Lecture Notes on Group Activities and Feedback in Language Learning

Group Formation and Roles

• Groups of 2 or 3 formed; roles assigned as A, B, C, etc.
• Role Tasks:
  • Student A: Talk about your weekend.
  • Student B: Write a short letter to a friend, including an invitation.
  • Student C: Discuss hobbies with a short dialogue.

Writing and Speaking Exercises

• Writing Task: Make intentional mistakes while describing the weekend.
• Invitation Writing: Formal invitations to friends.
• Speaking Task: Practicing dialogues, focus on low-level language proficiency.

Feedback and Correction

• Feedback Methods:
  • Provide feedback on mistakes heard in group discussions.
  • Decide whether corrections are immediate or delayed.
• Feedback on Language Use:
  • Correct use of tenses, especially past simple.
  • Encourage the use of accurate grammar and vocabulary.
• Feedback Types: Content vs. Language:
  • Content: Praise ideas and creativity.
  • Language: Focus on correcting grammar and syntax.

Effective Feedback Strategies

• Sandwich Feedback: Positive, critical, then positive comments.
• Corrective Feedback Techniques:
  • Repetition/Echoing: Repeating errors with rising intonation.
  • Recasting: Reformulating the student's statement correctly.
  • Clarification Requests: Asking students to repeat or clarify.
  • Hinting: Using gestures or hints to indicate a mistake.
  • Facial Expressions: Using expressions to indicate incorrect responses.

Digital Feedback Tools

• Use of voice messages and video screen capture for explaining feedback.
• Pros and cons of digital feedback systems like Google Docs or emails.

Emotional Impact of Feedback

• Praise Importance: Praise adults and teenagers more, not just children.
• Constructive Criticism: Deliver criticism in a positive, supportive manner.
• iMessages: Use "I feel" statements to personalize feedback positively.

Encouragement and Recommendations

• Frame recommendations as encouragement.
• Highlight areas of improvement with specific suggestions.

Self and Peer Assessment

• Encourage self-assessment using rubrics.
• Teach students peer-assessment skills for constructive criticism.

Conclusion

• Emphasize the growth mindset; mistakes are part of learning.
• Feedback should be directed towards student improvement, not just criticism.
• Allow students to reflect on feedback and self-correct.

This lecture focused on collaborative language tasks and methods for providing effective feedback. Emphasis was placed on the use of positive feedback methods and the importance of tailoring feedback to student needs and emotional responses.