Teaching materials and recommendations for an “International conflicts and their resolution” course
Table of contents: The Kazakh-American Free University Academic Journal №10 - 2018
Authors: Kassym Tomiris, Kazakh American Free University, Kazakhstan
Novitskaya Yuliya, Kazakh American Free University, Kazakhstan
To develop a set of
teaching materials for the course we selected texts and videos to the course
topics. For each text or video we developed a glossary of terms and exercises
that are to be done before reading/watching, while reading/ watching and after
reading/watching. Here are some of the examples.
Topic 1. For topic 1 we
chose a text “Conflict Definitions”. The text provides several definitions of
conflicts, describes principles of conflict classifications and the consequences
of such classification.
Before working with this
text we identified the key words that the students will need in order to
understand the text and do the proposed tasks. Here are these words:
difference of
opinions;
conflicting views;
strategies;
consequences;
- eliminate a
conflict;
resolve a
conflict;
handle a conflict;
hostility;
negative attitudes;
aggression;
rivalry and
misunderstanding;
contradictory or
irreconcilable interests;
tension;
struggle;
disagreement;
mutually non-violent.
Also, before reading the
text we suggest that the students should develop their own definitions of
conflict. The suggested procedure of working with the definitions is as
follows:
1) Write down your own
definition of conflict;
2) Share your definition
with the class;
3) Write down the key
words that appear in most of the definitions.
The next stage is the
reading stage. Here, the students are to read the text and write out the key
words from the definitions provided in the text.
After doing this the
students are to fill out a Vienne diagram in which the left sector is the key
words from their definitions, the right sector is the key words from the text
definitions and the central sector is the notions that are common for both
sectors.

Now let us give a
characteristic to this teaching means: by a teaching procedure it is a means of
explanation of a new material, it helps to understand the concept of conflict;
by a management cycle it is a means of direct communication of informative
character; by content is a carrier of information about a subject under study;
by form it is verbal and graphical and by information carrier type it is a
paper teaching material.
The teaching material
meets the following principles:
- the principle of
accessibility – the text selected is suitable for the students’ language level
and skills;
- the principle of
independent activity - the students develop their own definitions,
independently select the key words;
- the principle of
visualization - they organize the ideas graphically, which assists both
understanding and memorizing;
- the principle of
strength – the key conflict concepts are repeated several times: while
developing students’ own definitions, while making notes, while reading, while
filling out the Vienne diagram, while determining common ideas;
- the principle of
cognitive motivation;
- the principle of
problem (in the course of the work the student must solve a specific didactic
problem, using his knowledge and skills, while in a situation different from
the situation in the lesson, in new practical conditions he performs
independent search activity, actively developing his intellectual,
motivational, strong-willed, emotional and other spheres) [1].
The activity addresses
both lower-order thinking skills - remembering, understanding, using - and
higher-order thinking skills - analyzing, comparing, creating, as well as their
metacognitive skills which help the students gain more insight into their own
learning.
Topic 2. Another
teaching material that we would like to describe here is the podcast describing
asymmetric conflicts [2].
Again before listening
to the podcast, we first determined the words, that are necessary for the
students to understand the podcast contents. Here are the words we selected as
the key ones:
- Symmetric conflict;
- Asymmetric conflict;
- Belligerent;
- Insurgency;
- Resistant’s’ movement;
- Exploit weakness;
- Combatants;
- Rely on;
- Guerilla warfare;
- Counterterrorism;
- Resilient opponent;
- Secret weapon;
- Regional rivals;
- Conduce;
- Bear high costs;
- Reluctance.
At the pre-listening
stage we suggest working with the key vocabulary by matching the words with
definitions or by direct translation if there is a time constraint. For the
next stage – listening – we develop a graphic organizer, which will help the
students to systematize what they hear, and at the post-listening stage will
serve as a visual support for speaking about symmetric and asymmetric conflicts
[3].
Let us now analyze this
teaching material. Methodological intention of this piece of teaching material
is information retrieval, and it serves knowledge generation and transmission.
Principals that underlay
the development of this teaching material are as follows:
- the principle of
accessibility-the text is appropriate to the students’ achieved level;
- the principle of
independent activity - the students retrieve the information enclosed in the
text independently;
- principles of
visualization – the graphic organizer helps understanding the content of the
podcast and serves as a means of scaffolding;
- the principle of
strength – visualization helps to utilize different types of intelligence:
verbal, spatial and analytical;
- the principle of
cognitive motivation – the students learn to get knowledge independently [4].
Topic 4. Now, let us
consider another topic for which we developed teaching materials. This is the
topic of key concepts in conflict resolution: conflict management, conflict
settlement, conflict transformation. And again, we start working with the texts
with some selected vocabulary:
prevent conflict
escalation and negative effects;
reduce, downgrade, or
contain ne-gative effects;
re-emergence of past
grievances;
coercion;
subsidence;
intervene;
anticipation of
conflict;
curtail the
reoccurrence of conflict;
violent
manifestations;
maintain the status
quo;
precipitate
pre-emptive action;
insufficient;
egregiously violent;
eruption of deadly
conflicts;
social cohesion;
regional instability;
accountable
governance;
governmental
structures;
civil societies;
business communities;
inhibit recurrences;
reconciliation;
multifaceted;
clashing parties;
unintended
consequences;
deliberate attempts;
insurmountable
impasse;
ameliorate the
situation.
As a part of pre-reading
activity the students are asked to distribute these words into three columns in
a table: conflict management, conflict settlement and conflict transformation.
This exercise allows the
students to develop their high order skills of critical thinking and analysis.
They have to use the previous knowledge of the discipline and background
knowledge on conflict resolution they may have received while studying other
disciplines.
After doing the task
individually the students will discuss their suppositions in pairs and will try
to persuade their partners in the correctness of their choice. They will use
the phrases on how to express opinions, how to agree and disagree. This
activity will help to develop students’ communication skills, which is one of
the goals of using CLIL methodology.
While reading the texts
the students will have to fill out the charts that we developed – they will
have to select three most important ideas that describe the character of
conflict management, prevention, and transformation. Later they will use these
charts as a support in retelling the texts / speaking about the main concepts
of conflict resolution.
This teaching material
is simultaneously the means of explanation, drill and assessment – the students
will revise the material they covered during the lecture (conflict management
and conflict settlement) and investigate a new topic (conflict transformation),
and the teacher may use the charts they fill out as a tool for assessing their
understanding of the material. It is a direct communication means – the
students receive the information directly from the text. By its form the
material is both verbal and graphical: it contains both the texts and the
diagrams.
The methodological
intention of the teaching material is retrieval of the information and
training, which implies the goals of monitoring knowledge, consolidation of
knowledge and competence development [5].
The materials are
developed with consideration of the following principles:
- the principle of
accessibility - the materials are selected according to the students’ achieved
level;
- the principle of
independent activity - two of the exercises are to be done individually;
- the principle of
visualization and modeling of information;
- the principle of
cognitive motivation, which is realized in the students’ trying to guess to
which area of conflict resolution the words given before the text belong;
The material also
satisfies the following criteria that the CLIL materials should meet:
- make the learning
intentions (language, content, learning skills) and process visible to
students;
- foster learning skills
development and learner autonomy;
- fostering cooperative
learning;
- seek ways of
incorporating authentic language and authentic language use;
- foster critical
thinking.
Topic 5. For this topic
we suggest using a crossword puzzle, since the lecture contains quite a few
terms and their definitions.
The process of guessing
crosswords and their compilation is a kind of gymnastics that activates and
develops the students’ mental powers. The guessing sharpens and disciplines the
mind, accustoms the students to a clear logic, to reasoning.
The use of crosswords in
the learning process:
stimulates cognitive
activity (students begin to seek help from textbooks, reference books,
dictionaries and other additional sources);
expands the horizon,
enriches the lexicon with new words, terms;
develops logical
thinking and memory, creativity;
increases literacy;
facilitates the
implementation of a differentiated approach to learning (both by creating
resources of different levels of complexity, and by setting tasks: to solve /
compile).
While developing the
crossword puzzle we used the following rules:
- Do not have “dies”
(unfilled cells) in the crossword grid;
- Random combinations of
letters and intersections are not allowed;
- Words to be guessed
must be singular nouns;
- Two-letter words must
have two intersections;
- Three-letter words
must have at least two intersections;
- Abbreviations are not
allowed.
- A large number of
two-letter words are not recommended.
Working with the
crossword puzzle the teacher can use different forms:
Whole class work (when
all students under the guidance of the teachers solve a crossword);
Group work (when the
class is divided into groups, each group solves the crossword together);
Pair work;
Individual (when
student one student solves a crossword puzzle).
A crossword puzzle may
be also used for assessing students’ learning.
Undoubtedly, the
criteria depend on many factors and should be determined by the teacher
individually, it is possible to single out only certain basic points. Here are
possible criteria for evaluating the result:
1) percentage of guessed
words;
2) share of key terms;
3) accuracy and
unambiguous wording of questions (if the students create their own crosswords).
The effectiveness and
effectiveness of solving crossword puzzles offered to students may be estimated
by two indicators:
a) the time that is
necessary for students to guess the crossword;
b) the number of
mistakes (including spelling errors) made by them in the decision process (the
latter induces the compiler to find out the reasons for the incorrect answers
and, if necessary, clarify the wording of the questions).
In group work, an
assessment is made for the group and those who correctly named the largest number
of words. If the crossword is guessed by the whole class, the activity,
“resourcefulness” and erudition of everyone are taken into account, and only
good grades are given to the most active students.
First, it is practiced
to use in class ready-made crosswords (compiled by the teacher). As soon as the
students feel the charm of such activities, they can be asked to create
crossword puzzles by themselves. This can be done both at home and in class.
This is a very useful
kind of independent work of students. It is especially advisable from the
methodological point of view to compile thematic crosswords: it requires a good
knowledge of the chosen topic, the ability to clearly formulate definitions of
concepts.
The requirements for
students when working on drawing up a crossword in class or at home are
different.
In class, a crossword
puzzle is compiled on a given topic. In this case, clear criteria are set: the
number of words and time (for example, 10-15 words for 20 minutes).
Making a crossword
puzzle as a homework, students are to use additional literature, try to come up
with an interesting, unconventional questions that develop their creative
abilities. While assessing it is possible to consider originality of questions,
the ability to select the most appropriate words.
It is possible to
propose such tasks for compiling thematic crosswords:
- Only a list of terms
and words on the topic is reported. It is required to formulate questions (as a
rule, this task is assigned to a group).
- Only the topic is named,
everything else the students do themselves (the task is performed in groups or
individually).
Priority is given to
formulating the questions. The problem of raising the question is the problem
of developing high-quality thinking. We see solving the problem in the accuracy
of any questions asked by the teacher, and in the ability to cause students in
the learning process to clearly articulate what they would like to know.
First of all, we recall
those questions that were asked when studying the topic's material and its
generalization. After all, a good question helps to see the essence of what was
learned in a completely new way and to seek answers in ways that no one
previously thought of. And most importantly - it indicates the understanding of
the educational material. Therefore, we assess the crossword puzzles compiled
by the students according to the following criteria: a) number of questions; b)
their quality.
The number of questions
is estimated not by their absolute number, but by the number of semantic
elements with which they are related. The quality of questions is determined by
the nature of the mental operations that are necessary to construct the answer.
Taking into account the
latter, it is possible to distinguish such types of questions:
1. Pointing out the
essence of the concept, the characteristic features of the phenomenon (What
is...?). Such questions activate the work of memory, stimulate the revision of
what is learned in the study of a particular topic.
2. Containing
indications of the causes of the phenomenon, the establishment of causal
relationships (Why / because of what ...?). Such questions presuppose the
establishment of connections between physical phenomena, magnitudes, the
allocation of key points in the topic under study, a certain systematization of
knowledge, i.e. rethinking the information received.
3. Emphasizing the
causal relationship between the phenomena studied in different topics
(sections) of the course. Such questions require generalization, analogies,
hypotheses, etc.; they encourage the establishment of multifaceted links of all
studied material, the analysis of acquired knowledge from a new angle.
4. Expressing
inter-subject communications [6].
Studying the subject in
English requires reading professional texts and texts in professional topics. Reading involves several strategies: scanning, skimming, reading for details.
Topic 3. For this topic
we selected a text about one of the founders of conflict resolution discipline
Johan Vincent Galtung. The text was taken from the Peace Encyclopedia, and it
is of a higher level of complexity than the level of an average student in the
3rd year of International Relations undergraduate program. Considering this
fact we adapted the text to the level of our students. There were several
things done:
1) We shortened the text
from almost 2000 words to 1000 words;
2) We changed the
structure of the sentences, making them simple rather than complex or compound;
3) We substituted the
words of formal style into neutral words;
4) We omitted some of
the information which is difficult for understanding, which bears cultural
information that is beyond the students’ background knowledge.
Working with the text we
suggest different types of reading activities:
1. Introductory reading
is reading with an understanding of the content of the reading (reading for
gist, skim reading or skimming). The text is read as quickly as possible in
order to understand the main content and general structure or select the main
facts.
For this kind of
reading, understanding 70% of the text is enough; the main thing is the ability
to distinguish and understand the key words. When teaching this type of
reading, you must learn to bypass unfamiliar words and do not interrupt
reading, if such occurs. You also need to learn to guess the meaning of
keywords from context.
2. Reading for detail.
This type of reading presupposes a complete and accurate understanding of all
the basic and secondary facts, their comprehension and memorization.
3. Search and scan
reading with the extraction of necessary information (reading for specific in
formation or scanning). The goal is to find out whether this text contains any
information useful to the reader.
This teaching material
is educational by its methodological intention – it can be used for new
material delivery and study; its goals are: generation and transmission of
knowledge and information disclosure. When the material was designed, we used
the following principles as guidelines:
- the principle of
accessibility (the text was adapted according to the students’ achieved level);
- the principle of
independent activity (work with didactic materials is carried out
independently).
REFERENCES
1.
Ваганян А.Г. Реализация методики CLIL в учебниках по иностранным языкам //
Педагогический опыт: теория, методика, практика: материалы V Междунар. науч. - практ.
конф. (Чебоксары, 25 дек. 2015 г.) / редкол.: О.Н. Широков [и др.] – Чебоксары:
ЦНС «Интерактив плюс», 2015. – № 4 (5). – С. 54-56.
2. YouTube web site at https:// www. youtube. com/watch?v=yNu8ei8bj04.
3. European Commission. Promoting Language
Learning and Linguistic Diversity: An Action Plan 2004 – 2006. Communication
from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and
Social Committee of the Regions, COM 449. Retrieved
4 June 2017 from: http:// europa. eu. int/ comm/education/doc/official/keydoc/
actlang/ act_ lang_en.pdf
4. Meyer, O. (2010). Towards quality CLIL: successful
planning and teaching strategies. Pulso, 33,11-29.
5. Mehisto, P. (2012). Criteria for producing
CLIL learning material. Encuentro, 2015 [Online resource]. Available at http: // www.unifg.it/sites/ default/files/ allegatiparagrafo/ 21-01-2014/ mehisto_ criteria_ for_producing_clil_
learning_ material. pdf
6. Meyer, O. Towards quality CLIL: successful
planning and teaching strategies. - Pulso, 33, 2010. – PP. 11-29.
Table of contents: The Kazakh-American Free University Academic Journal №10 - 2018
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