A- and E-Factors: Haiku Lesson

Ease

Definition

The teacher’s task: Simplicity, economy of preparing the materials. The more you rely on If you turn to Ss for content of lesson, the richer the lesson will be.

Haiku

Easy; little prep for the teacher. Ss did research on haikus, explained its history and form, wrote the poems. He had 123 haiku samples from Senegal. All he did was pick four. Though it did seem easy, it required a lot of lesson-conducting (watch time, group dynamics).

  • But remember that if it is complex in the planning (how long for this, what happens next), that it counts as effort, even when the lesson looks simple.
  • Also: applicability; can I recycle this lesson? If it takes two hours of planning the first time but 10 minutes prep later, that’s “easy” ultimately.

Economy

Definition

Lesson itself: is the scope brief and clear? (Small piece of grammar.) How much time does it take? How high are the cognitive demands (load) in relation to the duration of the class? Put most of your time into use (not presentation or practice).

Haiku

Chunked into small bits. Tied into another grammatical thread (phonetic writing). Tasks were timed.

Efficacy

Definition

Measurement & assessment in terms of goals and feedback. Getting info about how are students are doing. Tests are ineffective measurements but there are other ways to evaluate, e.g…

For adults learning grammar: need to evaluate attention (drawing Ss’ attention to formal and semantic features of the new grammar structure) which leads to understanding and memorability. (What can we do to intrigue people so they learn a specific, tangible grammar thing so it’s not just notes in a notebook.)

Haiku

Many objectives of this lesson, including reading and writing transcriptions of English (success easily gauged) and understanding form of haiku (ditto).

Appropriacy

Definition

Is it suitable for the students (age, level, number, setting, background…) and the context, and the class goals? Don’t be afraid of “appropriacy,” though. Be ready to shake them up and challenge them.

Haiku

No risk in terms of transcription, but there was a risk that we hated haikus. But he felt it was low risk because of who we are: we’ll do it in good faith. The first time he did this, the affective risk was greatest (and it was with people who had English as L2, and they weren’t students who were interested in this viewpoint; he took the chance because “if it works, what does that look like!” and if fails, what’s the worst that can happen. If you’re gonna break the norms (and write poetry), you have to be cautious, but don’t let that stop us. If there’s zero risk factor, if everything is safe, Ss may not grow as learners, even if you’re effectively presenting stuff.