DESCRIBING A COUNTRY: FACTS, OPINIONS, STEREOTYPES
Teacher: Irina Bučinska
Observer: Larisa Sardiko
Aim:
Thinking:
- to show the relativity of statements we make; to show the limitations of the applicability of any thing; to develop the idea of a POV;
Subject matter:
- to make pupils produce and evaluate statements describing Latvia: to distinguish facts, opinions and stereotypes
Materials: learner-generated sentences about Latvia
Abbreviations: T (teacher), P (pupils), S. (sentence), MT (mother tongue), POV – point of view, *vocabulary provided by the teacher, O (observer), TTF (thinking task framework)
Task 1
Procedures:
Step 1. Introduction
Pupils read the text at home. T. What was the text about? - - P1. similarities and differences. - P2. stereotypes
Step 2:
Make up one nice sentence about Latvia (2 min)
Teacher collected sentences: O. TTF: step 1 – T. it can be Step 1- in terms of collecting kid’s typical answers.
1. Russian Lyceum is the best school in Latvia.
2. Latvian neighbour is Russia – the biggest country in the world.
3. Latvia does not have good professional sportsmen.
4. Latvia is a little country with nice places to see.
5. Latvia is a special country with many parks and interesting places.
6. Latvia has many beautiful places.
7. The capital of Latvia is Riga.
8. In Latvia there are many forests and lakes.
9. Latvia is a very beautiful country.
10. Rich people go from Latvia to other countries.
Step 3. Pupils decide which sentences are stereotypes, facts or opinions.
S. 1. P. Stereotype.
T. Why is it a stereotype? – P. It is not true. We may (says the word in MT). T. It may be refuted*.
S. 3: P. ‘Little or big’ is an opinion (it is relative).
T. What is the difference between a stereotype and an opinion?
P.Some people like it – some – not. P2. Stereotype – many people’s opinion.
S8. P. It depends on the view we see.
S9. P. We don’t know are they tourists or immigrants. T. Not very clear. P: can be a fact, can be an opinion.
T. Summary:
T: we have come up with three things: facts, opinions, stereotypes.
T. Difference? – P1: stereotype is the opinion of many people.
T. And a fact? – P2: True. Can be proved.
Step 4
T. Work with opinions. Say why this is good AND bad.
(T’s comments after the lesson: I think it is TTF step 1 – kind of putting a challenge – because they wouldn’t think about bad/good sides of one and the same idea when they Express their opinion opinion)
1. Latvian neighbour is Russia – the biggest country in the world.
Good: Russia can help. Bad: to go on a holiday people will choose not Latvia but to Russia.
2. Latvia is a little country with nice places to see.
It is good because: tourists will come to Latvia???
Tourists have money for more taxes
If t. Stay in Latvia it will friendship.
T.What is bad about it?( about Latvia being a small country)
Strange feelings, uncomfortable
Does not have many buildings* for tourists
3. In Latvia there are many forests and lakes.
Good: fresh air, for fishermen, for swimming
Bad: T. Situations when it is bad: why? We don’t have many roads; we can get lost and sink* ; not many people; could be fire – ash/smoke*; a lot of water
T. Conclusions:
(Comments: O: TTF - Step 2? – T. No, it isn’t step 2 – step 2 is about generalisation of the task and building an algorithm, here we just made some preliminary very wage conclusions about POV, not organised, not systematised.)
P1. One thing can be both + and -. T. What does it depend? P. On the POV.
P2. Different people think differently.
T: it is pretty important for us to consider that one thing can be both good or bad./ (positive or negative.)
Grammar revision: Task 3. Which form is it?
Grammar: thinking aim: to make pupils identify grammar tense structures by their descriptions via ENV models for them to focus on the communicative function of the grammar form
T. Shows models and pupils have to name the forms: e.g.
Time: Past specified
Vision: part of the action
Doer: non-subject
Factuality: fact
Pupils have defined the form (V+ be+ing + 3f) e.g. was being done – even the one they did not study yet
Teacher Reflection
Task 1. T. wanted them to focus on what it would depend and continue to consider another POV. To break the inertia of thinking: to make them see things broader. This lesson was an introduction to the understanding of function. Her further intention is to make pupils see reasons behind (lead to this idea: people and function). Teacher leads to considering opposites. To make pupils see more sides.
Task 2. T. Wanted pupils to play with tense forms. Rationale: Forms are new combination of the known features. P.Should go not from the form but from the communicative function. Bank of forms (stage 2) – abstraction of forms. FUTURE CONNECTION: description + form, forms are combined depending on concrete communicative situation; formula should be filled with context.
O.: the lesson was very dynamic. The pupils – active, thinking, willing to contribute.
Comments
Q 1. What was the text they read at home about? Would it be possible to put it in the materials section?
Irina:
Dear Susan, thank you for the questions. This was a text from their course book. Yes, we can put it in the materials.
Q 2. Is this the first time this class has thought about POV or is it already familiar as an idea?
This idea is familiar to them, I started working with POV last year but not on a very systematic basis, this year I want to work more systematically.
Q 3. I'd love to know how these lessons continue. I don't quite understand how the grammar was done yet.
In fact by now (different from the time of the lesson in question) I have decided to work separately with grammar when we create and build different rules and writing as a separate area where we try to incorporate ideas, vocabulary and grammar
As for the continuation of the lesson in terms of writing it is a long-term ‘project’. So far (for already about 4 lesson) we have been working on how different people ( or whoever) interpret one and the same thing, like – e.g. ‘it’s raining’ – what are pluses/minuses of the situation, for whom ( from whose POV) this situation is positive and for whom negative. We worked on this for some time. Another example is ‘what a beautiful snake ‘ – you just take as a non-stereotypical view as possible to get the students out of their psychological and mental inertia.
Still further I took the text from Winnie-the Pooh where he talks to Eeyore, these two characters are so different and their POVs on the same situation are as much different. I plan to work on what means the author uses to demonstrate this difference, the most important will be the lexical means, and we are going to work for some time on that with the aim to be able to produce good pieces of writing by the students.
Another text I like and have started ( but not continued yet ) is an extract from Alice in Wonderland when Alice meets the Caterpillar, I think it also gives a lot of examples of different POVs about the same fact, like if ‘three inches’ is a good height or not
Q 4. What kinds of models of the forms did the teacher give the pupils?
Re- grammar part of the lesson.The students have a model for different verb forms, or as Alexander prefers ‘ verb structures’.
e.g.
Verb structure/parameters Time of the action Vision of the action Doer of the action
V1 General Whole ( complete) (Coincides with) the subject of the sentence
V2 Past whole (complete) (Coincides with) the subject of the sentence
Is V3 General Whole ( complete) Is not the subject of the sentence
All in all we now know the following verb structures
V1/s; V2; be+Ving ( present and past);
have/had + V3; be + V3 ( present and past);
Will V; conditional 1 and 2.
And what I do is that I combine different values and they have to guess the corresponding verb structure, I think this was what I did at the lesson.
e.g. Time of the action – past; vision of the action – whole (they introduced this value last year and we still use it, it’s about simple forms);
doer is not the subject of the sentence ( I am not sure that I use a correct term here) – they have to come up with the verb structure – it’s - ‘was/were +V3’
Next step will be additionally to the above to think of a their own situation/context for this verb structure.
Q 5. Were they taken from the text you talked about or the pupil sentences, which you're using as banks?
Speaking about the sentences we worked with, the students produced them spontaneously as brainstorming.
Thanks so much for your very full answer. There's plenty for me to think about and work on there. I especially like the sound of what you're doing with POV and I'll have to read what you explained about grammar more carefully still to see if I can apply something similar - maybe after Christmas. I'll almost certainly have more questions for you then - thanks again!