Unit 26 · Selection and use of teaching aids

Teaching aids are the resources and equipment available to us in the classroom, as well as the resources we can bring into the classroom — from interactive whiteboards, computers, CD and DVD players and overhead projectors to visual aids, realia and the teacher himself/herself. We select and use them by thinking carefully about the main aims, the subsidiary aims and the stage aims of a lesson, and then choosing the most appropriate aids.

◆How do we select and use teaching aids?

Teaching aidsAids are the things that a teacher uses in a class, e.g. handouts, pictures, flashcards. When teachers plan lessons they think about what aids they will need to help learners understand things more easily. See visual aid. click to keep open · see glossary are the resourcesSee aids, reference materials, learning resources. click to keep open · see glossary and equipment available to us in the classroom, as well as the resources we can bring into the classroom. They include interactive whiteboards, computers, CD players, DVD players and overhead projectors (OHPs) (i.e. equipment with a light in it that can make images appear larger on a screen), visual aids (pictures that can help learners understand), realiaReal objects such as clothes, menus, timetables and leaflets that can be brought into the classroom for a range of purposes. For example, teachers might bring in different clothes to teach learners the words for those clothes (shirt, skirt, trousers etc.). click to keep open · see glossary and the teacher himself/herself! We select and use aids by thinking carefully about the main aims, the subsidiary aimsSee aim. click to keep open · see glossary and stage aimsSee aim. click to keep open · see glossary of a lesson, and then choosing the most appropriateLanguage which is suitable in a particular situation; e.g. it might be appropriate to say Hi in one situation but Good morning in another. See inappropriate, formal language, informal language, register. click to keep open · see glossary aids.

◆Key concepts — classroom equipment and its purposes

Look at the following list of classroom equipment. What other teaching purposes can you think of for each item?

All of these aids can be used for many different purposes. Some examples of these purposes are given here.

Board

• recording words and ideas that come up during the lesson
• drawing or displaying pictures
• building up ideas in diagrams, word maps / mind maps (diagrams showing vocabulary on the same topic), etc.
• for learners to write answers/ideas
• for whole-class compositions

DVD player

• information-gap activities (e.g. with one learner viewing and one just listening)
• viewing without sound and guessing the language
• pausing and predictingUsing your experience or knowledge to say what you think will happen in the future. Prediction is a technique or learning strategy learners can use to help with listening or reading. Learners think about the topic before they read or listen. They try to imagin… click to keep open · see glossary the language (i.e. saying what you think is coming next)
• with a camera, filming learners' performance

Overhead projector

• displaying results of group work
• building up information by putting one transparency on top of another
• covering up or gradually uncovering parts of the transparency
• displaying pictures and diagrams on photocopiable transparencies

Computer

• narrative building with a word processor
• supplementary materialsThe books and other materials which teachers can use in addition to a coursebook, e.g. pronunciation practice materials. click to keep open · see glossary for coursebooks
• online language tests
• using online dictionaries
• using CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs
• email exchanges
• online communication (chatting)
• online newspapers and magazines
• project work using the internet
• viewing and uploading material on the internet

CD player

• presenting new language in dialogues and stories
• giving models1. A clear example of the target language for learners to repeat or write down or save as a record. If a teacher is focusing on the target language of a lesson, he/she usually chooses a model sentence and writes it on the board. The teacher often models the la… click to keep open · see glossary for pronunciation practice
• recording learners' oral performance
• listening for pleasure

Language laboratory

• pronunciation practice
• extensive listening
• monitoring and giving feedback1. To tell someone how well they are doing. After a test, or at a certain point in the course, teachers might give learners feedback on how well they are doing. 2. Teachers also give feedback after an exercise that learners have just completed; e.g. after lear… click to keep open · see glossary to individual learners
• developing speaking skills

◆Key concepts — other teaching aids

Other aids are: realia, flashcards (cards with words, sounds, sentences or pictures on them, that the teacher shows the class) cue/prompt cards (cards small enough for the teacher to hold up one after another, or for students to use in pairwork with simple drawings or single words or phrases on them), puppets (models of people or animals that you can move by putting your hand inside them), charts (diagrams that show information), magazine pictures — and the teacher.

What different uses can you think of for these aids? Here are some of the most common uses:

Realia

Real objects that we can easily bring into the classroom can be used to teach vocabulary, as prompts for practising grammatical structures or for building dialogues and narratives, for games and quizzes. Realia also include real texts, such as menus, timetables, leaflets, etc.

Flashcards

Like realia, flashcards can be used for teaching individual words or as prompts for practising grammatical structures.

Puppets

Puppets are an excellent resource for teaching young learners. For example, we can introduce new language in dialogues between pairs of puppets (or between one puppet and the teacher). Children can also make their own simple puppets.

Charts

We can use posters and wallcharts (drawings or graphs that can be put on the wall of a classroom) to display larger, more detailed pictures, or a series of pictures telling a story or showing related objects in a lexical setA group of words and/or phrases which are about the same topic or subject; e.g. a lexical set on the topic of weather could be: storm, rain, wind, cloud. click to keep open · see glossary. A phonemic chartA poster with phonemic symbols click to keep open · see glossary shows the phonemic symbols and the positions in the mouth where the different sounds are made. The teacher can point at the symbols to prompt learners to correct their pronunciation. (See Unit 3 for an example of a phonemic chart.) We can also use charts to display diagrams, prepared drawings and tables of irregular verbs, or to build up a class dictionary.

The teacher

The teacher can use hand gestures, facial expressions and mimeTo tell a story or to communicate actions or emotions using only body movements; not using words. Teachers might use mime to show learners what a word means. click to keep open · see glossary (actions which express meaning without words) to elicitThis is a teaching technique. When a teacher thinks that some learners know a piece of language or other information, he/she asks targeted questions or gives clues to get or prompt them to give the target language or information rather than simply providing it… click to keep open · see glossary vocabulary items, clarify1. To make clear what you mean, e.g. to repeat something using clearer words or say something again in a clearer way. See ask for clarification. 2. Clarify language. When teachers focus on form, meaning and pronunciation in a lesson to help learners understand… click to keep open · see glossary meaning and create context1. The situation in which language is used or presented; e.g. a story about a holiday experience could be used as the context to present and practise past tenses. Photographs can help to provide a context for a magazine article. 2. The words or phrases before … click to keep open · see glossary. We can also build up a set of signals, such as in finger correctionSee correct. click to keep open · see glossary, which learners recognise as prompts to correct their own mistakes.

◆Key concepts and the language teaching classroom

It is a good idea to divide the board into different sections for different purposes, as in this example:

You can include records like this in your lesson plan for different stages of the lesson. Read these tips and tick the ones that are important for you.

• Think about the best ways to use different aids (e.g. using flashcards to give quick, clear prompts, or using the overhead projector to show corrections to the whole class or for students to use for presentations). Different aids have different advantages and disadvantages. Make sure you choose the best one for your specificInvolving one particular thing or one type of thing; e.g. teachers might talk about teaching a specific language point. This means that they are teaching one particular language point, e.g. If I were you, I’d … for giving advice. click to keep open · see glossary teaching purpose and context.
• Aids that you can prepare in advance, like charts, flashcards and transparencies for the overhead projector, will help you to make sure that proceduresWhat are the tasks and activities for each stage? click to keep open · see glossary outlined in lesson plans match your aims. Another advantage is that you can save such aids and re-use them in future lessons.
• Make sure that you check any equipment before the lesson. If you use computers or the language laboratory, advance preparation is essential. It is important to plan all your instructions very carefully, as well as the sequenceA sequence is a series of things which follow each other in a logical order. Learners can sequence pictures in a story, i.e. put them in order. click to keep open · see glossary of activities for using the aids.
• Learners may also make use of a self-access centreA place with learning resources such as books, computers, CDs and DVDs where learners can study by themselves. click to keep open · see glossary, a place with books, worksheets, computers and CDs, where they can study by themselves.

✎Follow-up activity

💡Reflect

🔍Discovery activities

✎TKT practice tasks

These multiple-choice tasks are exactly as in the book, but interactive: pick your answers, check your score, and retry anytime. The scoring uses the official answer key from the back of the book.

📖Glossary terms in this unit

Key terms highlighted in this unit — study them on the flashcards page.