My curiosity is piqued: What is the Michaelsen Answer Finder? Virginia On Wed, October 15, 2008 10:57 am, Sibley, Jim wrote: > Hi > > Rod, > > I Like the my time/our time/your time split > > Last fall I did a workshop in Korea were the discussions and reporting > were in Korean....and when it was all over the strongest Korean English > speaker would fill us in on what was said.....didn't feel optimal for me > but might have been optimal for them > > Christine > > > 1) Remind them of the course title and make everyone responsible for > making others to speak English in the private conversations.....make it > a course task > > 2) Lean into the groups more often before reporting and ask for a recap > (in English of course) making sure that different people participate > > 3) During full class report use something like Michaelsen Answer > Finder...so when my group is called to report...we don't know who will > have to talk....it might keep the stronger English speakers from hogging > the floor...."talking chips" would be another approach > > Jim > > > ________________________________ > > From: Team Learning Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > On Behalf Of Rod Lange > Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 7:07 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: getting students to discuss in ENGLISH! > > > Hi Christine, > > I understand your situation. Although I do not use TBL in my classes, I > have the same problems getting students to talk in English. You mention > the students do not have the knowledge to diagnose medical topics. Is it > possible to have them diagnose why they do not discuss the topics in > English? They could come up with reasons, then they could look at some > ways to address the obstacles they face. This would allow you to have a > clearer idea of why they do not work together in English. It would also > give you a way to introduce diagnostic skills that they could use later > on medical topics. > > After you have gathered the information, you could then use the same > process you used to have them negotiate their grade weights to negotiate > the terms for using English in class. For example, if from their > diagnosis a number of students have problems comfortably presenting and > defending opinions in English, you could contract with them to give them > some ways to overcome this weakness. You could also have them set the > results of using or not using English. This way, you are not rewarding > or punishing them, they are setting the guidelines. They could use peer > or group assessment each class or each week to measure their English > usage in class. > > One other thing I have also done is specifically identify three times in > class: my time (teacher time), your time, and our time. During 'my time' > students need to listen. During 'your time' students can use whatever > language they want and talk about whatever they want. 'Our time' is our > shared time to use and improve our English skills. Maybe you could adapt > this to give them some 'your time' to form and discuss their opinions in > Japanese in their group. They could then work with another group in > English. This would be an 'our time' activity. > > I hope these ideas are useful. > > Take care, > > Rod > > __________________________ > Rod Lange, Instructor > Tokyo Denki University > Department of English Language > School of Engineering > E-mail W: [log in to unmask] > E-mail H: [log in to unmask] > > > > > > > > On Oct 15, 2008, at 10:01 AM, Christine Kuramoto wrote: > > > Hi All, > > I've made it through the preliminary TBL orientation and grade > weight setting. Now my problem is how to get them to discuss in > English. My class is "Scientific English" for pre-clinical medical > students (116 in 19 teams) and the students are learning a lot of > terminology, so I'm trying to give them tasks that get them discussing > and using their new words. The problem is that they tend to just > discuss in Japanese and then use English only when I call on the groups > to report the reasons for choices. > > I'm stuck. I can't thing of any POSITIVE way to get them > discussing in English. I have to stand over them watching and > reminding and can only think of NEGATIVE ways (i.e. pay a penalty for > every time you speak Japanese--I'd be rich! ;-) ). My next class is > tomorrow and I'm wracking my brains for some sort of solution to my > dilemma. > > Any and all suggestions welcome! > > Regards, > Christine > > PS at the moment I'm basing the tasks on ethics case studies > since the students don't have the knowledge to diagnose, but do have > opinions about what is best in ethical cases. I'm using the "no right > answer," but choose the "best answer" according to your group > discussions-- consensus is the key. > > -- > ******* > Christine Kuramoto, Assistant Professor: Medical English > Kyushu University, Department of Medical Education > Faculty of Medical Sciences > 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582 Japan > Phone: (+81)92-642-6186 Fax: (+81)92-642-6188 > E-mail: [log in to unmask] > > >