[etni] Fw: Re: The purpose of UNSEENS
- From: "sbshai" <sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 19:58:35 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: "sbshai" <sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <aharonmk@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, 28 November, 2012 7:56 PM
Subject: Re: [etni] Re: The purpose of UNSEENS
>I don't regard unseens as a good preparation for real life language skills
>that our students will face on the job. Very rarely will a question be
>posed to them that they can answer successfully by merely copying a text,
>for one thing.
> As I'm sure we've all experienced to one extent or another, it's possible
> for a student to do well on an unseen without really understanding the
> text! (I'm referring specifically to 4 and 5 point exams.)
>
> It has been my occasional experience that when we review an unseen in
> class, test savvy students are impatient if others ask comprehension
> questions. And the serious students would like more attention paid to
> writing. (This is where good grammar and vocabulary, to begin with, are
> essential for a successful outcome.)
>
> One point is certain (and they've said this to me many times): Unseens do
> not help their verbal skills. Only classes run exclusively in English (5
> points, at least) can hope to do that!
>
> I'm not saying unseens are a complete waste of time, only that their worth
> is quite limited.
>
> Just one teacher's opinion after many years of experience.
>
> Batya
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kara Aharon" <aharonmk@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, 28 November, 2012 7:12 PM
> Subject: [etni] Re: The purpose of UNSEENS
>
>
>>I ask you all to take a careful look at both responses. They have similar
>> opinions about what unseens do and don't do. According to them, unseens
>> check "proper and careful reading of a text and its questions" and "they
>> enrich your vocabulary, they improve your reading skills and they help
>> you
>> practice your ability to answer questions in a limited amount of time".
>> The
>> problem, according to both, is that unseens don't improve grammar. The
>> first
>> also claims that they don't improve vocabulary, but I would like to point
>> out that they do expose students to vocabulary in different contexts.
>>
>> Now let's think about why it's so important to learn English. Is it
>> really
>> just to pass the Bagrut and get into college? Or is it because knowing
>> how
>> to speak, read, write and understand English is necessary to function in
>> today's world? If you know any Israeli adults who are not English
>> teachers,
>> ask them what English skills they use on the job. Most likely they will
>> tell
>> you that they have to read and answer correspondence, read and understand
>> text and present ideas and summaries in writing and orally. Funny, don't
>> some of these sound like the skills that are improved while practicing
>> unseens?
>>
>> Remember - English isn't just a subject in school, English is a language.
>>
>> Kara Aharon
>> Yerucham, Israel
>> 08-6589425, 052-3903306
>> aharonmk@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>> www.englishfun.net
>>
>>
>>
>>> Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2012 09:20:14 +0200
>>> From: phyllis oded <phylliso@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>> Subject: [etni] The purpose of UNSEENS
>>>
>>> I asked my class to write an opinion essay in class about THE PURPOSE OF
>>> UNSEENS.
>>> Here are two responses:
>>> Edan:
>>> In my opinion, UNSEENS have no significant purpose. Practicing
>>> UNSEENS
>>> isn't an efficient way to improve a student's level in English.
>>> Therefore,
>>> I believe UNSEENS should not be used on Bagrut tests to evaluate
>>> students
>>> in English.
>>> The only skills UNSEENS eficiently check are proper and careful
>>> reading of a text and its questions. UNSEENS do not, however, improve a
>>> student's vocabulary or grammar level.
>>> I firmly believe there are better ways to teach English to Israeli
>>> students, like me. One method, which I recommend, is essay writing.
>>> Essay
>>> writing is a great way to improve both grammar and vocabulary. While
>>> writing an essay, students are also required to use different thinking
>>> skills and creativity, as well.
>>> In conclusion, UNSEENS have little importance and shouldn't be used
>>> in
>>> teaching Israeli students English.
>>> Yotam:
>>> In my opinion, the main purpose of an unseen is to check your
>>> ablitiy
>>> in handling a text you have never seen before and to test your reading
>>> and
>>> comprehension skills.
>>> I firmly believe that unseens are great, because they enrich your
>>> vocabulary, they improve your reading skills and they help you practice
>>> your ability to answer questions in a limited amount of time. However,
>>> unseens don't improve your grammar skills and therefore, you can not
>>> rely
>>> only on unseens to improve your English.
>>> To sum up, I firmly believe that unseens are great. However, you
>>> need
>>> other exercises to improve other parts of your English skills (grammar
>>> and
>>> so on.)
>>> Most of the other students agreed with the ideas in the second essay
>>> above. I found it very interesting to hear the different opinions.
>>> Try this in YOUR class and see what their opinions AND the written
>>> results
>>> are! Yours, Phyllis
>>>
>>
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