Paulina Liżewska, Paweł Kamiński

Viewpoints On Using the EPOSTL in ELT

Departments

no r.no maybe r.yes yesI can understand the requirements set in national and local curricula. - 2 10 18 11

I can evaluate and select meaningful speaking and interactional activities to encourage learners of differing abilities to participate.

- - 10 19 12

I can design and select different activities in order to practiseand develop different listening strategies (listening for gist, specific information etc.)

- - 6 20 15

I can apply appropriate ways of reading a text in class (e.g. aloud, silently, in groups etc.). - - 5 23 13

I can introduce, and help students to deal with, new or unknown items of grammar in a variety of ways (teacher presentation, awareness-raising, discovery etc.).

- 3 9 16 13

I can evaluate and select a variety of activities which help learners to learn vocabulary. - - 5 20 16

I can evaluate and select activities which enhance the learners’ intercultural awareness. - 6 13 18 4

no r.no maybe r.yes yesI can identify and evaluate a range of coursebooks/materials appropriate for the age, interests and the language level of the learners. 1 3 14 14 9

I can design learning materials and activities appropriate for my learners. - 1 7 19 14

I can plan specific learning objectives for individual lessons and/or for a period of teaching. - 2 9 22 8

I can structure lesson plans and/or plan for periods of teaching in a coherent and varied sequence of content. - 1 3 23 14

I can be flexible when working from a lesson plan and respond to learner interests as the lesson progresses. - 2 6 17 16

I can encourage learner participation whenever possible.- 2 14 13 12

no r.no maybe r.yes yesI can take on different roles according to the needs of the learners and requirements of the activity (resource person, mediator, supervisor etc.). 1 1 12 15 11

I can evaluate and select a variety of activities which help learners to identify and reflect on individual learning processes and learning styles. 1 4 12 18 6

I can evaluate and select tasks most suited to be carried out by learners at home. - - 10 21 10

I can evaluate and select valid assessment procedures (tests, portfolios, self-assessment etc.) appropriate to learning aims and objectives. - 6 17 14 4

Was this task easy?

• “There is nothing particularly difficult in answering

questionnaires.”

• “I am aware of my skills as a teacher, and I am able to

say what I can do and what I have to work on.”

• “The task itself was easy, but there might be some

things I don’t know or see in myself.”

Quotes

Was this task easy?

• “I have too little experience to evaluate myself

so specifically.”

• “Hard to say, as we are forced to do certain

activities by a teacher.”

• “I haven’t had enough teaching practice to

answer all these questions.”

Quotes

Conclusions

• Students have most problems with:– Assesing appropriate procedures (tests, portfolios etc.)– Personal approach towards pupils– Assesing appropriate materials

• Because they did not have related course yet

• Most students are either well prepared or self-confident

• They have no problem with more theoretical tasks, e.g. designing lesson plan, or other practiced in schools

Quotes

• “If you don’t like teaching, you will be a bad

teacher no matter how well you are trained.”

• “Inborn qualities are helpful, but there are many

rules to be learned.”

• “One can be trained as a teacher, know various

techniques, ways of teaching, but it is not

possible to acquire love for teaching.”

Do you think self-assesment should be implemented in your teacher training course?

Quotes

• “There is too much to read, prepare and learn, and

there’s not much time to think about teaching itself.”

• “Sometimes we have to look at our actions from a

different perspective.”

• “Problems are impossibly idealized and often have

nothing in common with real lessons, pupils and

problems.”

Conclusions

• Being self-reflective is not easy– Students might have had time to reflect, but they

might have not realized that– It is a process

• Nobody knows about EPOSTL or even a portfolio method of self-evaluation– Although it would be useful

Personal note

• We need to vanquish our vanity, try to be objective, look from different perspectives

• Self-reflection is a first step to become a better teacher

• There is a need to highlight reflection during teaching courses

Thank you for your attention!