[etni] Re: Oral Bagrut for 7th graders
- From: Lev Abramov <lev@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ETNI <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2005 19:15:02 +0200
**** If I had the chance to do it all over again. - www.etni.org ****
Marvellous! Just fantastic! We all know the feeling - and we can
definitely share your excitement.
Actually, with a little bit of institutional support, this could be the
best way to test the pupils' oral proficiency, instead of just
reshuffling the cuecards (no offence meant, Penny!). It could be
supplemented by a Job Interview, Buying a Ticket, Taking a Taxi,
Organizing a Party stations, etc.
But it cannot be done as a system if you have to rely on volunteers: one
day you'll find yourself understaffed - then what?! The school has to
make provision for an event like that - all the logistics, equipment, etc.
Honestly, I cannot picture too many school administrators thrilled with
the idea. It is time-consuming, requires good logistics skills - and it
boils down to lots of extra hours that should be paid for. Most
principals will just find it easier to say "no." In the final score, you
have to recruit 4 colleagues to do it - then you owe them 4 x 3 = 12
hours of your time when *they* need you to man (male?;-) a station while
their pupils take the test.
Actually, I could live with it IF the school administration made a
decision to reimburse me by letting me stay home for the last two weeks
of school and to keep paying me my regular salary. After all, there's
nothing for me to do: the pupils are too busy with their exams to be
bothered, and do not come to the lessons. All the administration wants
is to make sure I *do not* get paid if I do not punch the card. Come to
school; waste some time there; humbly ask to be relieved; go home; get
your pay. Is it an incentive to make me feel like walking an extra mile?
[sigh]
Lev
ask@xxxxxxxx wrote:
>**** If I had the chance to do it all over again. - www.etni.org ****
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Oral Bagrut for 7th graders??!
> From: "Avraham Roos" <avrahamroos@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi All,
>
> Would like to tell you about something quite exciting I did this week.
>I tested my 7th graders orally in quite an unusual way.
>
> I taught this year a Grade 7, hakbatsa bet. Most of these pupils were
>not able to say one word in English when they came to my class. Even
>the ones that could, were too shy to open their mouths. I have been
>working very hard with them on the skill of conversation and gave them
>a final oral test last Monday.
>
> Each pupil had to pass 4 stations, manned (femaled?) by external
>testing volunteers (all experienced teachers). The four stations were:
>Personal Interview, At the Shop, On the Phone and Giving Directions. I
>transformed the diningroom of our school into an English village with
>phone booth, shop and all.
>
> 15 minutes before the start of their test, pupils were given a specific
>task to fulfil at each station. Taking the level of these pupils into
>account, the tasks were written in Hebrew but pupils only spoke English
>in order to do the task.
>
> An example of a task:
> Your teacher told you that you need to read English books in order to
>improve your English. Try to find a book that has to do with magic
>because that is what you like. You can spend 25 dollar. Try to pay by
>VISA. If that does not work, pay cash.
>
>
> At that point they were no longer allowed to look at any of the
>materials we studied, it was just to make up their minds and make sure
>they were tested on oral skills and not how well they handled stress.
>The testers received exact instructions as to how to react in each
>situation.
>
> An example of tester instructions for the above mentioned task:
> Offer one unsuitable item (e.g. a toy). Then, show the different books.
>Keep the Harry Potter book under the table until the pupil asks
>specifically for a magic book. The book should be priced 23 dollar.
>Your VISA machine is not working properly so there is no possibility to
>pay by VISA. The pupil will pay 30 dollars. Give 5 dollar change
>(instead of 7)! See if the pupil reacts. Argue a bit, don't make it too
>easy but in the end, give the correct change.
>
>
>The testers received carefully designed rubrics in order to assess the
>pupils.
>
> The test was a fantastic success. Our English Inspector, Marsha came
>and many school teachers hopped by to have a look at the scene. Pupils
>felt elated at having been able to finish the tasks and most scored
>over 70. It was heart-warming to see the appreciation of the pupils who
>thanked me for all the effort (a LOT) I put into this test AND for
>teaching them 'finally something worthwhile that we can use in real
>life' (quote of pupil).
>
> No matter how low the status of teacher will ever sink, as long as I
>can experience even only once in a while, that glowing feeling of
>warmth I felt when pupils showed gratitude for what I did for them, I
>am staying!
>
> Avraham Roos
> _________________________________
> You can contact me on ICQ #22351330
> or MSN avaway@xxxxxxxxxxx
> or Skype: avrahamroos
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
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>
>
>
>
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