Three Activities for Socially Responsible Teaching

Arda Arikan

Arda ARIKAN, PhD, is a graduate of Hacettepe University, Faculty of Letters, Department of American Culture and Literature. Having completed his MA courses at this department he completed his PhD at Pennsylvania State University, the College of Education, Language and Literacy Education, Bilingual Education option area. His research interests are materials development, cultural studies, teacher development, and literature teaching. He teaches at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
E-mail: ari@hacettepe.edu.tr or info@ardaarikan.com
Website: http://www.ardaarikan.com

Menu

Introduction
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Twenty years ago, as Galyean (1976) noted, language educators were 'beginning to realize the need for merging affective-cognitive learning endeavors in the classroom. Language is seen as a vehicle for self-learning and expression and the language class is viewed as an appropriate environment wherein self-reflection can lead to meaningful interpersonal sharing. Confluent language programs allow for personal and interpersonal awareness, communication and growth while working to achieve target language proficiency.'

Today, the need for such a positive and engaging learning atmosphere is needed more than ever simply because of the fact that we are living in a world of extreme tension amongst its various people and destruction of what we see and feel around us.

In this short paper, I will outline and describe the three activities I use in my English language teaching classes in Turkey both to teach or practice grammar as well as to raise awareness on important problems we face in the world in which we live. What follows are the three issues and activities related to them that can be used in all ELT (and even non ELT) classrooms.

Activities

Activity 1

Issue: Environment and Pollution
Level: Intermediate
Time: 1 class hour
Linguistic Objectives: Practicing the simple present, present progressive and present perfect progressive tenses, and using vocabulary related to health and illnesses.
Pedagogical Objectives: The main objective of this activity is to make the learners aware of the environmental problems and their effects on the people.
Skills: Writing and Speaking
Techniques: Role Play
Materials: Photographs showing pollution (see the example given at the end of this paper) and role cards.
Process: Students are given role cards and are asked to act according to what is written on these cards.

Role Card A: You are new to this city and you have noticed that the city is suffering from pollution. Ask questions to learn about the causes of the pollution, how it affects the health of the citizens, and what kinds of problems your newly met friend is having because of it. First, write down some questions to ask and study them but don't look at them as you speak with your partner.

Role Card B: You have been living in this city since you were born and the city is suffering from pollution which affects your health seriously. As you talk to your partner cough, sneeze, and appear to be tired while explaining to him or her the health problems you have in relation to the pollution and its causes. First, write down some sentences to use when you start answering your partner's questions and study them, but don't look at them as you speak with your partner.

Activity 2

Issue: Global and Local Issues
Level: Elementary
Time: 1 class hour
Linguistic Objectives: For those learners who have just learned some of the verbs and nouns in English, this activity will help practicing verbs in base forms and some plural nouns by using them in simple sentences.
Pedagogical Objectives: The main objective of this activity is to make the learners aware of any problem they see in the world. Also, helping students to learn more about how to use a dictionary can be an objective if necessary.
Skills: Writing and Speaking
Techniques: Poster preparing and using dictionaries.
Materials: Cardboard, colored pencils, picture cut-offs from various magazines, and dictionaries.
Process: Show two posters to the students and mount them onto the board or on a wall. One poster should have a picture on it around which a sentence is written in form of 'Stop/ Help + Noun' such as 'Stop Wars!' or 'Help Animals!' Then, ask the students to get in pairs or groups and prepare similar posters. Help students to find adequate pictures and prepare correct sentences by getting help from their dictionaries. Having completed the activity, hang all of the posters into the classroom and celebrate the effort.

Activity 3

Issue: Helping disadvantaged regions during disasters.
Level: Pre-Intermediate through Advanced
Time: 1 class hour
Linguistic Objectives: This activity will provide a valuable chance to make use of the modals, passives, and/ or subjunctives or any complex structures.
Pedagogical Objectives: The main objective of this activity is to create awareness towards the problems they see as of utmost importance.
Skills: Speaking and Writing.
Techniques: Brain storming, clustering, free writing, and pamphlet writing.
Materials: Students may be shown pictures of regional disasters and related associations or groups who help us in difficult times, such as the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, the United Nations, etc., to focus their attention on regional disasters in the world and how help is given when needed.
Process: Ask students to brainstorm to list some regional problems we have faced. Start, if you like, by writing 'earthquake' or 'explosion, flood, tsunami, fire, forest fires, terrorist attacks, etc.' Then, ask them to list some civil organizations which provide help in such events. At last, ask them to write pamphlets to inform the citizens who to call when such problems occur in their region. Sample sentences may include (as in the case of practicing 'the models'):
When a forest fire starts, you should call XXX (the local phone number). Also, you may try to inform the police department by calling them at XXX (the local phone number). You mustn't get too close to the fire.

Conclusion

As teachers of English, we can and do certainly teach grammar while doing something informative and meaningful. The activities designed and proposed in this short article can help ELT teachers to contextualize and develop similar activities to be used in our ELT classrooms.

References

Galyean, B. (1977). Confluent Education: A Human Approach to Language Teaching. ERIC ID: ED142048. Retrieved on July 12, 2006 from http://eric.ed.gov/

Sample Photograph

Please check the Secondary Teaching course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the What's New in Language Teaching course at Pilgrims website.