Unit 3 - Activity 1: What will I teach - reflecting on assigned readings & the 7 lvls

Reflections on Unit 3:1 Readings:

Harmer, J. (2007). Describing Language. In How to teach English (pp. 59-80).

Razfar, A., & Rumenapp, J. C. (2013). Seven Levels of Linguistics. (p.8). Applying linguistics in the classroom: A sociocultural approach. New York: Routledge.

________

In short, Harmer described several challenging elements within the English language that include word meanings (context), grammar, speech patterns, word sequencing and groupings (lexical chunks), and language functions. The Razfar and Rumenapp staircase model is about the seven levels of linguistics and creates a visual progression from basic phonetic sounds to more challenging exercises like language ideologies.

As I reviewed the above materials, I kept trying to resolve how this knowledge might help me in my practical lesson planning and discussions with students (Malcom Knowles has already identified my need for practicality). For me, “focus” was the big take-away here. Most will agree grammar can be difficult. For this reason, Razfar and Rumenapp are right to recommend a starting focus on the smallest elements of language and then build progressively up from there.

When designing a lesson plan, we can act on the above wisdoms by focussing on those few critical words that are necessary for overall learner objectives. Once those few words are selected, the remainder of the lesson can build on these elements as shown in Razor and Rumenapps staircase or “scaffolding” model until a full language “structure” is built and students can use those words to communicate.

Once meaning and word appearance are reviewed in print, each word can be presented orally using tone, pitch, and syllable stress. As students become increasingly familiar with the few repeated words, they can each sound them out and eventually build to using them contextually within a sentence. If students seem comfortable after focusing on many repetitions with the key words, I would then expand to less concrete exercises and explore more abstract meanings via word synonyms and opposites. 

I'm ashamed to admit that I had to look up each of the 7 levels of linguistics. I couldn't say with confidence that I had anything more than superficial knowledge of each. I plan to focus in on this linguistic code over coming weeks/months so that I can hopefully follow Jennifer Chow's video advise and "exploit those teachable moments" whether this is to lend better feedback with pronunciation, have a detailed explanation for remediation, or simply being able to respond to student questions in future classes.