Critical Thinking in Jordan

Check out this article by Reem Al Masri, published originally in Jordan Business, October 2009.
Critical Thinking from Jordan Business

Guessing Cards for Action Pack 10

Here are 8 guessing cards that you can print (PDF)

or use as models for making your own. What are guessing cards? Well, each card has a topic on the top. These topics happen to come from Action Pack 10. One student is the DESCRIBER and the others (say, 3 or 4 to a group) are the GUESSERS. The Describer reads the topic aloud. Then he/she begins to describe the first of the 5 words on the card until group mates guess them.

Then another student in the group picks up a card and does the same. This will reinforce the vocabulary of Action Pack, but more importantly students have a chance to speak and have fun doing so. And they have a chance to really succeed.

Think about it. Usually teachers judge students successes on correctness. Did the student get the right answer? Did the student speak correctly or make mistakes? This is a little unfair, since in communications between native speakers information is what’s important, not correctness.

In this game, if a student describes the 5 items on the card, that’s 5 successes! He or she has communicated a message 5 times! And it doesn’t even matter if the language used was correct/grammatical.

You’ll also see that the 5 words have their Arabic equivalents. Remember, the goal of the game is describing, using language. So if someone in the group is not yet familiar with one of the words, that’s okay. The Arabic translation insures that the meaning of the word is clear and that the game will continue.

The cards available here are just a model. If you would like to create more and put them on this website, please do.

What’s the best way to prepare for the TAWJIHI English section?

Making Room in the Syllabus

Many teachers tell me that they have to cover their textbook (whether Action Pack or Jordan Opportunities) so thoroughly and rigorously that there is no time for anything else. Students want to know all the words on every page. I’m not sure that makes students learn better, or score higher on tests. Can we assign students some responsibility in learning? Like, for instance, tell them to read/learn a page of textbook at home? Take the poll below. Then post your comments on how teachers can make more room in the syllabus.

In the Future

This chant/song should help students remember that “in” is used to mark the future (not “after” as usually translated from Arabic). For instance, “See you in a half hour.”

In in in in
In the future, in the future
I’ll be there in a minute
I’ll be there in an hour
I’ll be there in a week
I’ll be there in a year
In in in in
In the future, in the future
A minute from now – in the future
An hour from now – in the future
A week from now – in the future
A year from now – in the future
In in in in
In the future, in the future
This song will end
In a second, in a second.

To download, right click here.

A Letter to a Friend

Directions:
Work in pairs if you like. Write a letter to an imaginary friend from America. The friend wants to see Petra (who doesn’t?), but is not sure if he/she wants to travel all the way to Jordan. Your job is to convince your friend that Petra is one of the world’s most important destinations. You can draw pictures or add photos to the letter if you like.

This same idea came in a January 2009 TAWJIHI exam, under Critical Thinking. The above classroom activity just adds more elements to make the process more fun for students: the option to work in pairs, to draw or add photos, to write a personal letter.

Practice for the TAWJIHI can be creative and offer multiple skills.

Let’s Make a Pizza

You can use this to supplement Action Pack 10, Unit 1, page 10. Or you could use it with other food-related units. Play the audio and see if students can write down all 11 different toppings.

To download right click here.

A Bilingual Chant

Teachers in my training course in Aqaba (November 18, 2008) came up with a bilingual chant. This one offers words in Arabic and English for “pen,” “blackboard,” “paper” and “chair.” Why not have students create similar chants?

To download right click here.

A Chant in Arabic

Chants really work. Not just for younger learners either. I had Jordanian English teachers make me chants so that I could learn some Arabic. This chant offers funtional langauge–common and useful phrases.

To download the audio, right click here.

“I’m from Jordan – He’s from Jordanian” Chant

This 18-second chant will give you a pattern for practicing country names, and the adjectives for that country. Students can make lists of more countries and continue the chant. Try it as a listening task first, and ask students to identify the countries or places mentioned. (The last one is a little silly). Countries and nationalities appear in Action Pack 4.

I’m from Jordan – He’s Jordanian
I’m from Ukraine – She’s Ukrainian
I’m from America – He’s American
I’m from Iraq – He’s Iraqi
I’m from Japan – He’s Japanese
I’m from Syria – He’s Syrian
I’m from Antarctica – He’s a penguin

To download the audio right click here.