As a founder and an administrator of the WeCare group, I really like the peer lead, peer support way in DT. It is exactly the way I have been working so hard to build among the group.
4 weeks is just a start. I wish I will have more women to join me in the DT class. I believe the level of our English is the level of the quality of our life in connecting with our children, our neighbour, and most importantly with Him who create us.
Melissa Lai, Founder and Administrator of WeCare, a parent-support group, 2018
ESL & LINC Coordinator
(redacted) District School Board, 2018
In the end, the workshop proved to be both a "treat" for ESL teachers who want to get their students to talk more, and a "trick" to get students to work together on a common goal.
The presenters Joseph Ng and Suman Jeoti invoked both "trick" and "treat" in their workshop for TESL Kingston, which fell on a very auspicious day, Halloween. They offered the audience a fully interactive teaching tool to get students talking and collaborating with less chalk-and-talk and more student-to-student interaction.
The workshop participants were introduced to the idea of dictation triptychs by going through a process similar to that which ESL students would go through: each person in a group of three took turns dictating a bit of dialogue while the other members of the group listened and tried to fill in the missing parts of the dialogue. Along the way, members in the group of three asked each other questions for clarification, worked together to get a complete dialogue, and exchanged gaps in information among the group members. The room buzzed with energy as participants were trying to figure out the meaning of Triptiks, Krashenesque TPR, and pneumonoultramicroscopicencilicovolcano. Or if the question "How now brown cow?" was, indeed, more commonly used in generations past.
Although there were three separate dialogues presented on one sheet divided into three panels (thus, "triptych"), similar functional elements ran through them all, including a question at the start to break the ice, a response to express sympathy, a question to keep the ball rolling, and a leave-taking. The exercise therefore helped reinforce the fact that there are various ways to express the same idea, and we don't have to rely on rote memorization of set phrases. Dialogues in ESL textbooks, the presenters suggested, often lack the vibe and energy of a more dynamic real-life exchange.
To check for pronunciation, the completed dialogue was also read out loud. For extension, some participants were asked to perform their own dialogues, which they had made up during the session. Kudos to TESL Kingston members Hal Schipper and Joanna Cooke, who gave the audience a rousing performance of their improvisational dialogue involving a bit of libation.
The versatility of triptychs was also demonstrated through a succession of example dialogues that the presenters passed out. These included an exchange with a cashier to get change (for a buck, a dollar, a loonie), between school friends who made excuses about finishing a project, and between a curt public transit worker and an inquisitive commuter.
Suman also described how triptychs could, with a lot more guidance from the teacher, be implemented in a beginner-level class (CLB 1). The key to success, she said, lay in adapting the triptychs to the skill level of students and the comfort level of the teachers.
For those who were unable to attend, check out the link here to get more information about dictation triptychs and how they can help students develop their conversation skills.
Excerpted from David Chau, TESL Kingston Past Workshops, 2015
Anonymous Participant Feedback from the Kingston workshop:
"We thought you might like to have some photos of yourselves presenting that tricky workshop of yours. We enjoyed it a lot. I know that I personally will be using it in my lower level classes where students like to learn many ways of expression; and my, oh my, how they love to do role plays!
Thanks again for bringing this innovative technique to our attention"
Were you satisfied –with the workshop? And explain your level of satisfaction:
20/24 respondents very satisfied
-Good to use in multi-level classes and across all levels
-Dictation is an important skill. I liked that four skills were integrated.
-very innovative idea!
-I really liked the number of different ways the framework could be applied.
-fun, good strategies
-it was a different method. Great examples.
-very engaging, but not necessary to always have 2 people read the dialogue in front of the class. We already practised that at the tables, then dictation, then alternating among the 3 columns. Good to have people share their dialogue that we made up because nobody heard it before, so more interesting. Also, good to incorporate 2 idioms from the sheet.
-very hands on; applicable to all levels
-interesting, new information
-This was an excellent activity that could easily be used in all classroom activities
-I really enjoyed the interactive activities, it’s more practical for my future teaching experiences.
-very stimulating and original ideas!
-liked that it was one sheet and could be used for so many things
-knowledgeable and enthusiastic presenter
-interesting interpretation
-integrated listening, reading, speaking, and writing into one class (speaking)
-engaging presenter. Felt the ‘opening activity’ took a little too long to introduce the topic.
Do you have any other comments with regard to this workshop?
-great workshop
-Joseph was very enthusiastic and engaging – an important trait
-I enjoyed the hands-on approach and amount of audience participation
-good organization, nice interaction
-thank you!
-instructions – we worked hard to figure out the outcome of the tasks
-good to hear tips with level 1 learners
-it was excellent
-I would have preferred practicing a higher level student triptych at the beginning
-it was great
-great ideas for the classroom
-interactive, interesting concept
-well done
-very clever, practical ideas
-good workshop, good to learn about this new teaching tool
-it would have been helpful to have another example at a more basic level than CLB 5-6.
Comments from 2015 TESL Ontario Conference Session "Dictation Triptychs For Extreme Jigsaw Learning"
- A very dynamic and enjoyable presentation! We can only hope that Mr. Ng's book will be published soon!
- Very well done. Joseph was simply amazing along with his volunteers. The real world applicability was very appealing. Great job!
- Thoroughly enjoyed all three presenters. It was excellent!
Some great ideas!
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