It is important to encourage students to employ previously acquired knowledge gained through other classes or from life experiences when trying to make sense of English. One method to encourage students to use this knowledge is to focus on background sound effects and noises, i.e., non-linguistic features such as ring tones, doorbells, street noises and mechanical sounds included in many recordings.

Most sound effects can be placed on two interesting and very different continua.

The first continuum stretches from readily identifiable sound effects, such as traffic and airport announcements to those that cannot be identified, perhaps as they are not very clear. The second continuum includes sound effects unidentifiable as to country of origin to those that can be identified, for example, telephones and, sometimes, the language spoken in the background.

Identifying noises

As this exercise requires students to use non-linguistic clues to help understand what they are hearing, the content should be somewhat difficult. The goal is to have them use these noises to make some sense of what they are listening to and not vice versa. I find with a published material that recordings from later in the same text or from more advanced texts are ideal.

The first important step is to have students identify what they have heard. Before we listen to a recording, perhaps even before I have completed any pre-listening activities, I ask them to listen and make a list of everything they hear.

After the first listening, I elicit ideas from the class and write them on the board. A second and third listening often encourage students to add to the list. If they are uncertain about vocabulary, they can stop the recording and discuss what they have heard. When they have been able to identify most of the background noises, we can begin to use them to make sense of the recording.

Discussing noises

While I do not overtly mention the two different continua, we begin to classify the sounds. For example, which sounds might be heard in Thailand. Telephones, police sirens and ambulances are good examples of these sounds. In particular, with telephones, many students realise that while they of course, know it is a telephone, more importantly they know it is not a phone in Thailand.

It is great if the country of origin can be determined, because it might offer students insight into what is being said. This asks them to draw on one of many experiences gained outside class that they may be able to use to help understand a recording.

Another set of background noises are those unique to a particular environment. This includes arrival and departure information at airports, train and bus stations or sound effects from parks, zoos or stores.

These are also discussed in terms of where the conversation might be taking place and, as such, what the speakers might be discussing. While student answers might not be correct, it is encouraging them to use previously acquired knowledge to guess what speakers might be saying.

Adding noises

If a recording has some background noises, but could use more, I ask students for ideas. This exercise works best when students have been able to understand most, if not all of a recording, but perhaps found the content a bit dull.

I divide them into small groups and give them a tape script. Once they have reviewed the content and learned the vocabulary, they provide a secondary sound track. Encouraged to use their imagination and with the variety of electronic equipment they carry, students often use a wide range of sounds from roosters crowing to waves at a beach.

Once they are ready, it is show time with each group adding their background sounds while everyone else listens. Invariably quite funny and creative, students often have questions about different sounds a group has used leading to questions and conversation among each other.

If students are encouraged to listen to and use background sounds in a recording to help make sense of what they are listening to, another knowledge base is being actively employed in trying to understand English.

In doing so, students often come to realise they know a great deal from experiences in and out of school that they can use to help them to understand something in English.

It seems that few students have been provided with an insight as to how they should approach an exam, or on the importance of understanding an exam's scoring scheme, in terms of the time allowed.

Taking an exam, or pacing oneself correctly when completing something bound by time constraints, is a very important and useful skill, not only in academics, but also in the real world.

With this in mind, teachers should take time to instruct students about how to be a more competent exam-taker, and with the exams then given, students need to be encouraged to put theory into practice.

Read first

It is surprising how many students do not read an exam before starting to write and simply begin with the first question and work through. This is not a good idea, especially if the first question is difficult and negatively affects their confidence. With this in mind, on practice exams at least, the first question should be very difficult and worth one or two points.

Students need to be taught to read all the questions and then make a list with three columns.

In the first column, list the questions in order of difficulty, starting with the easiest.

In the second column, record the points awarded for each question.

In the third, column, estimate the score you believe you can achieve.

When this is completed, add up the figures in the third column, and, hopefully, the total will be sufficient for a passing grade.

When students know they can pass an exam, particularly a difficult one, they should be able to relax. While they still need to write it, this reduction in tension should help them work on the exam more efficiently. In addition, as they work on easier questions, they may find that questions they initially considered difficult have become easier.

It is not a perfect solution and does not always apply, for example with listening tests. With reading and writing tests, however, encourage students to answer the questions in any order they choose based this guide, that is, from easy to difficult.

Time-score ratio

When taking an exam, divide the time allowed by the number of questions and points being awarded. It is heartbreaking when strong students spend too much time answering a question worth a few points, and then run out of enough to complete the last question worth 20.

In a two-hour exam, recommend students to take ten minutes at the start to read the exam and to complete the calculations mentioned above, and to spare ten more minutes at the end to review the answers, or to have enough time in case a question takes longer to answer than planned.

With a 120-minute exam, this will leave 100 minutes to work on the exam itself. With an exam worth 100 points, each point should then be allotted one minute to complete.

Timing schedule

Then return to the table and add two more columns.

In the fourth column, record how many minutes it should take to complete each answer.

In the last column, record the time the first question starts and create a schedule as to when they should start answering each subsequent question.

When this idea is first introduced, it is useful to proctor your own exams so you can write the start, finish and remaining times on the board. While it is not a good idea to disturb the students, write down or announce how much time is left every ten minutes. This should help to remind many students that they are behind schedule and need to work a bit quicker.

Taking exams is not easy for many students, but it remains an important part of their education. Hopefully, by providing tips and demonstrating the benefit that comes from organising, they will be able to handle future exams with increased confidence, levels of success and realize a much happier result... that is, a better score.

Teaching a writing class, in particular a large one, requires special organisational skills if a teacher is going to have any time to do anything besides correcting homework. The key to managing, correcting, grading and recording a massive volume of homework is to establish easy to follow, albeit firm, rules that students must follow.

This week's article offers some suggestions on homework style sheets and offers ideas for controlling homework administration in class. Next week's article will provide ideas and tips on collecting, correcting and grading homework efficiently and effectively.

Homework style sheet

First, I clearly establish what homework should look like. It must be on A4 paper, double-spaced, neat and legible. I have students who believe that if they hand in illegible work, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and award a higher mark. Wrong. If I cannot read it as with the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), I do not read it. I simply hand it back with the lowest score.

As I need room for writing corrections or making suggestions, students lose a mark if their work is not double-spaced. With 40 or more assignments to read, one single-spaced sheet of paper after another tends to become increasingly difficult to correct, and can subconsciously lower the grades given to the papers that follow.

Second, their full name and roster number must be on all homework. Not just a nickname, they must include their full name and class roster number. If roster numbers are not on my student register, I produce a sheet for students to sign each week for attendance purposes and insist they remember the number next to their name.

I find many rosters have unusual alphabetical orders, and if a number on their homework can save a few minutes looking for a name, it is worth the effort getting students to include it. During the first few weeks, I will write their number on their work if they forget, but in the fourth or fifth week, I start to deduct one mark for any incorrect style or incomplete administrative information provided at the top of their homework.

Homework titles

In most writing classes, I have three types of writing work to collect. First, there is homework assigned at the beginning of the term and handed in on a regular basis for example, a different paragraph due in each class. At the beginning of the term, I give a list of 250 topics and allow them to select the ones they like. (If you would like this list, let me know.) Second, there is homework assigned in a previous class based on what we covered. Third, there is work that students complete during class that I would like to review.

I assign each type of homework a unique number, title and due date. I record these details in my list. For example, a regular assignment due today would be "Regular Paragraph #12: 05 August 2008 My Dreams"; special homework would be "HW #13: 05 August 2008 Frequency Adverbs"; and class work would be "CW #08: 21 July 2008, Clauses". If any details are missing, I take off a grade. Invariably, I only need to penalise a student once before they realise I am serious.

Assigning homework

I only assign and explain homework in class. In the first week, I assign the regular homework assignment. I explain what I expect, how it will look and how I will collect, correct and grade their work. I give students time to discuss the homework and my expectations. If they have questions, I answer them. If they do not have questions, I assume they know what to do.

However, students will come to see me later to ask questions, and, while it is very difficult to refuse, I make a point of not providing any more details or explaining once again what I want them to do. They have an opportunity to ask in class, use it. When I assign homework, listen. If you have questions, ask. If shy, write your questions and give them to me. In short, use your English.

In the next class, I will go over their questions, which often prompt other questions that lead into a discussion of what is expected, thereby reducing the need to explain the same things over and over.

With clear and easy to understand rules in place, and a fair and impartial administration, less time is spent on homework administration. I have more time to review students' homework and to prepare for upcoming classes. More importantly, during class, it allows me more time to work with students.

Regardless of their level, if students are going to achieve autonomy in English, they need to practise English conversation - asking questions for which they do not know the answers - and not engage in English practice, which is asking questions for which they already know the answers.

It is quite surprising how many published "conversation" activities depend on students not knowing each other. However, at elementary to secondary schools, at colleges and universities, and in language schools and with corporate classes, most students know each other or come from the same backgrounds.

This being the case, if conversation activities ask them to share personal information, I would argue that while they might present an opportunity for "English practice", such activities are not "English conversation" exercises.

Students need a role play in which answers are unknown to their conversation partner, regardless of how well they might know each other. The problem, however, is that a role play often takes too much time to create, set up, explain and initiate in class.

Teachers need an easy-to-understand, easy-to-expand, free-flowing role play where the creation of a role-play "persona" or personality calls upon students' use of English and allows for genuine fluency with the new skills, vocabulary, themes, topics or tasks that have led to the planned fluency practice.

Using pictures

When I want students to practise fluency, I provide each student with a different picture of a non-Thai individual. For this purpose, I have sets of 50 pictures mounted on 10cm by 15cm cards, conveniently packed in a small plastic box. Such cards and plastic containers are available at most stationery stores.

Although they are found in a variety of glossy magazines readily available in Thailand, I avoid using pictures of models, actors and politicians in favour of pictures more typical of people students are likely to meet. Ideally, pictures should be about 8cm by 12cm, making them easy to see, and should often include clues as to occupation, places of origin and interests.

Using the cards in class

I distribute the cards early in a class to allow students time to think about who they are, to trade ideas with friends and to ask me for vocabulary and pronunciation advice.

I have a mix of pictures in terms of age, occupations or activities and gender and I distribute them carefully. In the early stages, I ensure that the person in the photo is close to the age of the student and, most importantly, is of the same gender. This should make it easier for each student to create a role-play persona. If I know their abilities, I give stronger students pictures that demand higher language production.

Once students become familiar with using the cards, I vary the age of the person in the photo and that of the student. If an activity requires a spouse, I provide a second card. Later, particularly in a class dominated by one gender, I give students cards with photos of persons that do not match their gender, or I mix and match.

I also clearly colour-code the cards so that I can give a small group that has been reticent to talk to other students the same colour cards, and make it known they can only talk to people with cards of a different colour.

Before the students begin, I make it clear they (the people in the picture) have never been to, and "unfortunately" do not know anything about, Thailand. As such, I do not expect to hear anything - from city names to foods - in Thai.

This makes monitoring the use of English much easier, as the use of any Thai words will not be accepted in the role play. If students, for example, want to talk about food, they are encouraged to think about what they already know, e.g., pizzas, hamburgers or doughnuts. In turn, this often leads to other related vocabulary moving from passive knowledge to temporary active usage.

Building vocabulary and skills

In the early stages, students may have trouble creating their persona, but once they realise a self-produced persona is useful each week, they begin to have fun and they experiment. They begin to research the different information that they want to use and will ask for help in spelling and pronouncing vocabulary they want to incorporate.

In addition, depending on the students' level, the material previously covered and the lesson's fluency practice goal, I instruct them to move around the room and talk to different sets of students.

As they gain confidence, and using a different picture each week, their active vocabulary begins to expand; and as new ideas are covered in class, the students can add these to the role play, thus leading to increasingly longer and more involved conversations.

In using role plays and picture cards, most textbook-based conversation activities begin to resemble "English conversation" that give students an opportunity to practise fluency and to experience and deal with the resultant conversational norms, patterns and problems.