DOWNLOAD PDF TRANSCRIPT

00:00:02

[Will Rixon]

Hi, welcome, Justyna. How are you?

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

I'm okay. Yeah. Last, yes.

[Will Rixon]

Last but not least, I think is the phrase we're looking for. Last but not least at all, Justyna.

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Well, it won't be heavy. Okay. This is what I can say about, yes, like my, my speech.

Yes. And my talk.

[Will Rixon]

It's not going to be heavy. That's an interesting adjective to use there. Okay, so you're the creator of Teaching Beyond the Script.

What is Teaching Beyond the Script?

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Well, here I must say I'm not a typical teacher. Yes, I should say that while I'm a teacher by trade, my background in personal training and health studies taught me that mastering language, you know, follows the exact same rules as building your physical strength. So you use progressive overload and habit loops. And this is back—. 

[Will Rixon]

I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Sorry.

00:01:01

[Will Rixon]

I didn't catch that.

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

The whole stop, everything?

[Will Rixon]

No, no, just progressive overload and—.

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Progressive overload and habit loops. And this is what I'm using in Beyond the Script. So basically it's very practical approach of teaching skills. Yes. In the classroom.

Uh, but because my background is in personal training, so all the things like spaced repetition, you know, habit formation, uh, are in there. So it's not really about the theory. Okay. So for example, I, uh, I did explain, uh, what is, uh, dogma, so unplugged teaching, but using examples from the classroom. Yes.

So it's more like a practical approach for teachers. If they want to be more into communicative approach, into task-based learning, teaching. So this is all about.

[Will Rixon]

Okay. And why did you put forward for New Voices?

00:02:03

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Well, out of sheer curiosity, I should say. And I love, to be honest, I love Macmillan Publishing and I have many books. And I use them and I love webinars. And for example, the last one with Miranda Hamilton, amazing. I would recommend it.

[Will Rixon]

Wasn't it great?

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Yes, absolutely to everyone. Yeah.

[Will Rixon]

She was so touching.

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Yes, curiosity and helping teachers, you know, so yeah, very good one.

[Will Rixon]

You wanted in, you wanted in on that. You want to be part of it. Absolutely. You're very welcome, Justyna. You're very welcome.

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Thank you. Thank you, Will.

[Will Rixon]

I'm going to leave the stage to you, Justyna. Have a great talk, and I'll see you in a bit.

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Can you see my slides, guys?

Everyone? Yes?

[Will Rixon]

Not just yet. Now they can.

[Justyna Stankiewicz]

Now?

Okay. All right. So, hi everyone, and thank you for joining me today. Today I'd like to talk about a very simple thing: speaking cards. But more importantly, I'd like to look at what happens when the card disappears.

00:03:12

So I created the MOVE scaffold for meaningful speaking, yes, because this is what is the most important, yes, when it comes to learners. And so I hope that sounds good here, and let's get started. So the main idea behind, yes, the MOVE actually is forward movement. So it's how we help students move from support towards more independent speaking. And just let's move on to here.

Okay. Before I show you MOOV, I just want to give you a little bit of context. And here are 3 things that really shape the way I design learning experiences. So first is the speaking performance, communicative competence, very important. So fluency, but not really like the— when the learners, you know, express themselves naturally, that's probably the most important.

00:04:19

Yes, and we should place a strong emphasis on this. Um, then, uh, evidence-based teaching, which I promote, and especially what what memory and cognitive science, yes, can tell us about learning. And the last one, uh, practical design. Well, as a published author and content creator, I'd say that I would place a strong emphasis on practical design. So practical materials which engage curiosity, yes.

Then let's move on. So I— if you look at this slide now, you can see, guys, this is the classroom problem. And before we start, before we move on, um, I would like to ask you a question. So have your students ever finished a speaking task without really having a real conversation? So guys, you can just type yes or no in the chat.

00:05:22

Okay, and I believe there will be more of yes. So have your students ever finished a speaking task without really having a conversation? Yes. Yeah, and it's true, guys, uh, conversation, like a real proper conversation, sometimes it's a problem, especially with teenagers. Yeah, so completing the task Yes, but then without meaningful interaction.

So here on this slide, I'm going to talk about this. So speaking is not always interaction. Yes, the problem, for example, with my students wasn't that they weren't speaking because they were and they could complete the task. The problem was successful performance. Yes, I didn't see that coming.

00:06:14

So For learning to happen, students need opportunities. So they should retrieve, yes, the language, they should adapt it, and then they should have this possibility, yes, to talk to someone else without much support. And here we go. Okay. The observation.

So the lesson grows from meaningful interaction. Here, For me, the shift was towards meaningful interaction. So therefore I decided, you know, to create those cards. So the cards made learners more talkative. I'm going to show you the cards in a minute.

Okay. But more importantly, the quality, yes, of interaction definitely changed. And okay, so here, for example, the topic. Yes, you may think about the topic. I started using speaking cards with something my students could genuinely, okay, relate to.

00:07:19

And I started with pet peeves because everybody likes, you know, like complaining from time to time and like being late. I don't know, chewing with your mouth open. Yes. So these are just a few examples. So therefore, yes, like the whole initiative about the cards.

And here, guys, we have the design principle. So this is really the design principle behind the MOOV scaffold and a scaffold that gradually disappears. So as you can see here, the first card Yes, it's just the cards are small. Yes, they just look like this. So the first card gives full support, as you can see.

The second one, then something is— has been removed. Yes, so we have like only reaction, giving the reason, maybe some examples. Yes, but without any support. Then the situation with the third card changes. And then finally, as you can see, there is no cart.

00:08:30

So the cart disappears completely because the goal was never to create a perfect cart. Yes, the goal was to, to make the cart disappear. All right, so let's move on. Okay guys, so here we have the whole framework and Move is really one simple sequence behind the cards. And as you can see, M stands for make it meaningful.

So start with a relatable situation, because when students know what to talk about, you will hear it. For example, for me, the most important thing in the classroom is the buzz. And then I know that, you know, they have something to say, which is very rewarding for a teacher. Then O, it's for output from memory. So this is like when we reduce the support.

00:09:28

Okay, now they have to exercise their brain a little bit. They should try to retrieve the language. Yes, from the first card. And then we move on to V, which stands for vary and adapt. So the third card, which change one with which this card, for example, changes one condition.

Okay, I will talk in detail a little bit later. And the last but not least is embed through return. So this is like, you can use those cards, you know, like first time and then the second time. For example, I would use them before my students have their mock speaking exam. So just to give them a little bit of warming up, I would just use the cards, but probably not for as long as the first time.

But it's a very good thing because You know, spaced repetition. So if you give them once something, they might not remember. Yes. And so this would be like only working with their working memory. If we want them to remember something, we should just space this in time.

00:10:34

So here, demonstration card 1, and this is how it all— yes, like the whole set. Yes, like the whole set looks like. So this is the first card and this is the full support, as you can see.

So everything learners need, but only temporarily. So this is very important. And here, oh, I would start with the situation. So this card is about, uh, you are talking to a friend but they keep checking their phone. And the task, which is very important, is not only for one student, it's for both of them, you know, because they have to react.

They have to refer to what their partner has said. They have to interact. So it's very important, yes, from the very beginning. So Student A, say how you feel, explain why it bothers you, and give one example. And Student B, react, say whether you agree, and ask one follow-up question.

00:11:34

And then swap. Okay, with the swapping, if you have, you know, like plenty of time, you can do this. If not, you can just stay with this one task. Without swapping. And now when it comes to useful vocabulary, yeah, so I give the situation, I give the task, I give useful vocabulary, but not really single words.

I would go for something which they can naturally use in a conversation. So therefore I would choose, and not too many, okay, because when you use working memory, we can't, you know, like use many different expressions at once. So I would say, check your phone constantly. That's very relatable. Feel ignored.

Be fully present. Pay attention. Very good collocation. Have a proper conversation. And of course, I would give them functional language.

00:12:27

So as you can see, card 1 is intentionally generous because it helps students begin successfully and with confidence. And when it comes to functional language, I would give them a couple of— I call them sentence starters. Why? Because they feel better. They feel more confident, you know, that they can produce language.

And I wouldn't break it down, for example, when it comes to grammatical structures. Yes, because let's look at the second one. When you have, what really bothers me. Yes, it's a cleft sentence. And what I keep telling my students is you can get extra mark or extra point.

Yes, from the examiner. Yes, if you are preparing students for the exam, speaking exam. And they don't have to really know right now, yes, that it's a cleft sentence. It's an advanced grammar, but just using it, yes, and reusing it, yes, will improve their confidence. And of course, I wouldn't be myself without idiomatic expressions.

00:13:28

So this is very challenging for students, you know. Yes, they have a list of, for example, idiomatic expressions or phrasal verbs, but then they don't know what to do with that list and how to use it. So It has to be, you know, like somehow, yes, like used in a natural conversation. So therefore, every card, yes, I would create, I would put a different phrasal, sorry, idiomatic expression. So in this case, it really bugs me.

Okay. And that's the way they can use it, reuse it, and they feel confident. Oh yeah. Like now I can use idiomatic expression or phrasal. Verb.

Okay, so that was part 1. Let's move on to part 2 and 3. So now, as here, for example, um, the support really starts to fade, as you can see. Yes, and, and interaction begins because what we want from them, yes, is really like a meaningful interaction. That's the whole aim, that's the whole goal of it.

00:14:33

So as you can see here now, yes, so the first card, yes, has been removed. Now they have the second one, which is retrieval. Yeah, so now they have to react, give reasons, examples, connections, and discuss about the same situation again. So this is how they are reusing, okay, the vocabulary, the starters, idiomatic language, yes, everything. And I would just give them a little bit different example and I would ask them for interaction.

Yes. So with questions, not only monologues. Yes. So sometimes you have to prompt them as well. Well, it's just like monitoring the students and prompting them would be absolutely enough.

And when it comes to card 3, here is a variation. Yeah. So I would change something. So I think you're overreacting. And again, yes, I think you're overreacting.

00:15:32

Everyone checks their phone. I would here, for example, ask them to retrieve the language from the first card, you know, try to challenge yourself, try to use as much, you know, like as much from what you remember, yes, as possible. And it's a challenge for them. And for example, in my case, like my learners, most of them, yes, like I teach at the academy. Are teenagers and they love challenges and they love competitions and they love things when, you know, gamification, yes, like when something is really competitive, yes, and when they can even, they can challenge themselves.

So this is a good way to do this. And where are we? Okay, where we are now. Final takeaway. Okay, for me, this, this is the most important point.

00:16:24

The card has succeeded when the learner no longer needs it. Okay, so, and, and what I would like to say here is the move isn't really about pet peeves, um, or even about cards. Yes, like you could apply, for example, the, the same idea to almost any speaking task. Yes, it's, it's just about the idea. And so, for example, here the meaningful conversation which becomes the learning opportunity for them is very important.

So if I, uh, if there is a message, guys, um, one message to you, I would say that I'd like you to take away, uh, what I would like you to take away today is scaffold the language but not the message. Let the learners, the students, yes, created themselves, yes, and help them in this meaningful conversation. And now I have something extra for you to, to show. For example, there will be— I know, I don't know how to get rid of this one. Well, um, here guys, you have another set of Move cards, and this is about interrupting.

00:17:40

So I created a couple of them, okay? I would hand out to, like, if you use them in the classroom, yes, like I would hand them out and every pair would have a different one and then they swap. Yeah, so this one is about interrupting. And again, as you can see, full support. Yes, this is like the very generous card, uh, giving the situation.

So you are telling a story but someone keeps interrupting you. And the task for both students, A and B. So A, ask them politely to let you finish and explain why interruptions bother you. And then you have student B react, say whether you agree, and ask one follow-up question, and then swap. And again, when it comes to useful vocabulary, I, I'd say that these are, you know, like very good and easy to reuse.

00:18:37

So interrupt someone, cut someone off. We have a phrasal verb. They— and as, as you know, yes, like, teaching phrasal verbs is not the easiest thing. Lose your train of thought, a very good one. And let someone finish.

Yes. So I would like them— again, I would like them to exercise their brains a little bit and to use them. Functional language. Again, yes, like Here, I'm just like, okay guys, right. Okay, sorry, it's just I had extra thing like it and it was popping out.

Now functional language, yes, you have, they have like so too to begin successfully. They can use sorry, can I just finish my point, or as I was saying, or I understand what you mean, but well, this is very important. Especially when it comes to young learners, because as you may, you know, notice, yes, you would hear, I think, I think, I think. Yes. So just to get rid of this, I think, I think, I think, this is like, that was the reason, yes, for functional language to be included, yes, like with the card.

00:19:52

And again, mini phrase. So idiomatic expressions here would be, it gets on my nerves. So what? Yes, and it works beautifully. Then again, retrieval.

So card 1, yes, so fade away, and then you have retrieval, reaction, reason, example. Yes, the same thing. Yes, discussing. The emphasis here is on interactive communication. So Probably like, you know, as a teacher, you should monitor this.

You want them to interact and not really to give monologues. Okay? Plus retrieving the language from the previous card. And then the last one, again, a little bit different. So this is the variation.

00:20:39

And the variation here is, I'm just trying to join in. You are talking too long. And then again, you are encouraging them to agree, to disagree. Yes. To always— I, what I, um, what I would say here is always justify your answer, say why.

And so it, it also works perfectly, you know, here. So this is about interrupting. And I think I have one more. So if you look at this slide, you can see, guys, loud videos in public. Okay, so again, 3 cards for one pair.

You have full support, intentionally generous, retrieval, yes, to exercise their brains, yes, and their memory, which is very good, and then variation. So with the full support situation, someone is watching TikTok, yes, like now nowadays it's like very, very common, uh, among, yes, teenagers. And then you have student A, student B, different task, useful vocabulary, guys, functional language, and Completely different idiomatic expression. It drives me up the wall. You have a retrieval card.

00:21:54

Yes. So to use the language from the first card and then a variation. It's a public bus. I can watch what I want. And now you encourage, yes, like them to interact, yes, without support.

So you take it away and that's it. So Let's stay connected. If you are interested in a more practical approach, you can find me, guys, there on LinkedIn. So scaffold the language, not the message. That would be my main message to all of us teachers.

Yes.

[Will Rixon]

Thank you so much, Justyna. A very meta message. Thank you.