Proud to be tvmbo - Kortlopend Onderwijsonderzoek

Time
Speak slowly to your students, use short sentences and, in the beginning, avoid idioms.
When you ask questions, give enough thinking time to the students, since they not
only have to process the topic but also the language to talk about the topic (Wragg &
Brown, 2001). Wait at least seven seconds after you ask a question before you ask for
an answer. Use the “no hands” rule: everyone has to think, no-one puts their hand up
and anyone might be called upon to give an answer.
Connect to real life
Activate learners’ prior knowledge about the topic and also remember to activate what
language they already know about it. Relate topics you are learning about to their real
lives: to video clips, to events in the news, to their families and friends.
Concrete materials
Use concrete materials in your lessons, for example physical models, flashcards and
drawings. Use object and do and create things with your students, rather than only talk
about them. These students learn best with a lot of visual and hands on support, such
as pictures and games. Use your own body and facial gestures a lot. Make your lessons
as visible as possible, using posters, notes, graphic organizers, and the board. Supply
learners with lots of different input: texts, video, spoken information from you. Use
frequent physical activity - movement and gesture; get your students moving!
Comprehensible input
Select a variety of materials related to your topics at an appropriate level: this means
being aware of the language level of your students. Look at the level of language it is,
for example by using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for
languages: for instance, if the learners in the first year at A1 or A2 level on the CEFR,
tasks and texts need to be at A1 or A2 level, or just above.
Reading and listening
If learners are listening or reading, give them a concrete task to help them to understand
the input. Use scaffolding (see glossary) and appropriate questions at a variety of
levels of complexity (Wragg & Brown, 2001). As well as discussing the subject, pay
attention to learning the language related to your topic. When reading or listening,
provide short tasks or games to help understanding. Invent active reading tasks, where
students engage with the text they are reading or listening to. Provide tasks initially for
general understanding and then for more specific understanding of more specific information.
Remember to recycle information with varied input – through texts and
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