Every cloud has a….phrasal verb: Experimenting with wordles 46th Annual International IATEFL Conference and Exhibition Glasgow, 19 – 23 March 2012 Anne Rocchiccioli Centro Linguistico di Ateneo Università degli Studi di Siena

Focus The learning context A brief introduction to ‘Wordle’ Phrasal verb wordles in the F2F classroom and online in Moodle Other uses of wordles Learners’ response and feedback Reflections and suggestions

Scenario CLA Siena - Weblingua, blended language courses 2 blended courses, 35 students per class Learners: postgraduate students at B1 level Course objective: prepare students for compulsory B2 level English examination Reading and Use of English B1 and B2 refer to the CEFR - Common European Framework of Reference

Blended course structure 2 F2F lessons per week for 11 weeks (44 hours) 10 topic-based lessons online with tutor in Moodle Grammar, vocabulary and listening resources and quizzes, reading and Use of English practice collaborative forum and wiki activites - word formation, transformations, phrasal verbs 3-4 hours per week online + programmed self-study (coursebook)

Why wordles? To try to take the stress out of Use of English.

Which part of the exam are you more anxious about? Reading Use of English Both 19.5% 69.5% 11%

A word to describe your feelings towards phrasal verbs….

Wordles and learning styles Strong visual impact in F2F lesson Springboard for class discussion Group / pair activities in F2F lesson Self-study online Collaborative and learner-centred online activities

What is ‘Wordle’? ‘Wordle is a toy for generating ‘word clouds’ from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.’ http://www.wordle.net

http://www.wordle.net/

Tapescript taken from BBC Learning English - 6 Minute English http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2009/10/091022_6min_quiet_london.shtml

Unwanted items?

Removing unwanted items

New version generated automatically

Choosing the colour scheme

Selecting the font

Choosing the layout

Removing common words

Useful links http://www.wordle.net/ http://www.wordle.net/faq http://web20edu.com/2011/03/25/save-a-wordle-for-use-in-the-classroom/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL5D9nz5aI

Creating wordles for specific purposes: phrasal verbs by preposition

Phrasal verbs by verb

Phrasal verbs by topic

Phrasal verbs with different meanings

Phrasal verb wordles in the F2F classroom Visual presentation of new phrasal verbs Springboard for brainstorming, discussion and pair/group activities Quick review at start or end of a lesson A way of fostering ‘noticing’ and awareness

Visual presentation and discussion Phrasal verbs with ‘off’: separation /departure

Matching activity in pairs/groups

Reporting back and discussion go to the station/airport to say goodbye to sb postpone stop giving your attention go away see sb off put off switch off clear off

go to the station/airport to say goodbye to sb postpone stop giving your attention go away see sb off put off switch off clear off

Matching activity in pairs/groups

Reporting back and discussion see sb off put off switch off clear off at the station the meeting till Friday during the lecture and leave me alone

Group activity: invent sentences

Visual presentation and discussion Phrasal verbs with ‘on’ (idea of continuation)

Matching activity in pairs/groups

Matching activity in pairs/groups

Going beyond the classroom

Volunteer group member posts sentences in the Moodle wiki

Students collaborate on the wiki

Tutor offers feedback and sets up peer correction activity

Tutor gives final feedback

Wordles online: wikis for collaborative knowledge construction

Group collaborates on matching activity 1

Group collaborates on matching activity 2

Students create and share their own examples online

Wordles become more learner-centred Objective: students create their own wordle-based phrasal verb activity for future use online. Step 1 Teacher sets up the blank structure in a wiki (tables and activity instructions) but no content. Student 1 creates a wordle with 6 phrasal verbs of his/her choice.

Student 1 creates a wordle

Wordle is uploaded into wiki structure

Step 2 Class works online to complete wiki table of phrasal verb + meaning using online dictionary. Student 2 creates wordle for phrasal verb + meaning.

Students complete part 1 of the activity

Student 2 creates the second wordle: phrasal verb + meaning

Step 3 Students collaborate on part 2 of the activity by inventing sentences and inserting them in table 2 online. Student 3 creates final wordle with the 2 parts of the sentences for future matching activity.

Students complete part 2 of the activity: insert the sentences in the 2 columns

Student 3 creates the final wordle

Final product: wiki activity created using students’ wordles and content

Worksheet version to be uploaded in Moodle

Wiki activity created using students’ wordles and content

Worksheet version to be uploaded in Moodle

Phrasal verbs beyond the classroom wordle presentations online collaborative activities in Moodle wiki explanations and interactive quizzes online online glossary created by students phrasal verb reference resources online phrasal verb section in vocabulary notebook wordle worksheets downloadable from Moodle textbook practice

Phrasal verb resources and activities online

But not every cloud has …. …a phrasal verb

Other uses of wordles for Use of English Word formation Adjectives + preposition Common collocations Prepositional phrases Connectors Identifying key word transformations

Group/pair matching activity + discussion

Group/pair matching activity + discussion

Group/pair activity + discussion

Collocation: university

Group/pair matching activity + discussion

Group/pair matching activity + discussion

Group/pair matching activity + discussion

Prepositional phrases: spot the odd one out

Connectors: Presentation and class discussion

Recognizing structures for key word transformations

Student response and feedback Student progress in Use of English Questionnaire results Student feedback

End of course phrasal verb test Part 1 – choose the correct phrasal verb (multiple choice) Part 2 – insert a suitable phrasal verb (cloze) Part 3 – key word transformations based on phrasal verbs

Results of phrasal verb test Average mark Group 1 Group 2 79.4% 85.1%

Student progress – Use of English Average mark Group 1 Group 2 Average mark in exam session Midterm test Use of English 44.3% 44.9% End of course test 57.4% 59.8% Final B2 Exam 61.6% 65.4% 57.3%

End of course questionnaire Questionnaire type anonymous 10 questions space for comments and suggestions Purpose to get student feedback on the use of wordles to allow them to reflect on their progress regarding phrasal verbs

How would you define your knowledge of phrasal verbs at the start of the course ? A good knowledge Some knowledge No knowledge 0% 5% 95%

Did you find the wordle presentations in class useful? From a visual point of view, did they help you remember the phrasal verbs better? Yes No 93% 7% Yes No A little 58% 33% 9%

Did you contribute actively to the phrasal verb wiki activities? Did you look at the phrasal verb wiki activities, even if you didn’t contribute? Yes No 60% 40% Yes No 82% 18%

Yes No 89% 11% Did you use the phrasal verb collection presentation online to revise for the final test? Do you prefer to learn phrasal verbs from a traditional list or with the visual aid of wordles? Traditional list Wordles Both 24% 67% 9%

Do you think you have improved your knowledge of phrasal verbs? Approximately how many phrasal verbs do you think you know how to use correctly now? Yes No A little 93% 4.5% 2.5% 10 – 20 20 – 30 More than 30 38% 33% 29%

Describe your feelings towards phrasal verbs Start of course End of course

What the students had to say ‘I like to study using visual methods or alternative learning methods in general, it's definitely less boring studying with them than studying only by reading words on a black and white book, so I was happy to have encountered wordles during my english course.’

‘I think that this teaching method is great because it allows to learn using visual memory. Even the way he was using was very productive because it allowed students to interact directly, and repetition leads to memorization easier. It is a very innovative and that for my personal experience has been very productived.’

‘I think that the wordles are useful for learning phrasal verbs and grammatical rules. I have used them widely for my preparation at the exam, also at home. However, I do not like very much the wordles in which there are sentences and words messy, for esample diagonally. I prefer wordles written in a schematic form.’

‘The use of wordles in class, for my personal preparation, was useful because I had the opportunity to focalize and remember, at the same time, grammatical points like phrasal verbs and syntax. I have found useless the wordles online because I prefered to study and make exercise on the books. I surely felt more confident about Use of english by the end of the course.’

But wordles are only one part of it …. ‘Dear ms Anne Every day I wake up five o clock in the morming. I put my light on , but I stay in bed, I am tried at studing. My studies go up by 50 per cent […] The alarm goes off at 7.00. The sun's coming up. But the television broke down so also I broke down at the news. If I get behind with your lessons i hope to have more to do later with practice and practice. Teacher if I join the frases verb with my life I'll learn these. […]’

Reflections effective springboard for various learning purposes adaptable to different learning styles not all students are visual learners – alternative approaches must be offered use in moderation clarity – font, layout, avoid overcrowding choice of colours

Suggestions for other uses prediction – reading / listening activities brainstorming and building on vocabulary story-telling activities introducing content/language of a lesson recording emergent language from a lesson recalling language from a previous lesson

… I hope you have fun experimenting with wordles! Thank you and… … I hope you have fun experimenting with wordles!

Useful links http://www.wordle.net/ http://www.wordle.net/faq http://web20edu.com/2011/03/25/save-a-wordle-for-use-in-the-classroom/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhL5D9nz5aI