Overt Instruction Audit
From observing the unit plan, no specific learning outcomes can be seen. Though there is mention of learning outcomes they are only mentioned in general: comprehending and composing. Overt instruction requires identifying students’ specific learning needs. It is not clear as to what the students should have learnt by the end of the semester. This needs to be clearly set out for student learning. An example might be: students will have learnt how to give and understand directions. Linguistic outcomes may be learning indirect and direct pronouns (mir, dir, ihnen, dich, mich etc.); accusative and dative case uses and so forth.
Despite this, there are numerous examples of overt instruction in the unit plan. In the beginning, explicit instruction of phrasing, direction, case and vocabulary is seen with the lesson: “Wo faehrt die Berliner U-Bahn?”. Teaching cases is an example of metalanguage throughout the unit. New vocabulary is also explicitly taught in learning about der Rhein. Powerpoint slides are used as a supplement to overt teaching. To reinforce imperative and simple future grammatical forms, the unit plan involves an interactive website ‘Linguascope’ on the lesson topic ‘Wie kommt Sabine zu ihrem Freund.” This is a great supplement to overt teaching.
One of the challenges with overt teaching is keeping lessons student-centred and using experience. The unit plan manages that in a variety of ways such as designing a futuristic vehicle made of renewable resources. The ‘Linguascope’ is another way of keeping the lessons students focused. An improvement could be made with teaching grammar and cases. Vocabulary is usually explicitly explained as is grammar without student input. When introducing new vocabulary about sea and river transportation, rather than writing the words on the board, the teacher could have pictures and vocabulary words in German for students to match themselves and learn through hands-on experience.
Situated Practice Audit
Situated practice makes students the providers of knowledge. The unit plan could benefit from having students contribute. From the podcast: Autofahren im Winter: Eiskalt Entschleunigen, students simply translate an audio passage and write a Christmas travel plan to the Gold Coast. Students are not actively contributing. The teacher could ask students whether they have travelled on an icy road before or how they would imagine it to be like. Many students have probably travelled to the Gold Coast before. To ensure situated practice, the teacher could ask students about their experiences to the Gold Coast and what places and activities they recommend. The unit plan does make some use of situated practice through role plays and real life experience however. This is evident in conversational dialogues and using interactive websites to put students in real life situations. This could be further demonstrated however. In lesson 6 regarding directions and destinations, the teacher could have students direct other students in German around the room. This provides a real-life situation, encourages an immersion classroom and students heavily input information. For the assessment item, students could possibly evaluate other students and tell the class what was good and bad about the presentation.
Finally, for students to excel in language learning, immersion should be encouraged. The unit plan has a plethora of opportunities for students to practice their learning however for enhanced learning, so instruction should be in German as much as possible. Rather than saying everything in English, slow German instruction with visual aids can help ESL students and the Asperger’s student overcome the difficulty of learning a foreign language.
These suggestions will help literacy teaching by encouraging more student input and clearer learning objectives.
From observing the unit plan, no specific learning outcomes can be seen. Though there is mention of learning outcomes they are only mentioned in general: comprehending and composing. Overt instruction requires identifying students’ specific learning needs. It is not clear as to what the students should have learnt by the end of the semester. This needs to be clearly set out for student learning. An example might be: students will have learnt how to give and understand directions. Linguistic outcomes may be learning indirect and direct pronouns (mir, dir, ihnen, dich, mich etc.); accusative and dative case uses and so forth.
Despite this, there are numerous examples of overt instruction in the unit plan. In the beginning, explicit instruction of phrasing, direction, case and vocabulary is seen with the lesson: “Wo faehrt die Berliner U-Bahn?”. Teaching cases is an example of metalanguage throughout the unit. New vocabulary is also explicitly taught in learning about der Rhein. Powerpoint slides are used as a supplement to overt teaching. To reinforce imperative and simple future grammatical forms, the unit plan involves an interactive website ‘Linguascope’ on the lesson topic ‘Wie kommt Sabine zu ihrem Freund.” This is a great supplement to overt teaching.
One of the challenges with overt teaching is keeping lessons student-centred and using experience. The unit plan manages that in a variety of ways such as designing a futuristic vehicle made of renewable resources. The ‘Linguascope’ is another way of keeping the lessons students focused. An improvement could be made with teaching grammar and cases. Vocabulary is usually explicitly explained as is grammar without student input. When introducing new vocabulary about sea and river transportation, rather than writing the words on the board, the teacher could have pictures and vocabulary words in German for students to match themselves and learn through hands-on experience.
Situated Practice Audit
Situated practice makes students the providers of knowledge. The unit plan could benefit from having students contribute. From the podcast: Autofahren im Winter: Eiskalt Entschleunigen, students simply translate an audio passage and write a Christmas travel plan to the Gold Coast. Students are not actively contributing. The teacher could ask students whether they have travelled on an icy road before or how they would imagine it to be like. Many students have probably travelled to the Gold Coast before. To ensure situated practice, the teacher could ask students about their experiences to the Gold Coast and what places and activities they recommend. The unit plan does make some use of situated practice through role plays and real life experience however. This is evident in conversational dialogues and using interactive websites to put students in real life situations. This could be further demonstrated however. In lesson 6 regarding directions and destinations, the teacher could have students direct other students in German around the room. This provides a real-life situation, encourages an immersion classroom and students heavily input information. For the assessment item, students could possibly evaluate other students and tell the class what was good and bad about the presentation.
Finally, for students to excel in language learning, immersion should be encouraged. The unit plan has a plethora of opportunities for students to practice their learning however for enhanced learning, so instruction should be in German as much as possible. Rather than saying everything in English, slow German instruction with visual aids can help ESL students and the Asperger’s student overcome the difficulty of learning a foreign language.
These suggestions will help literacy teaching by encouraging more student input and clearer learning objectives.