The document discusses interactive teaching methods and classroom activities that promote student interaction. It describes how interactive tasks should simulate real-life communication, require students to exchange information to complete the task, and allow for unpredictability. Some example activities mentioned are information gap activities, conversation grids, ordering and sorting tasks, problem-solving discussions. The purpose of interactive activities is to provide language practice and opportunities for students to build language skills through meaningful communication.

1. NEW B.Ed COLLEGE NELLIMOODU THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ASSIGNMENT ON PEDAGOGY TOPIC: INTERACTIVE SESSION TASK NAME: GAYATHRI GOPAL. S SUBJECT: ENGLISH Register No: 165/13376011

2. INTRODUCTION The selection and design of task to practice interactive ability which simulates real life language use is important to any course that includes the aim of improving ability in spoken interaction. Just as providing interactive tasks can never be sufficient in itself to develop conversational ability, merely following a textbook is unlikely to stimulate group interaction. While there exists a considerable and valuable literature on group work in the field of co-operative learning classroom interaction and task based learning. Interactive teaching is just giving students something to do, getting back what they have done and then assimilating it. Over a last twenty years, the field of cognitive science has taught us a lot about how people learn. A central principle that has been generally accepted is that everything we learn, we “construct” for ourselves. That is any outside agent is essentially powerless to have a direct effect on what we learn. Classroom tasks are simulations and can only appropriate real life communication but real-life skills, such as adjusting to an interlocutor’s contribution can be built in. Tasks designed to practice interactive ability should be an appropriate task for the students. They must be able to imagine themselves in the situation. When there is a reason for selecting an unrealistic task, the lack of realism could be emphasized. Using imagination beyond the students experience is then deliberately for fronted. An interactive task should require students to exchange information, opinion, attitudes, but not for its own sake. There should be a real purpose; each participant should need to find something out from the other in order to

3. complete the task. The task should require the participants to make sure that they fully understand what the other tell them and to make themselves fully understood to the others. The task should require both predictable and unpredictable communication. Real conversation always involves unpredictability so an ability to improvise needs to be practiced. For example an attempt to come to an agreement is unpredictable. There is no requirement to actually reach an agreement, so the participants may develop the conversation freely. Where possible the task should allow participants an equal opportunity to structure the conversation. Ideally, they should have equal access to important features of turn taking such as self-selection and nomination and should be able to invite, negotiate and follow up other participant’s contributions. Care must therefore be taken not to device For mined ability course, tasks should favour the production of contributions of all kinds. They should allow both weak and strong participants to extend themselves to their full ability is useful skill in itself. Opportunity and time must be available for candidates to hold the floor and produce longer contributions of other speakers. Less able students should skill be able to accomplish at least the part of the task at their own level. Our brains take in information and operate continuously on many kinds of levels, only some of which are consciously directed. But conscious or not, the important thing to understand is that it is our brains that are doing the learning, and that this process is only indirectly related to the teacher and the teaching. If our brains do not do it itself that is, taken in information, look for connections, internet and make sense of it, not outside force will have any effect. This does not mean that the effort has to be expressly voluntary and

4. conscious on our parts. There are several possible causes why students learning may fall short of expectations. 1. They may not understand a crucial concept partway into the lecture and so what follows is unintelligible. 2.They may be missing prior information or not have a good understanding of what event before, so the conceptual structures on which the lecture is based are absent, lack the interest, motivation, or desire to expend the mental effort to follow the presentation, understand the arguments, make sense of the positions and validate the inferences. Three distinct reasons for interactive teaching: *It is an attempt to see what actually exists in the brains of the students. This is the “summative” aspect. It is the easiest aspect to understand and it is well described in the literature. But, it is far from being the only perspective. *The second reason is “formative”, where the teacher aims through the assigned task to direct students mental processing along an appropriate path in “concept-space”, The intent is that, as students think through the issues necessary in traversing the path, the resulting mental construction that is developed in the students head will possess those properties that the teacher is trying to teach. As Socrates discovered, a good question can accomplish this result better than, just telling the answer. *The third may be termed “motivation”. Learning is hard work, and an injection of motivation at the right moment can make all the difference. One motivating factor provided by the interactive teacher is the requirement of a response to a live classroom task. These services to jolt the student into action, to get his brain off the couch, so to speak. Additional more subtle and

5. pleasant events follow immediately capitalizing on the momentum created by this initial burst. When teachers ask students to work together in small groups to solve a problem, a discussion ensures that not only serves in itself to built more robust knowledge structures, but also to motivate. The anticipation of immediate feedback in the form of reaction from their peers, or from the teacher is a very strong motivator. If it is not embarrassing or just drifting aimlessly in concept space. Knowing that they are not allowed to drift too far off track provides tremendous energy to conti Interactive Classroom Activities A number of activities for pairs foster interaction and focus on meaningful communication. Some activities have very specific guidelines and parameter; others are more loosely constructed. In interactive classroom instruction, various activities are used depending on the lesson’s goal and objectives. These activities include, but are not limited to, information gap, conversation grid, ordering and sorting gap, conversation grid, ordering and sorting, problem-solving and discussions. 1) Information Gap Information Gap activities are widely used in ESOL instruction. At the most basic level, to people share information to complete a task. In one-way information gap activities, one person has all the information (eg.,One learner gives directions to a location and the other plots the route out on a may). In two way activities, both learners have information to share to complete the

6. activity. Two way information gap activities have been shown to facilitate more interaction than one way information gap tasks. 2) Conversation Grid Conversation grid activities work well for beginning-level learners. They provide learners with an opportunity to practice gathering and giving the same information over and over and over again, thus helping to built automatically. They also provide learners with a chance to negotiate meaning. For example, to review asking and answering personal identification questions in a family literacy class, learners can speak to classmates to gather information. 3) Ordering and Sorting Activities Ordering and sorting activities include classification, ranking and sequencing. For example, in a discussion about talking to children about drugs and alcohol, parents are given cards with statements such as, “Beer is not alcohol” or “The legal drinking age is 21”. Learners work in pairs and must put cards in either the “True”, “False”, or “I’m not sure” pile. To complete the task, learners have to discuss their choices, provide explanations for them, and achieve consensus. 4) Problem-solving Activities Problem-solving activities work at all levels. Learners work in pairs and discuss issues relevant to their lives, such as finding ways to use English outside the class, or how to plan a budget for a family of five. Problem- solving pairs work well when each are clearly set out for them. Learners use

7. language to communicate for real reasons: to explain their ideas, make suggestions and eventually reach a consensus. For beginning-level learners, problem-solving activities can be created using picture prompts or picture stories that deals with everyday problems adult commonly confront. Using the language experience approach, learners tell the teacher what is happening in each picture and the teacher writes what they say. After the story is established, learners can make suggestions about how characters in the story can solve their problems. 5) Discussions Discussions which are an obvious way to promote interactions can be about almost anything, from cultural issues, education, learning English, to current events and “hot” topics. Discussions seem deceptively easy to set up, but they require preparation and thought so that they run smoothly and learners get the most out of the exchange of ideas. The purpose of the discussion should be made very clear to the learners. The benefits of pair discussions to language development should also be articulated; they are an opportunity to practice listening for main ideas and details, build vocabulary, and use English to explain and elaborate, and use strategies to keep the conversation from breaking down. It is helpful to set time limits, assign rolesand responsibilities and debrief all participants after the discussion. Tasks for classroom instruction should have the potential for either a performance or a “report back” phase during which students could write a report or group spokesperson could report back to the class.

8. CONCLUSION Interactive activities are still pedagogical tasks and as such should have outcomes or results. The opportunity for recycling language used in the task and for remedial work on language problems that arise during the task. At this stage, the teacher may wish to engage in techniques for correcting language and might want to correct even the smallest errors in pronunciation, lexis or grammar. The task will normally have some predictable features of language. Vocabulary on the topic has probably been taught using a textbook or worksheet probably in a reading or listening activity. Students can be given intensive practice in language functions such as giving advice expressing opinions asking different kinds of question. Interactive task provide practice, but are unlikely to lead isolation. REFERENCE 1. Sessionless-oriented protocol and session-oriented protocol 2. Jump up^ CTIA InterCarrier Messaging Guidelines, Version 1.0 http://www.ctia.org/business_resources/wic/index.cfm/AID/12056http://files.cti a.org/pdf/Inter- Carrier_SMS_Guidelines_V3.1_As_Adopted_May_2012- final.pdf 3. Jump up^ Hppy bthdy txt! BBC News World Edition, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2538083.stm 3 December 2002.