Delta Module Two: meeting the teaching criteria | Section 7

your language
pitch to the level
give accurate models
give accurate and appropriate information
notice and exploit learners' output

The criteria explained

Being clear, being accurate, being relevant

The criteria under section 7 refer to language: what you say, how you say it and whether it is correct and appropriate. They are headed:
Understanding, knowledge and explanation of language and language skills
To meet these criteria, you need to demonstrate that you can use, analyse, model and explain the content of your lesson.

Successful candidates demonstrate that they can effectively:

use language which is accurate and appropriate for the teaching and learning context
adapt their own use of language to the level of the group and individuals in the group
give accurate and appropriate models of language form, meaning / use and pronunciation
give accurate and appropriate information about language form, meaning / use and pronunciation and / or language skills / subskills
notice and judiciously exploit learners’ language output to further language and skills / subskills development.

your language

What assessors sometimes say:
The candidate too often used language above the level of the group, increasing ambiguity and demotivating his students.
The candidate used inappropriate and over-simplified language which patronised and gave inaccurate models of sentence stress, avoiding natural contractions.

In your plan, you should have identified the language that is central to the lesson, whether it is a skills or a systems lesson. Make sure:

You can pronounce (and spell!) everything that might come up accurately and clearly.
You don't use a non-standard dialect for the environment in which you are teaching.
You use natural language and accurate grammar, even when you simplify.
Avoid pidgin English.

pitch to the level

What assessors sometimes say:
The candidate too often commented on what she was doing, almost as an aside, rather than getting on with the lesson. These asides were not understood or recognised as such by all the learners.
The candidate frequently gave instructions using language above the level of the class and was forced to rephrase and repair when they didn't understand him.

Even when you are nervous, as many are when they are observed, make sure that everything you say is understandable by everyone and relevant to the lesson. In particular:

Don't talk with your back to the learners.
Don't talk to yourself or give a running commentary on the lesson.
Don't use asides and mumbled comments.
Especially at lower levels, plan exactly what you are going to say:
- for key instructions
- to explain unknown lexis
- to check concepts
- to explain structure
- to explain sub-skills and how to use them

give accurate models

What assessors sometimes say:
The candidate's examples of the target structure were not always accurate in terms of the issues he wanted to highlight.
Models were inaccurate.
Three of the items on the handout task contained errors which confused and misled some learners.

This is partly a planning issue. Look at the content of the lesson and identify absolutely clear, unambiguous examples of the language or the skill. Do not rely on your ability to make things up as you go along.
In particular, at the planning stage, ask yourself:

Can this example stand up to scrutiny or is it exceptional in some way?
Does it really exemplify the target of the lesson?
Can it be clearly understood by my learners? If not, how can I simplify it?
Is this example relevant to my learners?
Have I carefully proofread everything the learners will see?

give accurate and appropriate information

What assessors sometimes say:
The candidate did not sufficiently focus the information she gave so learners were searching for what was centrally relevant.
The candidate presented the target language accurately but via a series of mini-lectures, some of the content of which was unnecessary at this level.
The candidate did not provide enough information concerning the meaning, stress, word class or pronunciation of the target lexis.
The candidate did not explicitly focus the learners on the skills they were asked to deploy.

You are required to analyse the language or skill you are going to teach in your lesson plan. There's a good reason for this: analysing in advance will give you the confidence that what you are telling people is accurate and what they need. You cannot teach all the forms and all the skill in one lesson so be selective and keep to what is relevant for these learners now.

In the plan, do not repeat your analysis from the Background Essay. Analyse the targets for this lesson.
Make sure that you are not telling learners something that's not correct.
Focus on meaning, form and pronunciation (where appropriate) in a systems lesson.
Focus explicitly on when, why and how to use the subskills in a skills lesson.
Strike a balance:
- Do not over inform. That will muddy the water.
- Do not under inform. That won't challenge or provide the data the learners need.
Use concept-checking questions that actually check the language as it is being used in this lesson and do not stray into over-informing.

notice and exploit

What assessors sometimes say:
The candidate did not adequately follow up on what her learners were saying.
The candidate ignored some learner errors in the target language and did not listen carefully enough to what was being produced.
Errors in the target language were still noticeable by the end of the lesson.
Some learners were not applying the skills to the text and the candidate did not intervene to set them on the right track.

Partly this is to do with simply listening carefully to what your learners say (see criterion 6d) and watching what your learners are doing. There's a bit more to it than that, however.

At the planning stage, think about:
- If (some) learners have clearly not fully understood, do I have a Plan B with more examples and a different explanation?
- If someone gets it wrong, how are they likely to make a mistake? Am I prepared to correct that?
- What do they absolutely need to get right at each stage before we can move on?
- How will I deal with problems of form?
- How will I deal with pronunciation problems?
- How will I deal with people who don't understand or employ the skill I want them to use?
In the lesson:
- Listen to your learners' pronunciation and act on what you hear.
- Monitor carefully and intervene when the target of your lesson is in question.
- Drill properly and listen to the output. Don't let drilling become a ritual. For some ideas on how to drill interestingly, see the section in this site.
- Watch carefully to make sure the learners are using the target skill(s). Intervene if they aren't.
- Take opportunities to extend your learners' abilities. Do not be satisfied with the half right.
- Whenever you can, incorporate the language your learners are using into the lesson. If a learner's example of something is just as good as the one you planned to give, use it.

For all of the above, it may repay your time to look at the guide to teacher-induced error so that you can make sure you are not guilty of creating rather than dealing with error.

You may also find the guide to scaffolding and the ZPD useful, especially in meeting criteria 7d and 7e. Scaffolding, you will discover there, is a good deal more than just helping and assisting. Using good scaffolding techniques is often the sign of Merit- or Distinction-level teaching.

The teaching criteria sections and preparing to teach:

Section 6	Section 7	Section 8	Section 9	Preparing to teach
relationships	language	procedures	management	visualising the lesson