she seen him? (No.)

-          Is she 100% sure? (No.)

-          Is she very, very sure? (Yes.)

 CONCEPT CHECK QUESTIONS ABOUT LEXIS
CCQS about lexis may focus on:

-          Size             Colour-          Weight-          Texture-          Smell-          Time-          Location-          Opposites

-          Similarities-          Examples-          Feelings-          Reactions-          Associations-          Use/functions

Examples:

                                                                                                             Conclusion

The value of concept questions should not be underestimated, but many teachers either forget to use them or find them difficult to construct. Teachers are often satisfied that the learners ’seem to understand’ on the basis of their performance in practice exercises.

A few important points to remember are:

• Concept questions are particularly valuable after the presentation and explanation of an item, and may be asked at any stage during a lesson.
• They are valuable after guided practice, particularly if the learners seem not to have grasped the target language fully, and at the end of a lesson, as a final check and review.
• Time lines and other devices are not substitutes for concept questions. They are aids to explanation, but do not necessarily check understanding. Concept questions, however, may be used to elicit a timeline from the learners.
• Concept questions are particularly valuable where a concept does not exist, or is different in the mother tongue (e.g. the perfect aspect, ways of expressing the future), and where a language item is culturally loaded as in the case of the word ’subway’ which has very different meanings in British and American English.
• Concept questions are also useful for raising awareness of association and connotation, and for drawing attention to collocations and fixed expressions.
• The teacher does not have to concept check every new item. In many cases, function and meaning are clear because the language has been presented in a meaningful context.
• When learners perform poorly in guided or less guided practice, it is often because they are not clear about the function or meaning of the target language. This may well be because the teacher has asked ‘do you understand?’ or ‘is that clear’ rather than good concept questions.