6-Methods for teaching.
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Humor:
Son: The going bit is fine, as is the coming home bit too, but I’m not too keen on the time.
Elicitation
Mr. / Girgis
Definition:
Elicitation is a kind of deduction of answers for some
questions that
are asked by the teacher to his learners.
The method of induction is not
praised. The teacher lets
the learner think and guess to share
participation with
others positively.
Eliciting
or (elicitation) is a technique which enables the
teacher to get
learners to provide information rather
than give it to them.
The
teacher applies the process of deduction .
Learners can deduct the
piece of information by
himself through guessing, thinking, imagination
and
creation,
Synonyms: searching, drawing out, discovering, realizing,
understanding. Eliciting is a technique used by the teacher
during the
lesson that involves the language learner in the
process of discovering
and understanding language.
Eliciting (elicitation) is term which describes a range of
techniques which enable the teacher to get learners to
provide information rather than giving it to them.
Commonly,
eliciting is used to ask learners to come up
with vocabulary and
language forms and rules, and to
brainstorm a topic at the start of a
skills lesson.
The definition of the term in the Dictionary of Language
Teaching and Applied Linguistics, ‘Techniques or
procedures which a
teacher uses to get learners to
actively produce speech or writing',
suggests that
there may be wider applications.
Eliciting
helps to develop a learner-centred classroom and
a stimulating
environment, while making learning
memorable by linking new and old
information.
Eliciting is not limited to language and global knowledge.
The teacher can elicit ideas, feelings, meaning,
situations,
associations and memories.
For the teacher, eliciting is a powerful
diagnostic tool,
providing key information about what the learners know
or don't know, and therefore a starting point for lesson
planning.
Eliciting also encourages teachers to be
flexible and to move on rather
than dwell on information
which is already known.
Uses:
1-The
teacher uses this method of teaching to enable his
learners to get the
vocabulary, guess its meaning ,
use it in a sentence, give a synonym to
it and function
it in his daily life.
2-The teacher uses it to brainstorm a topic at the start
of a skills lesson.
3- The teacher uses it to get learners to actively produce
speech or writing.
4-Eliciting is often used to pre-teach key vocabulary
(words that will
appear in the study and activate stages
of the lesson).
In doing this
stage interactively, with the teacher
and the learners collaborating and
negotiating
language (teacher draws out, learners discover,
and
together you arrive at understanding),
the learners will more likely
hold onto the meaning
of these words not only in the lesson, but beyond
it.
Its benefits:
Eliciting is based on several premises:
It activates the knowledge of the learners to be used
constructively.
It supports the background of knowledge the learner has.
It assists in self-discovery and makes information
memorable.
Eliciting helps to develop a learner-centered classroom
and a stimulating environment.
It helps the teacher to elicit ideas, feelings, meaning,
situations, associations and memories.
Eliciting also encourages teachers to be flexible and to
move on rather than dwell on information which is already
known.
Eliciting Lexis (Vocabulary):
Let’s say that there is a text about the common cold.
Let’s say you want to
present this reading to your
learners.
How can you prepare them to
wholly understand the
text?
By engaging them through eliciting, you can start talking
about health in general and then more personally and
specifically:
For example, the teacher elicits:
What kinds of health problems are common in most
people?
What kinds of common health problems do you suffer
from?
Types of questions and what to elicit:
Ask sensible questions.
Not multiple part questions.
Not trivial questions. But sufficiently challenging questions
that are possible to answer from either prior
knowledge
or the content of the lecture.
Allow plenty of time –
simply wait. Students need time,
on their own, to make notes and think.
Most new teachers
feel they have waited an age for students to answer
their
question when in reality they may wait only a second or
two.
Having the confidence to pause – perhaps for ten
seconds – allows
students to formulate an answer they
would be prepared to voice.
Ask a particular student, who cannot hide.
Allow students to discuss the question
in pairs or threes
– then ask the groups to report back. If students
are still
reluctant to speak in public, ask the pairs to write down an
answer and collect several to read out before commenting
on them.
This
can be particularly helpful for students whose native
language is not
English, who will have an opportunity to
share their ideas but may not
themselves have to be the
person who expresses them to the class as a
whole.
Offer alternative answers
and ask,
"Who thinks this is the best answer?
Raise your hands. And who
thinks this alternative
is the better answer?" This can be achieved
very
effectively, with high levels of student engagement,
using
technology. This is explored later in the chapter.
Responding to students' answers
There are a number of good techniques that can be used
to respond to students' answers during a lecture
(the video link in the 'Optional activity' on this screen
provides a very good example).
As far as possible
always try to be conversational, enthusiastic and
non-judgemental; try to pitch what you say to encourage
further answers
(e.g. "That's interesting:
I hadn't thought of that! What else?").
Dealing with 'wrong' answers
Never just say 'Wrong!" It humiliates the student
and
deters anyone else from offering answers in the future.
If an answer is wrong, try the following strategies:
Ask several people and elicit several
answers before
offering your own answer or comments, and then do
so in a general and depersonalized way. For example,
"So we have a range of views here. Let's look at these
answers and examine them", rather than
"John and
Felix are wrong and Raul is right."
Offer alternative answers of your own –
some more
plausible than others – so that everyone in the room
is
thinking about which the better answers are.
Look round the room and
alight on eager faces,
using open hand gestures to invite additional
comments
or alternative answers.
Tools for eliciting
Language and ideas cannot be elicited without some
input from the
teacher, and eliciting is certainly not an
excuse for not presenting
language in a clear context.
Students also need prompts, associations
and reminders
in order to jog their memories.
Examples:
Often, the teacher provides stimulus using visuals or
the board. When
working on the simple present for
daily routines, for example, a picture
or drawing of a
house and a clock combined with mime can be used
to
elicit both the names of household items and common
verbs:
T: Six o'clock. Where is she?
S: Bed
T: Yes, she's in bed, sleeping. Seven-thirty, every day?
S: Get up
T: Good, she gets up at seven-thirty. Eight o'clock,
every day?
S: Eat. Breakfast
T: Well done. Listen: She has breakfast at eight o'clock.
The teacher may also model new structures or lexis
before it is introduced as the target language:
T: Do you like oranges?
S: Yes (I do).
T: Do you like apples?
S: Yes I do
T: Do you like bananas?
S: No (I don't)
T: What's the question? Ask me.
A situational dialogue, example sentences or
a listening/reading text
may provide the context
from which the target language is elicited.
In a text or dialogue about the future:
T: Is he talking about the past, present or future?
S: Future
T: Does he know about the future?
S: No
T: Right. It's a prediction. What verb does he use?
S: Will
T: Good. Can you give me an example?
Effective ways to elicit:
Ask, “What is
another way to say ______?” For example:
What is another way to say
that you are very, very hungry?
(I'm starving)
Provide a simple definition. For example: It is something
that we drink hot coffee and tea out of. (a mug)
Act it out. For example: Wipe your brow and pretend to fall.
Then ask, “What did I do?” (I fainted)
Ask, “What is the opposite of ______?” For example:
What is the opposite of tall? (short)
Use a visual. For example: Shoe a
picture of two people
who look the same and ask, “What do we call two
people
who look the same?” (identical twins.
Tips for Eliciting:
Eliciting should be used regularly whenever it is
necessary and appropriate.
Silence or incorrect answers suggest that input is
required from the teacher.
Ask a variety of students to repeat a good answer.
Give feedback to each answer with gestures or short
comments.
Eliciting
differs from Socratic questioning in that
IT IS Designed to find out
what the learners know
rather than to lead them to a conclusion which
only
the teacher knows.
Learners can elicit from each other, during brainstorming
activities.
At lower levels, more guided questioning is needed.
The advantages of :
eliciting in the EFL classroom
Eliciting keeps the students alert.
Eliciting helps you realise if the students are listening and
understanding or not.
Eliciting helps you find out what they already know.
Elicitation can mean more student talking time (STT)/ cut
down on teacher talking time.
Eliciting helps students learn how to guess
They can learn/ be exposed to useful incidental language
during elicitation.
Elicitation can show them how to work things out for
themselves.
Disadvantages of eliciting in classroom
Eliciting can be time consuming
One student can dominate answering your elicitation
questions.
Elicitation can become automatic
Eliciting can be met by silence
The language of elicitation is not like normal communication
Eliciting can get boring/ repetitive
Eliciting can seem childish patronizing.
Eliciting can be culturally inappropriate
There is no point asking a question you already know
the answer to.
There is a chance the wrong thing will be more memorable
than the right one.
The positive feedback might mean that the right answer
doesn't stand out.
