Theme: Higher Education & Teacher Training and Development
Friday, November 6th (17:00 - 18:00)

Presentation  -  Handouts  -  Video

What is a large class? What is a heterogeneous class? What are the problems we encounter when we have to teach classes that are both large and heterogeneous?

In this talk I will begin by attempting to define what is meant by 'large' and 'heterogeneous', and then go on to list some of the main problems -but also the advantages!- that we encounter when trying to teach them. As with many educational problems, there are no easy solutions. We could, perhaps largely solve them by preparing different tasks to suit different groups within the class; or by preparing several texts at varying levels of difficulty, as suggested by some methodologists. But most of us have neither the time nor the money to invest in such elaborate preparation, let alone the time to check the results later.

In this talk, I shall be proposing and discussing a series of practical teaching principles, illustrated by practical procedures, that involve very little (or no) extra preparation, that can make our job teaching large heterogeneous classes easier, and that go some way towards bringing about more effective learning.

Penny Ur was educated at the universities of Oxford (MA), Cambridge (PGCE) and Reading (MATEFL). She emigrated to Israel in 1967, where she still lives today. She is married with four children and five grandchildren. Penny Ur has thirty years' experience as an English teacher in primary and secondary schools in Israel. She has recently retired from the headship of the M.Ed program in foreign-language teaching at Oranim Academic College of Education, but continues to teach M.A. courses at Oranim and Haifa University. She is interested in all aspects of language-teaching methodology, but in particular issues of fluency and accuracy in language teaching, language-learning activity design and the implications for teachers of the development of English as a lingua franca. She has published a number of articles, and was for ten years the editor of the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers series. Her books include Discussions that Work (1981), Five Minute Activities (co-authored with Andrew Wright) (1992), A Course in Language Teaching (1996), and Grammar Practice Activities (2nd Edition) (2009), all published by Cambridge University Press.

by Beverly J. Hearn (University of Tennessee at Martin)

Theme: Tried and Tested Classroom Techniques & Language Testing

Many English language learners approach dense and difficult text feeling defeated before they even begin. Even worse, they face this type of text when they must take exit exams which include a reading section. However, English Language Learners can be helped by learning techniques to increase their reading speed without sacrificing comprehension. If you have not yet addressed the speed component of language fluency in your classroom, this demonstration will give you some effective and motivational techniques.

Beverly J. Hearn, Ed.D., taught English as a Second Language in Jackson, Tennessee, and is a past president of Tennessee TESOL. At present she is Director of the Reading Center and Assistant Professor of Educational Studies at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Teaching Reading to ESL Dyslexic Students