Became friends with Friends
Ytre Enebakk School has emphasized English, even among those who struggle. The result has been the learning tool Friends from Kunnskap.no .
HELPING: Thea Eidsvik Grønbekk (left) shows Ida Ida Sørensen Selstad how to solve the task. Photo: Sverre Chr. Jarild
The school is no stranger to using digital learning materials. They have extensive experience with Gilbert (from the same publisher), and they have used Stairs from Cappelen Damm. The problem was the level of difficulty. It was simply too far up for both Stairs and Gilbert.
– My students had too modest a vocabulary to understand many of the texts. This made them give up, it became boring, or as the students themselves said: "terrible", says Mona Finsberg from Yre Enebakk School.
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New hope
It was in the fall that the school was awarded free licenses for testing from Kunnskap.no , for a newer English learning tool that will make leveling much more effective: Friends .
– We got access to Friends and quickly became satisfied. I use the teaching tool with students in 6th grade. Either one-on-one or in groups. They often thought that Gilbert and Stairs were too difficult, they couldn't do it. And then they started with Friends and experienced mastery quite quickly, says the satisfied teacher.
IPAD: Students compare their answers. They use earphones when they concentrate on the learning material. Photo: Sverre Chr. Jarild
Stair steps
The teacher is aware that the division in Friends basically follows the competency goals from grades 1-6. However, when she set the students to start work on the first day, the fifth graders were told to start at level 1.
“I call it a staircase. The steps put the students at different levels. I wanted them to start as far down as possible,” says Finsberg.
The digital textbook consists of small games, puzzles, cartoons and karaoke. A series of tasks where they practice vocabulary and spelling words correctly.
Tests – Well done
For Mona Finsberg, the small tests in Friends are frequently used to map the level among students.
– We print them out and paste them into the book. I have the students mark what they know in green, and what they need more practice in red. It raises awareness in the student.
Maybe they are told to listen to English more, or they are told to work more on vocabulary.
– I have also set them to translate the guiding feedback they receive in the tests in Friends . Translate "Well done. You know the name of the animals." They get training in translating and writing in Norwegian.
IMMEDIATE RESPONSE: After each chapter, students receive immediate feedback on their progress. Photo: Sverre Chr. Jarild
– The test reflects what they have practiced in the chapter. Then they come to me and show me the result, we try to have a good dialogue about what they have done and what they need to work on more. It gives them increased linguistic awareness.
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Together with Friends
In the hours when students do not have support teaching in English, they are offered to be with the others. For now, the teaching tool is used mostly in spes.ped. But many teachers at the school are interested in using the teaching tool, and have received a short course from Finsberg. Perhaps the teaching tool can also be used to a greater extent among the more able students?
– I see that Friends would be particularly good for the younger children, also since they have an iPad. Here they start early by trying to spell words, in a very good way. Friends also helps them with pronunciation.
Who are the students who use Friends ?
– My students are in 6th grade, but they already started a little in 5th grade. What characterizes the student group is that they all struggle with Norwegian. They have weak reading skills in Norwegian and in many other subjects. Then you don't learn English. It becomes extra difficult for them with all the sounds, says Finsberg and clarifies:
– They often have such a weak vocabulary that they don't understand, and then it can be difficult to adapt in the rest of the teaching. But what's nice is that they experience such a high degree of mastery with the program in Friends .
DRAG AND DROP: In this task, students must drag the correct word to the correct place in the picture. Photo: Sverre Chr. Jarild
From discouraged to recovery
The teacher tells about a group of students who have been unmotivated for the subject for a long time, and have had great resistance to doing anything.
– I wouldn't say that English has become their favorite subject, but instead of being very discouraged, I think the teaching method doesn't discourage them in the same way. They realize that they're not as good, but they see that they're achieving something. They understand the tasks, and that's motivating in itself.
– Must hear English
One of the teacher's tasks is to monitor what they are working on. For Finsberg, it is important that students do not progress too quickly, even if they could handle tasks at a higher level.
– Sometimes some people skip levels and work on, for example, level 5. They can do that, but what they really need is to hear English. It can be quick to complete certain modules. For me, it is important that they work on the easiest modules, so that they get that feeling: I can do this.
In total at Ytre Enebakk School there are 72 students in grade 6. Around 13 of these fall under spes.ped teaching in English.
– Right now I have a boy who used to be very demotivated. He has started Friends and is doing very well now.