Hello!
Please look at this incredible opportunity to buy and donate an amazing xo laptop. We did a presentation on this in our Language Learning and Technology class a few months ago, and now there is an amazing offer for anyone in the U.S. and Canada with the means to buy their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. a laptop. For only $400.00, you can get a practically indestructible, innovative laptop for your child and simultaneously donate one to a child in a developing nation, thus enabling him or her to access resources and information otherwise unavailable to that child. In the U.S., you also get a $200.00 tax deduction for the charitable contribution, and a year of free internet service through T-Mobile! You really can't beat that. Check it out!
http://www.laptop.org/
With these types of programs and the tools on Web 2.0, there is an amazing potential to bring about change in the world. I am very hopeful about this! Also, please check out http://www.globaltext.org/ for an idea of some of the resources that innovative and caring people around the world are collaborating on to empower those who have traditionally held little or nor power, and who have been equally helpless to bring about positive, lasting change in their lives.
What do you think the benefits of these types of programs may be? Do they fill you with as much as hope as they do me??
Update: It appears that this was a holiday season offering only. Now you may donate a computer (or several), but you cannot buy one. Look for it around next holiday season, though! My niece loves hers, and she figured out most of the features right away--the computer is very user friendly, the features are simple to figure out. It looks cool, and she carries it around with her.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Emotions and language
Question from reading: Discuss the role of emotional language in your L1 and L2. Which language is emotionally richer? As your learners acquire (participate in) their new speech communities do you see a change in their emotional language behavior? Reflect on the notion of (re)construction of self in your own L2 or L3 learning experiences.
Emotional language appears to be most closely tied to L1; the reasons for this could be because we experienced most of our emotions for the first time in our L1 and/or that our expressive ability, in terms of detail, nuances, and simple vocabulary is usually much richer in our L1. I found the story of Eva/Ewa Hoffman heartbreaking at times in this article. It is interesting that she transitioned so strongly, so firmly, that she lost her inner voice for while. We language teachers (as language learners) can all relate to the experience of being in an L2 environment, feeling something very strongly, and being frustrated because we were at a loss to express how we felt on more than a superficial level.
In Korea, I felt this way once when a taxi driver was overcharging me by a ridiculous amount. He knew it; I knew it. I made my friend (who'd just come to visit me) get her bags out of the car and wait on the curb while I had it out with this driver. My Korean vocabulary was so limited at this point that I could just say--in a very Tarzanesque fashion, "Me, live Korea, airport 16,000 won. 26,000 won--no! Bad man bad man!!! You bad man! 16,000 won, me airport every day. 16,000 won, bad man!!!" Saram Nabayo is the phrase bad man, by the way. I don't think I'll forget that anytime soon! I was so upset that I couldn't argue/reason with this guy properly! In any case, I paid him 20,000 won and called him "bad man" one last time. The funny part is that I had just told my friend that Korea wouldn't be like when she visited me in Mexico, where I could communicate, because I could barely speak Korean at all. And of course, she was just standing on the curb, shaking her head and laughing hysterically, because here I was, having a "fight" in Korean. I guess it sounded more impressive if you had no idea what I was saying!
The opposite situation occurred in Mexico, where I grew very comfortable speaking, emotionally or otherwise, in Spanish. I partially attribute that to the fact that Spanish is such an emotional language for me that, outside of the language classroom in real interactions, I picked up on the language and expressiveness as I would have picked up on any other sociolinguistic characteristic, such as the gestures. I found out that my Spanish-speaking self was much girlier than my English-speaking self, though I've always been animated in either language.
I can empathize with the writers in the Pavlenko article, though. There were some cultural differences between where I lived in Mexico and where I grew up, and this of course was reflected in the language. Maybe not everyone would pick up on it, but language and interactions between people have always been on my radar. After a year in Mexico, I decided, very clearly, that there were too many of these cultural differences I would have to adopt/adapt in order to live there long term and not be constantly frustrated or miscommunicating. That's when I decided to come back to the U.S. (at least for a while).
Don't get me wrong, I loved living in Mexico, and I truly appreciate gaining a deeper understanding of the vibrant, passionate, and colorful culture of Mexico and of the Mexican people. I felt the same way after living in London, Seoul, and Taipei. I wouldn't trade those experiences fo anything, really. Every experience has helped shaped my world view and has made me a stronger and more empathetic ESL teacher.
Living in different countries has always been a remarkable, vivid, exciting, and educational experience that I have relished, but no matter what the problems or issues the U.S. has or may have, it ultimately feels like home to me. That's why I am here now, but I still harbor thoughts of packing my suitcase and taking off for more adventures and learning!
Emotional language appears to be most closely tied to L1; the reasons for this could be because we experienced most of our emotions for the first time in our L1 and/or that our expressive ability, in terms of detail, nuances, and simple vocabulary is usually much richer in our L1. I found the story of Eva/Ewa Hoffman heartbreaking at times in this article. It is interesting that she transitioned so strongly, so firmly, that she lost her inner voice for while. We language teachers (as language learners) can all relate to the experience of being in an L2 environment, feeling something very strongly, and being frustrated because we were at a loss to express how we felt on more than a superficial level.
In Korea, I felt this way once when a taxi driver was overcharging me by a ridiculous amount. He knew it; I knew it. I made my friend (who'd just come to visit me) get her bags out of the car and wait on the curb while I had it out with this driver. My Korean vocabulary was so limited at this point that I could just say--in a very Tarzanesque fashion, "Me, live Korea, airport 16,000 won. 26,000 won--no! Bad man bad man!!! You bad man! 16,000 won, me airport every day. 16,000 won, bad man!!!" Saram Nabayo is the phrase bad man, by the way. I don't think I'll forget that anytime soon! I was so upset that I couldn't argue/reason with this guy properly! In any case, I paid him 20,000 won and called him "bad man" one last time. The funny part is that I had just told my friend that Korea wouldn't be like when she visited me in Mexico, where I could communicate, because I could barely speak Korean at all. And of course, she was just standing on the curb, shaking her head and laughing hysterically, because here I was, having a "fight" in Korean. I guess it sounded more impressive if you had no idea what I was saying!
The opposite situation occurred in Mexico, where I grew very comfortable speaking, emotionally or otherwise, in Spanish. I partially attribute that to the fact that Spanish is such an emotional language for me that, outside of the language classroom in real interactions, I picked up on the language and expressiveness as I would have picked up on any other sociolinguistic characteristic, such as the gestures. I found out that my Spanish-speaking self was much girlier than my English-speaking self, though I've always been animated in either language.
I can empathize with the writers in the Pavlenko article, though. There were some cultural differences between where I lived in Mexico and where I grew up, and this of course was reflected in the language. Maybe not everyone would pick up on it, but language and interactions between people have always been on my radar. After a year in Mexico, I decided, very clearly, that there were too many of these cultural differences I would have to adopt/adapt in order to live there long term and not be constantly frustrated or miscommunicating. That's when I decided to come back to the U.S. (at least for a while).
Don't get me wrong, I loved living in Mexico, and I truly appreciate gaining a deeper understanding of the vibrant, passionate, and colorful culture of Mexico and of the Mexican people. I felt the same way after living in London, Seoul, and Taipei. I wouldn't trade those experiences fo anything, really. Every experience has helped shaped my world view and has made me a stronger and more empathetic ESL teacher.
Living in different countries has always been a remarkable, vivid, exciting, and educational experience that I have relished, but no matter what the problems or issues the U.S. has or may have, it ultimately feels like home to me. That's why I am here now, but I still harbor thoughts of packing my suitcase and taking off for more adventures and learning!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Reflection 8: Best Practices
Okay. What is it going to be: form-focused or communicative or a combination of both? Back up your thoughts with some of the studies in LS Ch. 6.
Based on the research I have read, here in Lightbown and Spada and several other sources, and in my own personal experiences as a language learner and a language teacher, the best approach would have to be somewhere in the middle, combining plenty of comprehensible input (go, Krashen) in the students' Zone of Proximal Development (shout to Vygotsky) with plenty of opportunities to speak in meaningful interactions. Grammar/structure has to be addressed as well, and it seems most effective to introduce this explicitly, then have students practice in meaning-based, communicative tasks. My favorite book that supports this is James F. Lee & Bill Van Patten (1995). Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen, which focuses on providing opportunities for both structured input and structured output, with concrete examples we can use to create. Lee and Van Patten's book is excellent in terms of classroom applications that can be immediately implemented. In this chapter of L&S, studies 31, 35, 37 and 38 lend further credibility to the idea of varying instruction and using a combination approach.
Based on the research I have read, here in Lightbown and Spada and several other sources, and in my own personal experiences as a language learner and a language teacher, the best approach would have to be somewhere in the middle, combining plenty of comprehensible input (go, Krashen) in the students' Zone of Proximal Development (shout to Vygotsky) with plenty of opportunities to speak in meaningful interactions. Grammar/structure has to be addressed as well, and it seems most effective to introduce this explicitly, then have students practice in meaning-based, communicative tasks. My favorite book that supports this is James F. Lee & Bill Van Patten (1995). Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen, which focuses on providing opportunities for both structured input and structured output, with concrete examples we can use to create. Lee and Van Patten's book is excellent in terms of classroom applications that can be immediately implemented. In this chapter of L&S, studies 31, 35, 37 and 38 lend further credibility to the idea of varying instruction and using a combination approach.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Affective Filter and Motivation: Reflection 7
From your experience, what are some of the affective factors that you encounter in your classrooms? How do they interfere in learning?How do lower the affective filter?
There are a number of reasons why one's affective filter may be raised at any given point. I have seen students who are simply shy and students who are from a more reserved cultural background, for example, struggle to participate in class, and I have seen students (adults) who may have difficulty expressing themselves because they are so concerned about speaking less eloquently in their L2 than their L1. It is hard to work for years to achieve a certain level--of knowledge, of education, of wit, of status or prestige in your job and community--and then go to language classes and practice basic language skills and participate in activities or tasks that are beneath your cognitive levels in other ways. How many times can you talk about the red table or ask about the weather before you get frustrated? These are just basic examples, but they are all true, particularly for beginners. It is hard to put yourself on a level with your peers in the language classroom, even harder when cultural beliefs are called into play.
Living in Korea, I got to see this first hand, where businessmen could be in class with college students. There was a level of respect that the younger students gave the older students, respect that (for the ESL teachers) would throw a wrench in the works at times. Most often, my students were willing participants in their own language learning experience. However, there was the occasional "situation," where perhaps a younger (and/or female) student would forgo speaking or responding in order to let the older (often male) student speak. In these cases, it was difficult to have the students each practice or speak. To all of the students' credit, they each opted to sign up for this class knowing there was a mixed group (age and gender), and they enjoyed and looked forward to the interaction with students of a social group they may rarely have an opportunity to spend time with outside of their own families. I also admired the younger students who felt it most respectful to offer up the floor to the other students, even if it inhibited their own opportunities to speak.
I addressed this in a couple of ways. I established the classroom as an informal environment, based on the target language and culture (which was U.S. culture in this particular case), but explained to them that everyone would have to speak and participate, and that I would ask each student to speak, either in turn or as the other students or I addressed them. This was a conversation class, after all. I approached the students with empathy and humor as much as possible, remembering their names from the first day and asking them about details they had mentioned earlier. I got them to share their opinions and stories as much as possible.
These student groups almost always had a stellar rapport with each other. After a while, the students warmed up to each other and began to participate more evenly, asking each other questions and talking about each other's lives and interests. Working within the structured curriculum I had, with students who were violently opposed to homework and who often had few or no chances to speak outside of the class, breaking through the affective filter early was vital to helping these students begin to use the language. In most classes, and with most of my lovely students, I learned to draw them out to begin interacting with each other. I also admitted to any mistakes I made in class or let them know that I had to go home or talk to another teacher to get answers or ideas for class. I hope this helped them see that, as Polo brought up in class, we are all lifelong language learners.
We have been discussing this issue in class. and I know there are many teachers and researchers who emphasize letting students go through their silent period or work quietly by themselves, but in this situation, they were paying for me to get them talking, so I quickly became the dancing bear and the empathizer. The students generally seemed to be waiting for someone to come help them tear down those walls so we could get the (English) party started.
It is different with K-12 ESL than overseas EFL, however. I think it is crucial with kids and adults living in the L2 culture to learn as much about their lives, their interests, and their unique cultures, so we can be delicate when delicacy is required and firm/lively/detailed/etc., when our students need us to be, and so we can incorporate something they know (from their own cultures) or like (soccer, music, seafood, whatever) into the lessons and into our conversations with these students. This should help them feel more at ease with the classes and with the L2.
There are a number of reasons why one's affective filter may be raised at any given point. I have seen students who are simply shy and students who are from a more reserved cultural background, for example, struggle to participate in class, and I have seen students (adults) who may have difficulty expressing themselves because they are so concerned about speaking less eloquently in their L2 than their L1. It is hard to work for years to achieve a certain level--of knowledge, of education, of wit, of status or prestige in your job and community--and then go to language classes and practice basic language skills and participate in activities or tasks that are beneath your cognitive levels in other ways. How many times can you talk about the red table or ask about the weather before you get frustrated? These are just basic examples, but they are all true, particularly for beginners. It is hard to put yourself on a level with your peers in the language classroom, even harder when cultural beliefs are called into play.
Living in Korea, I got to see this first hand, where businessmen could be in class with college students. There was a level of respect that the younger students gave the older students, respect that (for the ESL teachers) would throw a wrench in the works at times. Most often, my students were willing participants in their own language learning experience. However, there was the occasional "situation," where perhaps a younger (and/or female) student would forgo speaking or responding in order to let the older (often male) student speak. In these cases, it was difficult to have the students each practice or speak. To all of the students' credit, they each opted to sign up for this class knowing there was a mixed group (age and gender), and they enjoyed and looked forward to the interaction with students of a social group they may rarely have an opportunity to spend time with outside of their own families. I also admired the younger students who felt it most respectful to offer up the floor to the other students, even if it inhibited their own opportunities to speak.
I addressed this in a couple of ways. I established the classroom as an informal environment, based on the target language and culture (which was U.S. culture in this particular case), but explained to them that everyone would have to speak and participate, and that I would ask each student to speak, either in turn or as the other students or I addressed them. This was a conversation class, after all. I approached the students with empathy and humor as much as possible, remembering their names from the first day and asking them about details they had mentioned earlier. I got them to share their opinions and stories as much as possible.
These student groups almost always had a stellar rapport with each other. After a while, the students warmed up to each other and began to participate more evenly, asking each other questions and talking about each other's lives and interests. Working within the structured curriculum I had, with students who were violently opposed to homework and who often had few or no chances to speak outside of the class, breaking through the affective filter early was vital to helping these students begin to use the language. In most classes, and with most of my lovely students, I learned to draw them out to begin interacting with each other. I also admitted to any mistakes I made in class or let them know that I had to go home or talk to another teacher to get answers or ideas for class. I hope this helped them see that, as Polo brought up in class, we are all lifelong language learners.
We have been discussing this issue in class. and I know there are many teachers and researchers who emphasize letting students go through their silent period or work quietly by themselves, but in this situation, they were paying for me to get them talking, so I quickly became the dancing bear and the empathizer. The students generally seemed to be waiting for someone to come help them tear down those walls so we could get the (English) party started.
It is different with K-12 ESL than overseas EFL, however. I think it is crucial with kids and adults living in the L2 culture to learn as much about their lives, their interests, and their unique cultures, so we can be delicate when delicacy is required and firm/lively/detailed/etc., when our students need us to be, and so we can incorporate something they know (from their own cultures) or like (soccer, music, seafood, whatever) into the lessons and into our conversations with these students. This should help them feel more at ease with the classes and with the L2.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Whorfian Hypothesis and Cultural Resources in the Classroom: prompt 6
Re. the Whorfian hypothesis: Are there concepts or ways of saying things in one of the languages that you speak that can not be said or expressed or the meaning changes in another of your languages? How do you address culture in your classrooms? Do you go beyond the "holiday" model of culture?
Part 1: There are things that can only be expressed in one language, because so much of the language we get is built around the culture of the community in which it is spoken. When I began to truly understand (not just memorize) certain idiomatic expressions or deeply felt adages in Spanish that would only be relevant, say, in that part of Mexico, I was sooooo thrilled--it felt like I had arrived. It really spurred on my motivation and eagerness to learn Spanish even more. A classic example of this is the expression you hear all over Mexico (and other Spanish-speaking countries) of "Si Dios quiere..., which can be literally translated as "If God wishes." However, in the cultural context, it represents the religiosity and the fatalism inherent in the culture, so the literal translation loses its power and its intent to some degree if interpreted with a U.S. mindset.
Another one is one we've all probably heard, about how many (MANY! MANY!!!) words the Alaskan natives (Inuits? Aleuts?) have for snow. It would make absolutely no sense to someone from South Texas, who may have never even seen snow, but if you look at snow all day, nearly very day for most of the year, in every size, shape, different strengths of storm or flurry, well, of course you would have a lot of words to distinguish each type of snow/snowflake/snowstorm, yes?
Part 2: I am always looking for cultural activities for the classroom, ways to allow students to make the most of their natural resources of language and culture, and ways they can share these ideas. It helps when students come from different cultures within one class group to have them learn about each other, so each student feels valued and respected, and so they begin to understand each other better.
One thing it took me a while to learn to respect (as I have seen with other teachers, too) is the concept of a wait time before speaking that is prevalent in many Asian cultures (for example). Although to communicate effectively with, say, a U.S. businessman, you must eventually learn to speak up and reduce the "dead air" between utterances, these students have numerous reasons for waiting, all of which sound really good. Instead of just filling the empty space with nonsense words, unnecessary repetitions, or chit chat, many ELLs come from a culture of listening, then thinking, then speaking. And when you add the time for students to formulate a grammatically correct sentence to get their point across, well, we are looking at some serious wait time.
We should vary activities so that the more reflective or introverted students or students from a "high culture," where much of the communication is based on non-verbal cues and culturally understood traditions have an equal chance to participate. When we want them to jump in, think quickly, or interrupt each other, we should let them know that this is what is required for that activity, but that there will be other opportunities to communicate in the fashion of their preference and cultural conditioning. Once I realized this and learned to incorporate the wait time, I reminded the teachers that I worked with, trained, and managed not to fill in the spaces between utterances (a very common tendency for English speakers from many western cutlures). It is a struggle for many of us, but it is worth the effort.
Part 1: There are things that can only be expressed in one language, because so much of the language we get is built around the culture of the community in which it is spoken. When I began to truly understand (not just memorize) certain idiomatic expressions or deeply felt adages in Spanish that would only be relevant, say, in that part of Mexico, I was sooooo thrilled--it felt like I had arrived. It really spurred on my motivation and eagerness to learn Spanish even more. A classic example of this is the expression you hear all over Mexico (and other Spanish-speaking countries) of "Si Dios quiere..., which can be literally translated as "If God wishes." However, in the cultural context, it represents the religiosity and the fatalism inherent in the culture, so the literal translation loses its power and its intent to some degree if interpreted with a U.S. mindset.
Another one is one we've all probably heard, about how many (MANY! MANY!!!) words the Alaskan natives (Inuits? Aleuts?) have for snow. It would make absolutely no sense to someone from South Texas, who may have never even seen snow, but if you look at snow all day, nearly very day for most of the year, in every size, shape, different strengths of storm or flurry, well, of course you would have a lot of words to distinguish each type of snow/snowflake/snowstorm, yes?
Part 2: I am always looking for cultural activities for the classroom, ways to allow students to make the most of their natural resources of language and culture, and ways they can share these ideas. It helps when students come from different cultures within one class group to have them learn about each other, so each student feels valued and respected, and so they begin to understand each other better.
One thing it took me a while to learn to respect (as I have seen with other teachers, too) is the concept of a wait time before speaking that is prevalent in many Asian cultures (for example). Although to communicate effectively with, say, a U.S. businessman, you must eventually learn to speak up and reduce the "dead air" between utterances, these students have numerous reasons for waiting, all of which sound really good. Instead of just filling the empty space with nonsense words, unnecessary repetitions, or chit chat, many ELLs come from a culture of listening, then thinking, then speaking. And when you add the time for students to formulate a grammatically correct sentence to get their point across, well, we are looking at some serious wait time.
We should vary activities so that the more reflective or introverted students or students from a "high culture," where much of the communication is based on non-verbal cues and culturally understood traditions have an equal chance to participate. When we want them to jump in, think quickly, or interrupt each other, we should let them know that this is what is required for that activity, but that there will be other opportunities to communicate in the fashion of their preference and cultural conditioning. Once I realized this and learned to incorporate the wait time, I reminded the teachers that I worked with, trained, and managed not to fill in the spaces between utterances (a very common tendency for English speakers from many western cutlures). It is a struggle for many of us, but it is worth the effort.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Reflection 5: Error Analysis
What is CAH and what are the differences between it and CLI? How can some of the concepts talked about in the Chapter (Brown ch 9) be used in the classroom, e.g., error analysis, CLI, Stages of learner language development, fossilization.
CAH is the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, or the systematic observation of frequent learner errors, with the idea that all of these errors are based on the contrast between features in L1 and L2. It was developed to begin predicting the specific errors a language learner will make in order to understand the mental processes of the learner and to possibly "cut them off at the pass," in a way, and plan better, more effective L2 instruction based on the type of L1 interference the student would have. CLI, cross-linguistic influence, is what Wardaugh (1970, as cited by Brown) calls a "weak version" of the CAH. So, there is plenty of error analysis, but only as the leaner produces the errors, not BEFORE the errors take place.
CLI also takes into account the fact that L1 interference/transfer/influence is not the only issue going on in language acquisition, and that a number of learner mistakes (self-correctable, like a mental typo) or errors (not self-correctable without help b/c learners do not know these are errors) must, by their very nature, be indicative of some process or stage going on besides L1 influence. There are intralingual (one language) issues as well as interlingual (two or more languages) issues, and the predictions from CAH often fall flat in the face of the errors the students actually make, although both sides (and most language teachers and learners) would agree that it is beneficial to have some familiarity with the L1 to try to support learners well.
I think learner language can be helpful in guiding us to determine where on the continuum of proficiency our learners may be, and perhaps an activity where learners discuss their processes as they develop would be helpful, either through a language survey asking them how they processed the language during a specific task or a think-aloud (while reading) activity. It takes a lot of time that teachers may not have to closely observe these activities, but even if students engage in such activities in pairs or small groups facilitated by the teacher to raise their own metalinguistic awareness, it should help them realize what the sticking points in their learning may be and name the the confusion they are facing in class.
The topic of error analysis is loaded, because it is usually not clear through simple observation what the root cause of the error is, but through such activities as above, we can try to get to the heart of the matter and determine where to go from here. It is important to try to analyze the errors somewhat and to give error feedback, but with most instructional strategies, the best practice is probably to vary the times we give error feedback, the type of error feedback, and the expected response to error feedback so that we may reach all learners, no matter what their learning styles are.
CAH is the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, or the systematic observation of frequent learner errors, with the idea that all of these errors are based on the contrast between features in L1 and L2. It was developed to begin predicting the specific errors a language learner will make in order to understand the mental processes of the learner and to possibly "cut them off at the pass," in a way, and plan better, more effective L2 instruction based on the type of L1 interference the student would have. CLI, cross-linguistic influence, is what Wardaugh (1970, as cited by Brown) calls a "weak version" of the CAH. So, there is plenty of error analysis, but only as the leaner produces the errors, not BEFORE the errors take place.
CLI also takes into account the fact that L1 interference/transfer/influence is not the only issue going on in language acquisition, and that a number of learner mistakes (self-correctable, like a mental typo) or errors (not self-correctable without help b/c learners do not know these are errors) must, by their very nature, be indicative of some process or stage going on besides L1 influence. There are intralingual (one language) issues as well as interlingual (two or more languages) issues, and the predictions from CAH often fall flat in the face of the errors the students actually make, although both sides (and most language teachers and learners) would agree that it is beneficial to have some familiarity with the L1 to try to support learners well.
I think learner language can be helpful in guiding us to determine where on the continuum of proficiency our learners may be, and perhaps an activity where learners discuss their processes as they develop would be helpful, either through a language survey asking them how they processed the language during a specific task or a think-aloud (while reading) activity. It takes a lot of time that teachers may not have to closely observe these activities, but even if students engage in such activities in pairs or small groups facilitated by the teacher to raise their own metalinguistic awareness, it should help them realize what the sticking points in their learning may be and name the the confusion they are facing in class.
The topic of error analysis is loaded, because it is usually not clear through simple observation what the root cause of the error is, but through such activities as above, we can try to get to the heart of the matter and determine where to go from here. It is important to try to analyze the errors somewhat and to give error feedback, but with most instructional strategies, the best practice is probably to vary the times we give error feedback, the type of error feedback, and the expected response to error feedback so that we may reach all learners, no matter what their learning styles are.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Reflection 4: Critical Period Hypothesis
Why do you think that it is so difficult for researchers to agree on the CPH (Critical Age Hypothesis). Give explicit examples from the readings. Also give examples from your own experience.
It is probably so difficult to reach a consensus because the research we have is not usually generalizable, and the results are contradictory at times. In addition, many researchers who may even believe that the CP exists try to prove it from very different perspectives or approaches. For example, researchers such as Lenneberg (1967)*, Selinger (1978), and Diller (1981) focus on the neurological development, or what happens in the brain as we grow older, from the point of view of how lateralization takes place, localization into the dominant hemisphere, and cell development within the brain, respectively.
Other researchers look at this intuively felt and believed-in phenomena from the perspective of loss of of or changes in one's acces to Universal Grammar as we age (Martohardjono and Flynn, 1995; Cook and Newson, 1996; and Hawkins, 2001), although even among such Nativists there is considerable disagreement over how much one can access at a certain age and how much of these abilities are retained. So, even though they are all proponents of one overriding school of thought, they are nowhere near a unified idea of what may influence the or confine the CPH.
Still a third group, including Krashen (1973 and 1975), Stengel (1939), and Guiora (1972 and 1992) relate the ability of languages to social and affective factors such as identity, attitudes and motivation toward learning the target language, and acculturation.
Because there are so many learning styles and strategies, so many developmental and affective factors, and such a wide range of reasons to learn a second language, individual results in gaining language proficiency in an L2 vary, just as the individual learners vary. There seems to be an age at which learning a language begins to become more difficult for the L2 learner; however, this is not a clearly defined, nor an absolute, truth. Nor has it been proven through research. Many post-adolescent language learners can become proficient in an L2, for many different reasons and within many different environments. The only (near) fact that comes out of CPH research is that younger learners almost always make much greater strides in adopting a native-like or near-native pronunciation, while many fewer adult learners do.
In my own case, I have seen a lot of anecdotal evidence that something like a CP exists, but I have also seen language learners who began learning English as an adult become highly proficient in that language. In the (paraphrased) words of countless other researchers and teachers in our field, I will beg off of making a conclusion and will say that further research is needed, and, most importantly, different people learn differently and there is no one right answer regarding the parameters or causes of a CP.
* All research cited here are citations directly from Singleton (2005)
It is probably so difficult to reach a consensus because the research we have is not usually generalizable, and the results are contradictory at times. In addition, many researchers who may even believe that the CP exists try to prove it from very different perspectives or approaches. For example, researchers such as Lenneberg (1967)*, Selinger (1978), and Diller (1981) focus on the neurological development, or what happens in the brain as we grow older, from the point of view of how lateralization takes place, localization into the dominant hemisphere, and cell development within the brain, respectively.
Other researchers look at this intuively felt and believed-in phenomena from the perspective of loss of of or changes in one's acces to Universal Grammar as we age (Martohardjono and Flynn, 1995; Cook and Newson, 1996; and Hawkins, 2001), although even among such Nativists there is considerable disagreement over how much one can access at a certain age and how much of these abilities are retained. So, even though they are all proponents of one overriding school of thought, they are nowhere near a unified idea of what may influence the or confine the CPH.
Still a third group, including Krashen (1973 and 1975), Stengel (1939), and Guiora (1972 and 1992) relate the ability of languages to social and affective factors such as identity, attitudes and motivation toward learning the target language, and acculturation.
Because there are so many learning styles and strategies, so many developmental and affective factors, and such a wide range of reasons to learn a second language, individual results in gaining language proficiency in an L2 vary, just as the individual learners vary. There seems to be an age at which learning a language begins to become more difficult for the L2 learner; however, this is not a clearly defined, nor an absolute, truth. Nor has it been proven through research. Many post-adolescent language learners can become proficient in an L2, for many different reasons and within many different environments. The only (near) fact that comes out of CPH research is that younger learners almost always make much greater strides in adopting a native-like or near-native pronunciation, while many fewer adult learners do.
In my own case, I have seen a lot of anecdotal evidence that something like a CP exists, but I have also seen language learners who began learning English as an adult become highly proficient in that language. In the (paraphrased) words of countless other researchers and teachers in our field, I will beg off of making a conclusion and will say that further research is needed, and, most importantly, different people learn differently and there is no one right answer regarding the parameters or causes of a CP.
* All research cited here are citations directly from Singleton (2005)
Friday, June 8, 2007
Learning Styles: reflection 3
What is your learning style? Have you ever taken a learning style inventory? In your classrooms as teachers how have you or do you address the issue of learning styles? Finally discuss your experience with learners' beliefs about language, of either your students or their parents. How has it affected your teaching?
For learning languages, I am an aural learner. I am always walking around, pronouncing things to myself, and when I read in another language, I relish doing so aloud. This is probably related to my highly social nature--communicating is huge for me, so I listen very intently and pick up a lot of language that way. I enjoy kinesthetic and visual aids, but I don't always need them.
It's good for me to keep reminding myself to incorporate DIFFERENT types of activities, especially the ones I wouldn't naturally plan (like a math component or individual work). I have always use a ton of visuals and manipulatives, though. They are fun and wonderful for scaffolding and conversation-starting. Variety is so helpful to our students and is responsive to their needs.
Learners' beliefs about learning language are as diverse and unique as the learners themselves. I still recall one woman from Mexico who was a Spanish professor in Mexico and a restaurant kitchen worker in Dallas. I gave ESL classes there for the kitchen and bus staff, and it was interetsing. She had--no doubt--the strongest educational background and but she hesitated to participate in these free classes because she felt it was a betrayal of sorts to her country, culture, and mother tongue. We would have long talks about why she felt bad, and I empathized and encouraged her, and she did participate and make progress, but I will always remember how hard it was for her to do so. This is exactly what we were discussing yesterday in class.
For learning languages, I am an aural learner. I am always walking around, pronouncing things to myself, and when I read in another language, I relish doing so aloud. This is probably related to my highly social nature--communicating is huge for me, so I listen very intently and pick up a lot of language that way. I enjoy kinesthetic and visual aids, but I don't always need them.
It's good for me to keep reminding myself to incorporate DIFFERENT types of activities, especially the ones I wouldn't naturally plan (like a math component or individual work). I have always use a ton of visuals and manipulatives, though. They are fun and wonderful for scaffolding and conversation-starting. Variety is so helpful to our students and is responsive to their needs.
Learners' beliefs about learning language are as diverse and unique as the learners themselves. I still recall one woman from Mexico who was a Spanish professor in Mexico and a restaurant kitchen worker in Dallas. I gave ESL classes there for the kitchen and bus staff, and it was interetsing. She had--no doubt--the strongest educational background and but she hesitated to participate in these free classes because she felt it was a betrayal of sorts to her country, culture, and mother tongue. We would have long talks about why she felt bad, and I empathized and encouraged her, and she did participate and make progress, but I will always remember how hard it was for her to do so. This is exactly what we were discussing yesterday in class.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Reflection 2
Offer some thoughts about what you see as a relationship between behavioral, nativist, and functional approaches to studying first language acquisition and your own experiences in learning or teaching a second language. In a second response, discuss the role of culture in first language aquisition. Many of you speak more than one language and English is your second language. Do you think the child-parent interaction is different in the United States' English speaking population and a non-English speaking population that you are familiar with?
These three approaches all try to determine/decipher the internal and external influences that guide or enable language acquisition. Although they are different at the absolute end of things, they actually do overlap at times. For example, saying that a child has an innate ability to take language and create more complex language from it does, in some measure, point to the fact that they are creating this new language, or these new combinations of language, from what they are hearing, experiencing, etc., including modeling and feedback. And that meshes well with the idea that these children are learning from their environment, a large part of which is the language they hear, the things they see and participate in, and so on.
Culture is a hugely important factor in 1st language acquisition, and it is something that we carry with us throughout our lives. With our unique learning styles and what we are exposed to, we can open up to other ways of thinking and doing things, but the first experiences and the community/culture we grow up in leave an indelible mark. I grew up semi-typical "American," but in a close-knit family with Irish Catholic traditions of extended family that were closer to what you might see in Mexico (as Janette, Erika, and Polo point out) than in a rigid New England family. The only way we got out of grown-up conversations was to leave the room (with cousins and such, off to go play). The dominant culture we grow up in is something we carry with us, but each individual family, school, community, etc. adds to that individual culture and identity that we bring with us to school and wherever else we may wander.
These three approaches all try to determine/decipher the internal and external influences that guide or enable language acquisition. Although they are different at the absolute end of things, they actually do overlap at times. For example, saying that a child has an innate ability to take language and create more complex language from it does, in some measure, point to the fact that they are creating this new language, or these new combinations of language, from what they are hearing, experiencing, etc., including modeling and feedback. And that meshes well with the idea that these children are learning from their environment, a large part of which is the language they hear, the things they see and participate in, and so on.
Culture is a hugely important factor in 1st language acquisition, and it is something that we carry with us throughout our lives. With our unique learning styles and what we are exposed to, we can open up to other ways of thinking and doing things, but the first experiences and the community/culture we grow up in leave an indelible mark. I grew up semi-typical "American," but in a close-knit family with Irish Catholic traditions of extended family that were closer to what you might see in Mexico (as Janette, Erika, and Polo point out) than in a rigid New England family. The only way we got out of grown-up conversations was to leave the room (with cousins and such, off to go play). The dominant culture we grow up in is something we carry with us, but each individual family, school, community, etc. adds to that individual culture and identity that we bring with us to school and wherever else we may wander.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Foundations of Second Language Acquisition
Brown and others suggest that we teach the way that we were taught. Think back on your own language learning experience and discuss the setting (formal or informal) and age you were and what theory do you think informed your instruction. Have you found yourself teaching the same way that you were taught? If you have learned more than one language, compare the differences in the learning experiences.
There is a tendency among language (and perhaps all) teachers to do this to some extent, particularly at the beginning of their teaching experience. It appears to be a natural instinct to bring in our personal experiences. What is interesting to me is that we do this, no matter whether or not we felt that it was effective instruction.
In my case, as a second language learner of Spanish, my language classes in K-12 were taught in a predictable fashion that most closely resembled, and surely came out of, the Grammar-Translation Method. As Brown states, this method "does virtually nothing to enhance a student's communicative ability in the language (p.16)." I would have to agree with this comment. It felt like rote memorization, and the goal most certainly did not seem to be communicating with anyone in Spanish! I am fortunate to have studied Spanish again in college, and after the first (Grammar-Translation-esque) semester, I took a wonderful conversation and culture course, followed by a school trip to Mexico, and I FINALLY got it!! I started speaking Spanish in my sleep almost immediately, felt highly motivated in class, and began speaking to the locals in Merida right away. I loved my own language and I am very social, so when it meant the means of expressing myself and understanding others, I had immediate buy-in. I went back to school, changed my minor to Spanish, and have been traveling and learning languages ever since. It is amazing to me that those two months essentially changed my life!
Later, when taking Korean and Mandarin (Chinese) classes, I realized that there was definitely a way my teachers taught that helped me learn and a way that left me frustrated and baffled. I have great empathy for my students because of this, and always try to keep in mind what they must be feeling and how well they are progressing. Because of this, as a teacher, I have always tried to emulate the more communicative method that I learned so much from in college, tying meaning into form and getting students to interact with each other as much as possible. As I have had the chance to work with and observe many wonderful, bright, and talented ESL/EFL teachers throughout my career, I have incorporated many of their great ideas and methods. Teachers should always be willing to learn more about teaching and to improve themselves, their methods, etc. The more open we are to new ideas, the better we can refrain from falling back on teaching the way we learned (or didn't learn) our second or third or fourth languages.
There is a tendency among language (and perhaps all) teachers to do this to some extent, particularly at the beginning of their teaching experience. It appears to be a natural instinct to bring in our personal experiences. What is interesting to me is that we do this, no matter whether or not we felt that it was effective instruction.
In my case, as a second language learner of Spanish, my language classes in K-12 were taught in a predictable fashion that most closely resembled, and surely came out of, the Grammar-Translation Method. As Brown states, this method "does virtually nothing to enhance a student's communicative ability in the language (p.16)." I would have to agree with this comment. It felt like rote memorization, and the goal most certainly did not seem to be communicating with anyone in Spanish! I am fortunate to have studied Spanish again in college, and after the first (Grammar-Translation-esque) semester, I took a wonderful conversation and culture course, followed by a school trip to Mexico, and I FINALLY got it!! I started speaking Spanish in my sleep almost immediately, felt highly motivated in class, and began speaking to the locals in Merida right away. I loved my own language and I am very social, so when it meant the means of expressing myself and understanding others, I had immediate buy-in. I went back to school, changed my minor to Spanish, and have been traveling and learning languages ever since. It is amazing to me that those two months essentially changed my life!
Later, when taking Korean and Mandarin (Chinese) classes, I realized that there was definitely a way my teachers taught that helped me learn and a way that left me frustrated and baffled. I have great empathy for my students because of this, and always try to keep in mind what they must be feeling and how well they are progressing. Because of this, as a teacher, I have always tried to emulate the more communicative method that I learned so much from in college, tying meaning into form and getting students to interact with each other as much as possible. As I have had the chance to work with and observe many wonderful, bright, and talented ESL/EFL teachers throughout my career, I have incorporated many of their great ideas and methods. Teachers should always be willing to learn more about teaching and to improve themselves, their methods, etc. The more open we are to new ideas, the better we can refrain from falling back on teaching the way we learned (or didn't learn) our second or third or fourth languages.
Foundations of Second Language Acquisition course
We are starting a new semester and a new course, this one in the foundations of second language acquisition, and we are using these blogs for reading reflections and other class assignments, so stay tuned!
I will post the links to our classmates' blogs and the whole course blog as well.
I will post the links to our classmates' blogs and the whole course blog as well.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
ESL Podcast--First Day of School
First Day of School
By Joleen J., Rosario K., and Max T.
Suggested ELL level: intermediate-advanced students, ages high school to adult
Our ESL podcast introduces the typical schedule in a U.S. High
School. We present this information in the format of a one-on-one interview
(talk-show style), with informative or humorous narration throughout.
Rosario, Max, and I filmed this based on the Kidspiration® graphic
organizer and storyboard that Rosario created, shown here. We wanted to
present a mini cultural lesson by talking about how many U.S. high schools
are organized.
The interviewer, Joleen, introduces Rosario and asks her about the
upcoming school year. We find out about “A schedules” and “B
schedules,” where high school students have different classes on
alternating days, as well as some typical classes a high school student may have,
such as Art, Science, Math (Algebra II), and Study Hall. We find out
what Rosario is interested in and what she is looking forward to in her
classes this year.
High School Senior played by: Rosario, Interviewer played by: Joleen, Narrator: Max
Follow-up activities:
1) Using the graphic organizer that supports this interview (above), have students compare and contrast the classes and activities from the interview. Then have students use the graphic organizer and the podcast as a model for them to write and perform their own, similar interviews in pairs or small groups. Students should present them to the whole class in person, or as an audio podcast on http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ (if technology is readily available).
2) Have students research to find more information on some of the cultural icons and references from the "Where are they now?" section at the end of the podcast and throughout the narration of the podcast.
You may even have recognized the immortal words of one of our favorite muses, Homer J. Simpson (created by Matt Groening), when Max said "Mmmmm...Algebra II...Doh!!" "Mmmmm..." is what Homer says when something sounds delicious to him, and "Doh!" is what he says when he makes a mistake. See more on the Simpsons and our other cultural references here, or you might try searching for them on www.google.com:
http://www.thesimpsons.com/characters/home.htm
http://web.mit.edu/aboutmit/
http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml
http://www.history.com/
http://www.lonesailor.org/about.php
And last, but not least: http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=search&m=search/knet_search_main&u1=search&u2=cheese%20whiz%20
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
New Slide Show
Dr. Wright asked me to repost this link, so here it is. I made another random slide show with pictures from friends and traveling and so on to show you more cool features. Again, this one doesn't have any advertising that would be unsafe, so it would help perfectly with Marysol's idea of having ESL students create their own presentations with this feature.
There are lots of friends here, some of whom have passed away, and family, and even a few wedding shots. Enjoy!
There are lots of friends here, some of whom have passed away, and family, and even a few wedding shots. Enjoy!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Software Evaluation 3: Reading Smart
Title of Software: ESL Reading Smart
Producer: Alloy Multimedia, Inc., Houston, Texas
Target students: Grades 4-12
Proficiency level: They provide help for students from Newcomers to Advanced, with four different levels. I've chosen to review "Beginner" or ESL Level 1.
Description: ESL Reading Smart is based on improving ELLs' reading proficiency (and test scores) through guided, scaffolded practice that provides spoken, written, and graphic support for readers at various levels. For the "Reading Selections" section, they provide choices of five different types of genres ranging in scope from literary to informative passages (no functional passages). The passages are illustrated, with an option to listen to it or read it oneself. The creators of the software provide lesson plans for the teachers (chosen according to either student level or selected genre).
This program is colorful and bright, but not too busy. The producers included enough graphic support for it to be helpful to ELLs, but not enough to be too distracting. They have kept reading as the main focus. It looks very nice, and there are a variety of tasks for the students, from Pre-reading to follow up activities. The lesson plans for teachers are detailed, with several printable components, as well as instructions for in-class interaction and modeling on the board. It (the lesson plan) comes close to how the teacher would normally go through the reading process--with graphic organizers and vocabulary practice, etc., and it provides options for arranging the introduction and practice of various tasks/activities (such as the vocabulary, grammar, and writing components). Each passage provides writing practice as well, depending on the level.
Although I figured it out after a few tries, I found a few functionality quirks with the software. navigating through the system was not entirely straightforward, even though the activities were interesting once I got there. The students would need a tutorial on the system, just as when they use any other new software. One glitch was that in the story ("myths and legends") on the Mayan Creation, when I tried the word search, the screen would go blank. This activity worked in the Haiku lesson, however. So, the functionality is not perfect, but there are some real positives here.
One wonderful thing the authors have provided is a wealth of cultural options. In each genre I saw, there were selections from Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, and North America. This is a great way to show the students we value their cultures and for them to learn about each other's cultures. Plus, for beginning students, there is a lot of usefulness in providing a story that is familiar to the ELL from their own background.
Language skills targeted: Primarily Reading and Writing
Evaluation:
What are the program’s strengths or weaknesses? As noted above, the strengths here are that the authors have considered and included a nice variety of genres and of multicultural, diverse stories. The detailed lesson plans for teachers make it very user-friendly. I like that the authors assume the teacher will be a present and active participant in using this software and in the children's reading experience, even though there are some sections students can complete on their own.
Do you feel it would be effective for helping ELLs learn English? Why or why not? Sure I do; anything that will motivate our ELLs to read in English is a positive! I think the stories are high interest and diverse enough to motivate the students, especially if the teacher varies the readings and/or gives the students some free choice in what they will be reading.
Would you use it in your classroom? Why or why not? Yes, it would be a good way to provide some variety during the reading lessons, and it would be good for the students to have as an option for their silent reading time.
What method or approach to language teaching does this program appear to represent? It seems to be in the realm of whole language instruction, although I know that term has "gone underground." It is definitely written with a top-down perspective.
Producer: Alloy Multimedia, Inc., Houston, Texas
Target students: Grades 4-12
Proficiency level: They provide help for students from Newcomers to Advanced, with four different levels. I've chosen to review "Beginner" or ESL Level 1.
Description: ESL Reading Smart is based on improving ELLs' reading proficiency (and test scores) through guided, scaffolded practice that provides spoken, written, and graphic support for readers at various levels. For the "Reading Selections" section, they provide choices of five different types of genres ranging in scope from literary to informative passages (no functional passages). The passages are illustrated, with an option to listen to it or read it oneself. The creators of the software provide lesson plans for the teachers (chosen according to either student level or selected genre).
This program is colorful and bright, but not too busy. The producers included enough graphic support for it to be helpful to ELLs, but not enough to be too distracting. They have kept reading as the main focus. It looks very nice, and there are a variety of tasks for the students, from Pre-reading to follow up activities. The lesson plans for teachers are detailed, with several printable components, as well as instructions for in-class interaction and modeling on the board. It (the lesson plan) comes close to how the teacher would normally go through the reading process--with graphic organizers and vocabulary practice, etc., and it provides options for arranging the introduction and practice of various tasks/activities (such as the vocabulary, grammar, and writing components). Each passage provides writing practice as well, depending on the level.
Although I figured it out after a few tries, I found a few functionality quirks with the software. navigating through the system was not entirely straightforward, even though the activities were interesting once I got there. The students would need a tutorial on the system, just as when they use any other new software. One glitch was that in the story ("myths and legends") on the Mayan Creation, when I tried the word search, the screen would go blank. This activity worked in the Haiku lesson, however. So, the functionality is not perfect, but there are some real positives here.
One wonderful thing the authors have provided is a wealth of cultural options. In each genre I saw, there were selections from Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, and North America. This is a great way to show the students we value their cultures and for them to learn about each other's cultures. Plus, for beginning students, there is a lot of usefulness in providing a story that is familiar to the ELL from their own background.
Language skills targeted: Primarily Reading and Writing
Evaluation:
What are the program’s strengths or weaknesses? As noted above, the strengths here are that the authors have considered and included a nice variety of genres and of multicultural, diverse stories. The detailed lesson plans for teachers make it very user-friendly. I like that the authors assume the teacher will be a present and active participant in using this software and in the children's reading experience, even though there are some sections students can complete on their own.
Do you feel it would be effective for helping ELLs learn English? Why or why not? Sure I do; anything that will motivate our ELLs to read in English is a positive! I think the stories are high interest and diverse enough to motivate the students, especially if the teacher varies the readings and/or gives the students some free choice in what they will be reading.
Would you use it in your classroom? Why or why not? Yes, it would be a good way to provide some variety during the reading lessons, and it would be good for the students to have as an option for their silent reading time.
What method or approach to language teaching does this program appear to represent? It seems to be in the realm of whole language instruction, although I know that term has "gone underground." It is definitely written with a top-down perspective.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Cloud Gate
Amazing, Cloud Gate, The Bean, Chicago, Illinois, by Anish Kapoor: http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/anish_kapoor.html
March 22, Idiom-Action! - Look what the cat dragged in!
Idiom lesson: I like how this is straightforward, short, and clear. Well done, Action English guy!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Class reflection
This class has been a wonderful resource for inspirational and innovative ideas for CALL and for using the latest technology for our ESL classes. Dr. Wright has been so dynamic in finding a variety of resources and a wealth of ideas that we can easily use in the classroom.
All of us in this class have been excited and intrigued about the technology we are using, and the variety of activities we are learning about that can help our ELLs (whether adult learners or students in K-12). I like that we are looking at and discussing collaborative projects and action research. I feel challenged to incorporate so many of these ideas into the classroom, when I return to teaching. The most obvious ideas that I can see being incredibly helpful and useful are the blogs (for reading reflections, online journal writing, or collaboration with other groups/students/classes, etc.), creating a research project that can be published as a Wiki (www.wikipedia.com or www.wikispaces.com or even www.wikihow.com), and the www.Flickr.com photos as endless resource for visuals and writing prompts. I have been a fan of using Webquests in the past, and now I am super eager to get the chance to teach using some of these other tools, not as the foundation of a language class, but as excellent, innovative, and effective support for our classes.
I am intrigued by podcasting, but I have learned that it is not as easy as it looks. In the future I hope to have more time to develop fabulous podcasts for ELLs around the world, but for now, I'm just proud that we have created our simple one!
All of us in this class have been excited and intrigued about the technology we are using, and the variety of activities we are learning about that can help our ELLs (whether adult learners or students in K-12). I like that we are looking at and discussing collaborative projects and action research. I feel challenged to incorporate so many of these ideas into the classroom, when I return to teaching. The most obvious ideas that I can see being incredibly helpful and useful are the blogs (for reading reflections, online journal writing, or collaboration with other groups/students/classes, etc.), creating a research project that can be published as a Wiki (www.wikipedia.com or www.wikispaces.com or even www.wikihow.com), and the www.Flickr.com photos as endless resource for visuals and writing prompts. I have been a fan of using Webquests in the past, and now I am super eager to get the chance to teach using some of these other tools, not as the foundation of a language class, but as excellent, innovative, and effective support for our classes.
I am intrigued by podcasting, but I have learned that it is not as easy as it looks. In the future I hope to have more time to develop fabulous podcasts for ELLs around the world, but for now, I'm just proud that we have created our simple one!
Conditionals lesson for ELLs
This is a paper/lesson plan we did in our language analysis class. Conditionals can be really fun! Enjoy!
Grammar/topic: Present Unreal Conditional (with review/practice with Future Real Conditional)
Level: Intermediate to advanced
Present Unreal Conditional Background: This structure is created by the use of a dependent if clause (if, unless) with the verb in the simple past and an independent result clause with the auxiliary verb in the past modal form (would, could, might, etc.). We use this tense to describe something imaginary that is impossible in the present (If Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at my graduation, I would be so honored.) or something that isn’t realistic at the moment, but isn’t impossible for the future (If I knew more about biology, I might understand more about the life cycle of brown bears.)
One exception in this structure is that the verb “to be,” when used in the if clause, is always used as “were,” no matter who the subject is (I, He, She, they, it, etc.). This can also cause confusion for a language learner, and is, in fact, frequently misused by native speakers—even those with a high level of education. For example, the question, “What would you do if you were filthy rich?” should be answered with “If I were filthy rich, I would build a huge open-air house on Kuta Beach in Bali and donate a million dollars to the Food Bank.” However, many people use the expression “If I was…”
One other important feature is that the order of the clauses does not make a difference; that is; one can say:
a) If Juanita and Ana called me to meet them at the Roxy Club, I would definitely go.
OR
b) I would definitely go if Juanita and Ana called me to meet them at the Roxy Club.
Future Real Conditional Background: This structure is created by the use of a dependent if or when clause (if, unless) with the verb in the simple present and an independent result clause with the auxiliary verb in the future/present modal form (will, can, may, should, etc.). We use this tense to describe something expected in the near future: (When Mr. Yon returns from the bank, we will remind him about the payroll.) or something that is probable (If Ying passes her comps, she may move back to Hong Kong.) or a habitual truth (If the pollen count is high, I will sneeze all day long.)
These structures may be difficult for ELLs because: a) we are using the past to talk about the present, b) the verb “to be” is unusually created in this structure, c) learners need to have a good grasp of modals first (will, may, might, could, would, etc.), and d) it is created by putting two clauses together (independent + subordinate=complex syntax). Page545, ch. 27. Also, we rarely teach the habitual/factual conditionals (If you cut me, I will bleed.), even though they are very common.
Activities:
Practice 1 (pair work): Make the sentence with If or Unless
a. You do not live in France. You do not eat escargot.
b. You have a newborn baby at home. You don’t go out very much.
c. Your family lives in another city. You only have the opportunity to see them about four times a year.
d. Janette will stop by your house this afternoon. You have a birthday present for her.
e. Your friend Mei Lin rides to the park every Sunday. She is in great shape. (negative)
f. Anita lives in Mexico City. She doesn’t call you very often because it is so expensive.
g. Your neighbor, Khon, hates mushrooms. You never cook any dishes with mushrooms for him.
h. Anna Sylvia plays the drums. She does not play in a band.
Practice 2 (whole class work): Scenarios—What would/will you do?
a. Tomorrow, Konstantin will pay you back the $100.00 he owes you. You have an $88.00 electric bill that is due on Friday.
b. Your flight to Chicago has been delayed for four hours. You are hungry, but there is no restaurant at the
c. I do not know how to swim. There is a beautiful pool with manmade waterfalls in my apartment complex.
d. You are entering a karaoke contest tomorrow night. You have practiced really hard. The prize is $500.00.
e. Your best friend is planning to visit you in San Antonio this weekend. He has been to San Antonio a few times before, and he doesn’t want to see the Riverwalk again. Where will you take him?
f. You are scheduled to fly out to New York tomorrow morning for a teaching conference. There is a snow storm moving in tonight.
g. You have class tomorrow night and a big project is due. Your colleague has just invited you to a party.
h. Your favorite sport is soccer. San Antonio is trying to get a (professional) Major League Soccer team to move here.
Practice 3 (small groups): Worst-case scenarios
(Teacher chooses various examples from the website: http://www.worstcasescenarios.com/mainpage.htm )
They read and decipher scenario as a group; teacher helps with vocabulary questions; students then prepare and give short presentation.
Practice 4 (whole class, either in a circle or throwing a ball to designate a turn): Conditional chain activity for “to be”
Teacher starts chain with one sentence. Then next student uses second half of first sentence to build second sentence. For example: 1) If George Carlin were our English teacher, he would make us laugh in class every day. 2) If we laughed in class every day, we would enjoy that class. 3) If we enjoyed English class, we’d pay attention in class. 4) If we paid attention in class, we might learn more…
Practice 5: Songs with “if clauses”
Examples include: Hannah Montana (for kids) If We Were a Movie (for kids): “ If we were a movie/ You'd be the right guy/ And I'd be the best friend/ That you'd fall in love with/ In the end” and Alison Krauss (for adults) If I didn’t know any better: “Your heart is pullin'/ If I didn't know any better/ I'd be fallin'/ Deeper and deeper it's true”
*If it is an advanced group, have them read the words to John Lennon’s Imagine and contemplate the meanings, then write out as much of the song as possible using If, When, or Unless clauses. If there is no stated conclusion, have them come up with one.
Grammar book structure treatment critique:
A) Greenbaum, S. & Nelson, G. (2002). An introduction to English
grammar. Great Britain. Pearson Education Limited.
This book provides a thorough overview of grammar, covering a huge number of grammatical points. It provides short and clear explanations (with examples) of how the structure is formed, and when and why it is used. It is a good reference book for an ESL/EFL teacher or student, but it would be just a reference book, as it does not provide activities or suggestions for activities; it merely presents the structures. The conditionals are presented as “Past and past subjunctive.” The authors describe the variations on the present and past unreal conditional as something “very unlikely or contrary to the facts,” but do not cover the future real concept. Therefore, I think it is incomplete. One thing I do like is that the authors discuss the descriptive and prescriptive uses of the past subjunctive of the verb “be,” telling the reader that it is correct to use “were” and that “In less formal style, the simple past was is generally used…(p. 155).” Overall, this book is primarily a reference source (pp. 63-64, 154-155).
B) Jackson, H. (2002). Grammar and vocabulary: A resource book for students. New York, N.Y. Routledge.
This book approaches grammar from a different perspective than what is out there for students; that is, Jackson presents and analyzes English grammar in paragraph format rather than with the paradigm and step-by-step structure, describing the underlying meaning and uses of the given structure. It is very detailed and gives the student the whole story behind a concept, including the linguistic research and exploration of the concept. It seems to be at a higher level than the majority of ELLs and they might find it frustrating not to have the structure rules laid out more clearly. However, it may appeal to reflective learners who like to look at things in depth. It seems to be made for native English speakers. This book only treats the conditional as part of the chapter on clauses, particularly the if clause as a subordinate clause, without presenting the rules of the conditional structures, so it is not very valuable for studying/teaching this concept (pp.22-23).
C) http://esl.about.com/library/grammar/blconditionals.htm
This website provides a structural layout of how to form the future real, present unreal, and past unreal conditionals. It gives an explanation of when and how to form this structure with a chart. The chart and explanations are followed by an interactive quiz practicing the forms. This is helpful for self-study or review, but in and of itself is not a sufficient tool for learning.
Grammar/topic: Present Unreal Conditional (with review/practice with Future Real Conditional)
Level: Intermediate to advanced
Present Unreal Conditional Background: This structure is created by the use of a dependent if clause (if, unless) with the verb in the simple past and an independent result clause with the auxiliary verb in the past modal form (would, could, might, etc.). We use this tense to describe something imaginary that is impossible in the present (If Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at my graduation, I would be so honored.) or something that isn’t realistic at the moment, but isn’t impossible for the future (If I knew more about biology, I might understand more about the life cycle of brown bears.)
One exception in this structure is that the verb “to be,” when used in the if clause, is always used as “were,” no matter who the subject is (I, He, She, they, it, etc.). This can also cause confusion for a language learner, and is, in fact, frequently misused by native speakers—even those with a high level of education. For example, the question, “What would you do if you were filthy rich?” should be answered with “If I were filthy rich, I would build a huge open-air house on Kuta Beach in Bali and donate a million dollars to the Food Bank.” However, many people use the expression “If I was…”
One other important feature is that the order of the clauses does not make a difference; that is; one can say:
a) If Juanita and Ana called me to meet them at the Roxy Club, I would definitely go.
OR
b) I would definitely go if Juanita and Ana called me to meet them at the Roxy Club.
Future Real Conditional Background: This structure is created by the use of a dependent if or when clause (if, unless) with the verb in the simple present and an independent result clause with the auxiliary verb in the future/present modal form (will, can, may, should, etc.). We use this tense to describe something expected in the near future: (When Mr. Yon returns from the bank, we will remind him about the payroll.) or something that is probable (If Ying passes her comps, she may move back to Hong Kong.) or a habitual truth (If the pollen count is high, I will sneeze all day long.)
These structures may be difficult for ELLs because: a) we are using the past to talk about the present, b) the verb “to be” is unusually created in this structure, c) learners need to have a good grasp of modals first (will, may, might, could, would, etc.), and d) it is created by putting two clauses together (independent + subordinate=complex syntax). Page545, ch. 27. Also, we rarely teach the habitual/factual conditionals (If you cut me, I will bleed.), even though they are very common.
Activities:
Practice 1 (pair work): Make the sentence with If or Unless
a. You do not live in France. You do not eat escargot.
b. You have a newborn baby at home. You don’t go out very much.
c. Your family lives in another city. You only have the opportunity to see them about four times a year.
d. Janette will stop by your house this afternoon. You have a birthday present for her.
e. Your friend Mei Lin rides to the park every Sunday. She is in great shape. (negative)
f. Anita lives in Mexico City. She doesn’t call you very often because it is so expensive.
g. Your neighbor, Khon, hates mushrooms. You never cook any dishes with mushrooms for him.
h. Anna Sylvia plays the drums. She does not play in a band.
Practice 2 (whole class work): Scenarios—What would/will you do?
a. Tomorrow, Konstantin will pay you back the $100.00 he owes you. You have an $88.00 electric bill that is due on Friday.
b. Your flight to Chicago has been delayed for four hours. You are hungry, but there is no restaurant at the
c. I do not know how to swim. There is a beautiful pool with manmade waterfalls in my apartment complex.
d. You are entering a karaoke contest tomorrow night. You have practiced really hard. The prize is $500.00.
e. Your best friend is planning to visit you in San Antonio this weekend. He has been to San Antonio a few times before, and he doesn’t want to see the Riverwalk again. Where will you take him?
f. You are scheduled to fly out to New York tomorrow morning for a teaching conference. There is a snow storm moving in tonight.
g. You have class tomorrow night and a big project is due. Your colleague has just invited you to a party.
h. Your favorite sport is soccer. San Antonio is trying to get a (professional) Major League Soccer team to move here.
Practice 3 (small groups): Worst-case scenarios
(Teacher chooses various examples from the website: http://www.worstcasescenarios.com/mainpage.htm )
They read and decipher scenario as a group; teacher helps with vocabulary questions; students then prepare and give short presentation.
Practice 4 (whole class, either in a circle or throwing a ball to designate a turn): Conditional chain activity for “to be”
Teacher starts chain with one sentence. Then next student uses second half of first sentence to build second sentence. For example: 1) If George Carlin were our English teacher, he would make us laugh in class every day. 2) If we laughed in class every day, we would enjoy that class. 3) If we enjoyed English class, we’d pay attention in class. 4) If we paid attention in class, we might learn more…
Practice 5: Songs with “if clauses”
Examples include: Hannah Montana (for kids) If We Were a Movie (for kids): “ If we were a movie/ You'd be the right guy/ And I'd be the best friend/ That you'd fall in love with/ In the end” and Alison Krauss (for adults) If I didn’t know any better: “Your heart is pullin'/ If I didn't know any better/ I'd be fallin'/ Deeper and deeper it's true”
*If it is an advanced group, have them read the words to John Lennon’s Imagine and contemplate the meanings, then write out as much of the song as possible using If, When, or Unless clauses. If there is no stated conclusion, have them come up with one.
Grammar book structure treatment critique:
A) Greenbaum, S. & Nelson, G. (2002). An introduction to English
grammar. Great Britain. Pearson Education Limited.
This book provides a thorough overview of grammar, covering a huge number of grammatical points. It provides short and clear explanations (with examples) of how the structure is formed, and when and why it is used. It is a good reference book for an ESL/EFL teacher or student, but it would be just a reference book, as it does not provide activities or suggestions for activities; it merely presents the structures. The conditionals are presented as “Past and past subjunctive.” The authors describe the variations on the present and past unreal conditional as something “very unlikely or contrary to the facts,” but do not cover the future real concept. Therefore, I think it is incomplete. One thing I do like is that the authors discuss the descriptive and prescriptive uses of the past subjunctive of the verb “be,” telling the reader that it is correct to use “were” and that “In less formal style, the simple past was is generally used…(p. 155).” Overall, this book is primarily a reference source (pp. 63-64, 154-155).
B) Jackson, H. (2002). Grammar and vocabulary: A resource book for students. New York, N.Y. Routledge.
This book approaches grammar from a different perspective than what is out there for students; that is, Jackson presents and analyzes English grammar in paragraph format rather than with the paradigm and step-by-step structure, describing the underlying meaning and uses of the given structure. It is very detailed and gives the student the whole story behind a concept, including the linguistic research and exploration of the concept. It seems to be at a higher level than the majority of ELLs and they might find it frustrating not to have the structure rules laid out more clearly. However, it may appeal to reflective learners who like to look at things in depth. It seems to be made for native English speakers. This book only treats the conditional as part of the chapter on clauses, particularly the if clause as a subordinate clause, without presenting the rules of the conditional structures, so it is not very valuable for studying/teaching this concept (pp.22-23).
C) http://esl.about.com/library/grammar/blconditionals.htm
This website provides a structural layout of how to form the future real, present unreal, and past unreal conditionals. It gives an explanation of when and how to form this structure with a chart. The chart and explanations are followed by an interactive quiz practicing the forms. This is helpful for self-study or review, but in and of itself is not a sufficient tool for learning.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Devastation
This week has brought another tragedy, the mass shooting at Virginia Tech. My heart goes out to the other people who were shot and wounded, the families of those people, and to all students, faculty, and others associated with the school. It is a sad, sad day. You will remain in my thoughts for a long time. I cannot imagine what you are going through.
I also am shocked to find out the shooter was from South Korea. It is something I know is breaking the heart of every generous, loving Korean right now, as they will surely see it as shameful, although there are crazy people and violent people in every culture. Koreans tend to feel and respect the overall sense of a Korean community no matter where the Koreans are. So I know this is a shock to Koreans everywhere, as it is to all of us.
It is also tragic to see this happen with an international student, and I worry what this will mean for international students coming here to study in the future. I worry what the general public will think, and I hope this does not promote xenophobia in our society. What happened is appalling and heartbreaking, but there are dangerous loners in every society. It was an isolated incident with a very, very disturbed young man.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Virginia Tech and its community.
I also am shocked to find out the shooter was from South Korea. It is something I know is breaking the heart of every generous, loving Korean right now, as they will surely see it as shameful, although there are crazy people and violent people in every culture. Koreans tend to feel and respect the overall sense of a Korean community no matter where the Koreans are. So I know this is a shock to Koreans everywhere, as it is to all of us.
It is also tragic to see this happen with an international student, and I worry what this will mean for international students coming here to study in the future. I worry what the general public will think, and I hope this does not promote xenophobia in our society. What happened is appalling and heartbreaking, but there are dangerous loners in every society. It was an isolated incident with a very, very disturbed young man.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Virginia Tech and its community.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Lesson Plan: Families
We created these lesson plans for Dr. Wright's summer 2006 class about various approaches in teaching ESL. I thought I would share it here. This was the fifth week's lesson in our adult ESL students' hypothetical classroom. The previous day's lesson was on sports and the following day was on food (Rita's day). We wanted to bring as much of the students' cultures into the classroom as possible, scaffold the lessons, and work on eliciting structured output (Lee & Van Patten, 2005). Feel free to use this lesson plan, but please let me know how it works for you, and if you make any cool modifications. Here is the lesson plan and activities to go with it:
Instructor: Joleen Group Level: High Beginners Week #: 5
Objectives: Students will share information about their culture and learn about other cultures. Students will be able to use nouns to describe various family members. Students will review and practice comparative adjectives.
Warm Up: What did you talk about yesterday? Who do watch sports with? Who do you play sports with? Today we are going to talk about families. (HOMEWORK: Check to see who brought pictures from yesterday’s class.)
Introduction: I am from a big family. Count immediate family, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. Teach "immediate" and "extended" families. Explain that a family is usually someone you live with, but the family members can vary. I presented and modeled the vocabulary by describing my extended family with an old picture I have of about 20 of us. It is funny, because it is very 70s!
Activity 1: Family tree: Think, Pair, Share. Pass out or have students create a family tree chart. Model the activity for the students by describing a family member in the (teacher’s family) picture. For example, I would point to my aunt and say, “She is MY aunt, but she is also a sister, a daughter, a wife, and a mother.” They will each choose two of their own family members and make a list of all the family roles each one fulfills (ex. My brother is also a son, etc.) Then they describe themselves and all of the family roles they fulfill. Bring extra pictures of famous families, like The Simpsons, or magazines with a lot of pictures (such as National Geographic or People), to class—in case students forget to bring their own. After sharing their lists with their partners, ELLs can then report findings to the whole group.
Activity 2: Introduce language for comparing/contrasting for language objective (bigger, smaller, younger, older, more/fewer children, etc.) Then, in small groups, students examine three family pictures from
1000 Families: Family Album of the Planet Earth by Uwe Ommer and compare/contrast these three families with the others and then with their own families. There is a list of questions provided here to guide the ELLs They then get up, find a partner from another group and share their discoveries...were they the same or different? Optional: If time, they will report findings back to their original groups.
Activity 2 Questions: Examine these family pictures from around the world and answer these questions with your group.
1. What do you notice first about these families?
2. Do you think this is a traditional family in this culture? Why or
why not?
3. What is different about each family?
4. What is the same or similar about each family?
5. Are these families similar to the families in your country? Which one is the most similar? What do you notice first about these families?
Extension/synthesis: Individual work, then groups: They take a T/F survey to think about and prepare for writing about traditional family structure in their cultures or their own families (attached). 2 columns: “In my family, country.” They complete it, then use this as a checklist as a springboard to write a paragraph about traditional families from their own countries. They then share with small groups orally and report to whole group. Activity guide below:
Consider if there is a traditional family structure in your country/culture. Answer True or False for your family and the traditional family in your country.
My family/My country
1. Mothers work outside the home.
2. Fathers are the main money makers.
3. Children live at home until they get married.
4. Grandparents often live with their children and grandchildren.
5. Daughters usually take care of their parents when the parents get older.
6. Children do chores and get money for helping the parents.
7. Husbands and wives share household responsibilities like cooking and cleaning.
8. Parents always pay for their children to go to college/university.
Write: Read your answers again and write a paragraph or two about traditional families in your country/culture. If there is no traditional family, write about that.
(Bonus activity--in case we have extra time: have them pair up and describe their favorite, most recent, or ideal, family vacation.)
Homework: To prepare them to talk about family meals the next day, here are the T/F questions they will think about:
True or False: In my country, families usually...--eat together almost every night.
--eat with a fork and knife.
--sit on the floor to eat.
--have food prepared by mom.
--eat their biggest meal at night.
Teaching approaches and activities:
Communicative Language Teaching, Richards and Rodgers, Chapter 14
Activity 1 inspired by Lee & Van Patten, “Writing and Composing in a Second Language” Composing-Oriented Activities D-G, pp. 222-224
Extension/ Synthesis Activity inspired by Lee & Van Patten,”Comprehending Written Language,” Activity H, p. 206
References:
Jack C. Richards & Theodore S. Rodgers (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (R&R)
James F. Lee & Bill Van Patten (1995). Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. (L&P)
Pictures from: Ommer, U. (2000). 1000 Families: Family Album of the Planet Earth , Germany: Taschen, images retrieved July 10, 2006, from: www.clubcultura.com/clubfoto/milfamilias/uwe.htm
Instructor: Joleen Group Level: High Beginners Week #: 5
Objectives: Students will share information about their culture and learn about other cultures. Students will be able to use nouns to describe various family members. Students will review and practice comparative adjectives.
Warm Up: What did you talk about yesterday? Who do watch sports with? Who do you play sports with? Today we are going to talk about families. (HOMEWORK: Check to see who brought pictures from yesterday’s class.)
Introduction: I am from a big family. Count immediate family, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. Teach "immediate" and "extended" families. Explain that a family is usually someone you live with, but the family members can vary. I presented and modeled the vocabulary by describing my extended family with an old picture I have of about 20 of us. It is funny, because it is very 70s!
Activity 1: Family tree: Think, Pair, Share. Pass out or have students create a family tree chart. Model the activity for the students by describing a family member in the (teacher’s family) picture. For example, I would point to my aunt and say, “She is MY aunt, but she is also a sister, a daughter, a wife, and a mother.” They will each choose two of their own family members and make a list of all the family roles each one fulfills (ex. My brother is also a son, etc.) Then they describe themselves and all of the family roles they fulfill. Bring extra pictures of famous families, like The Simpsons, or magazines with a lot of pictures (such as National Geographic or People), to class—in case students forget to bring their own. After sharing their lists with their partners, ELLs can then report findings to the whole group.
Activity 2: Introduce language for comparing/contrasting for language objective (bigger, smaller, younger, older, more/fewer children, etc.) Then, in small groups, students examine three family pictures from
1000 Families: Family Album of the Planet Earth by Uwe Ommer and compare/contrast these three families with the others and then with their own families. There is a list of questions provided here to guide the ELLs They then get up, find a partner from another group and share their discoveries...were they the same or different? Optional: If time, they will report findings back to their original groups.
Activity 2 Questions: Examine these family pictures from around the world and answer these questions with your group.
1. What do you notice first about these families?
2. Do you think this is a traditional family in this culture? Why or
why not?
3. What is different about each family?
4. What is the same or similar about each family?
5. Are these families similar to the families in your country? Which one is the most similar? What do you notice first about these families?
Extension/synthesis: Individual work, then groups: They take a T/F survey to think about and prepare for writing about traditional family structure in their cultures or their own families (attached). 2 columns: “In my family, country.” They complete it, then use this as a checklist as a springboard to write a paragraph about traditional families from their own countries. They then share with small groups orally and report to whole group. Activity guide below:
Consider if there is a traditional family structure in your country/culture. Answer True or False for your family and the traditional family in your country.
My family/My country
1. Mothers work outside the home.
2. Fathers are the main money makers.
3. Children live at home until they get married.
4. Grandparents often live with their children and grandchildren.
5. Daughters usually take care of their parents when the parents get older.
6. Children do chores and get money for helping the parents.
7. Husbands and wives share household responsibilities like cooking and cleaning.
8. Parents always pay for their children to go to college/university.
Write: Read your answers again and write a paragraph or two about traditional families in your country/culture. If there is no traditional family, write about that.
(Bonus activity--in case we have extra time: have them pair up and describe their favorite, most recent, or ideal, family vacation.)
Homework: To prepare them to talk about family meals the next day, here are the T/F questions they will think about:
True or False: In my country, families usually...--eat together almost every night.
--eat with a fork and knife.
--sit on the floor to eat.
--have food prepared by mom.
--eat their biggest meal at night.
Teaching approaches and activities:
Communicative Language Teaching, Richards and Rodgers, Chapter 14
Activity 1 inspired by Lee & Van Patten, “Writing and Composing in a Second Language” Composing-Oriented Activities D-G, pp. 222-224
Extension/ Synthesis Activity inspired by Lee & Van Patten,”Comprehending Written Language,” Activity H, p. 206
References:
Jack C. Richards & Theodore S. Rodgers (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. (R&R)
James F. Lee & Bill Van Patten (1995). Making Communicative Language Teaching Happen (1st ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. (L&P)
Pictures from: Ommer, U. (2000). 1000 Families: Family Album of the Planet Earth , Germany: Taschen, images retrieved July 10, 2006, from: www.clubcultura.com/clubfoto/milfamilias/uwe.htm
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Rai Leh Bay, Krabi, Thailand
Ah, this place is so beautiful and peaceful. I spent 5-6 days there in 1999, after finishing my job in Taipei and before moving back to Texas. I spent those 5 weeks just floating around the beaches in Thailand. The water is so calm, and these massive cliffs just come shooting right out of the water--it is a dramatic, impressive landscape. There is no cruise ship, scooter, or car traffic here, just people on foot and these long boats. It is a rock-climbing haven and a good scuba spot, too, so there are quite a few interesting (quite healthy-looking) people passing through. The sunsets glowed remarkably and most of us staying on the island would gather at this one little spot at nightfall and watch the end of the day with such reverence that the evenings became these wonderfully serene moments at the end of the long, peaceful days on Rai Leh Bay.
This beach is fairly close--by long boat--to Monkey Beach, where our long boat captain took us for lunch one day. Bad idea--what made him think wild monkeys and people with big bags of food were a great combination? He must have wanted to amuse himself!
I had been around wild monkeys before and was not about to take my lunch ashore with me. I ate on the boat, as the monkeys on the beach (where the other 6 or 7 travelers were with their lunches) got angrier and angrier and started to claw at the food at snarl at each other. Finally, the poor people from my boat had to go and stand in the surf so they could eat their lunches. Then they got stuck coming back to the boat, because it got to be low tide, and there were huge rocks everywhere. I was pretty happy I stayed on the boat. Not that I always do or have done the clever thing traveling, but at least I did that day.
If you have the chance to go to Rai Leh Bay, take it! Just skip lunch with the monkeys, I'd suggest.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Prompt 10: Professional Development
Egbert ch. 10
Richardson ch. 7
We cannot emphasize the value of Professional Development in our jobs enough. As teachers, we must believe in the value of having an expert share ideas or a forum for professionals/peers to come together so that we can grow and learn more from our peers. Working with and observing other teachers has taught me more about my job than just about anything else in my career. Of course, we are gaining valuable insight in our Master's classes--this is an obvious form of Professional Development.
Online resources are great for this purpose. I have participated in two TESOL Virtual trainings: 1) Margo Gottlieb discussing the new TESOL standards and suggesting ways to reduce test bias in standardized tests, and 2) J.D. Brown, discussing curriculum development. They were quite interesting, as people from all over the world participated. I also have looked at teacher forums for ESL and other teaching ideas, for tips on classroom manangement or specific activity ideas for the classroom. Check out the links here on ESL Resources; I have used several of them. I have also worked on creating online professional development modules on everything from Second Language Acquisition research to linking assessment results to instructional strategies.
One simple benefit of online professional development is that teachers can take the courses in their own time frame and can often choose the topic or sub-topic of their choice. Therefore, teachers are invested in what they are learning, a crucial factor in motivation, as we see when we are planning a variety of activities for our students, too. Just like our ELLs, we each have a unique learning style and preference.
Another wonderful aspect of online teacher development is that you can give back for what you get, whether it's a forum or a lesson plan exchange site or something similar. I have just discovered www.eslprintables.com , which works like a swap meet. There are so many opportunities online for learning and sharing!
Flickr: www.Flickr.com
is so popular, too, and I appreciate the ideas that Richardson gives us on using these images to inspire lessons. I like "Flicktion" writing, where we can use the pictures as writing prompts for our students. I know I have spent countless hours looking for pictures in magazines to enrich and support the classroom activities, but it is not always easy to find what you want when you want it. However, with Flickr, the possibilites for teachers and students to find specific images are remarkable. I will definitely use these in my future classrooms.
Richardson ch. 7
We cannot emphasize the value of Professional Development in our jobs enough. As teachers, we must believe in the value of having an expert share ideas or a forum for professionals/peers to come together so that we can grow and learn more from our peers. Working with and observing other teachers has taught me more about my job than just about anything else in my career. Of course, we are gaining valuable insight in our Master's classes--this is an obvious form of Professional Development.
Online resources are great for this purpose. I have participated in two TESOL Virtual trainings: 1) Margo Gottlieb discussing the new TESOL standards and suggesting ways to reduce test bias in standardized tests, and 2) J.D. Brown, discussing curriculum development. They were quite interesting, as people from all over the world participated. I also have looked at teacher forums for ESL and other teaching ideas, for tips on classroom manangement or specific activity ideas for the classroom. Check out the links here on ESL Resources; I have used several of them. I have also worked on creating online professional development modules on everything from Second Language Acquisition research to linking assessment results to instructional strategies.
One simple benefit of online professional development is that teachers can take the courses in their own time frame and can often choose the topic or sub-topic of their choice. Therefore, teachers are invested in what they are learning, a crucial factor in motivation, as we see when we are planning a variety of activities for our students, too. Just like our ELLs, we each have a unique learning style and preference.
Another wonderful aspect of online teacher development is that you can give back for what you get, whether it's a forum or a lesson plan exchange site or something similar. I have just discovered www.eslprintables.com , which works like a swap meet. There are so many opportunities online for learning and sharing!
Flickr: www.Flickr.com
is so popular, too, and I appreciate the ideas that Richardson gives us on using these images to inspire lessons. I like "Flicktion" writing, where we can use the pictures as writing prompts for our students. I know I have spent countless hours looking for pictures in magazines to enrich and support the classroom activities, but it is not always easy to find what you want when you want it. However, with Flickr, the possibilites for teachers and students to find specific images are remarkable. I will definitely use these in my future classrooms.
Flickr Picture Story Assignment--Picture chosen: Spirit Warrior 3
This picture brings to mind so many images, so many memories. First, it is beautifully composed and makes wonderful use of the early morning light from the rising sun and the haze (from the pollution). The photographer took this in Shanghai, which is a place I would love to visit. A few of my friends live there, but I have not yet made it to Shanghai. I will one day, though.
The people in this picture look to me to be practicing Tai Chi, which I often saw people doing in the parks in Taipei and Hong Kong. Larger groups would practice in the early, early mornings (perhaps as in this photo), because there was some positive, natural energy they can tap into at this hour.
Actually, here is a resource (http://events.skyteam.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=40541) that explains it as such: "The silent tranquility of the morning is the perfect time to practice this martial art, which is derived from Taoism. Taoists were originally expected to seek solitude and confinement, in order to avoid distraction and obtain the discipline required for enlightenment."
I have always been so impressed by the calm, slow movements, the tranquility and the peacefulness of the Tai Chi sessions in the park. As a westerner, I find it is hard for me to be so still. The slow, balanced movements seen in this beautiful photo are an art form and require fantastic (physical) balance. In the turmoil and chaos of the highly populated cities prevalent in Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan, seeing people create their own private spaces and places and finding a peaceful center within themselves is no small feat! It is inspiring to behold.
Flickr page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7611228@N04/
This is my Flickr page I set up. I put some pictures from Costa Rica and Dallas with friends on there as an experiment. To be continued...
This is my Flickr page I set up. I put some pictures from Costa Rica and Dallas with friends on there as an experiment. To be continued...
www.slide.com Slide Show
Hi! In anticipation of our Flickr project, I made a slideshow from my family Christmas on www.slide.com
I think it is a really cool site! It is another free program that creates fabulous slide shows for you, with 9 different templates or so. Pretty cool for something so...free! Check it out.
I think it is a really cool site! It is another free program that creates fabulous slide shows for you, with 9 different templates or so. Pretty cool for something so...free! Check it out.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
What do people think of Americans, continued...
Please watch the video below this post first, then peruse these! Okay, the video below got me thinking, and here are some other viewpoints:
The best answer is here!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060919160801AAwpmMn
http://www.waytorussia.net/Features/RussianPeople/2004Nov7/index.html
This Canadian TV show is pretty funny, even if it is embarrassing. The one about the 65-minute hour is pretty good. I must say, we do not come out smelling like roses here! But, it's funny.
http://home.comcast.net/~wwwstephen/americans/
Here are comments from Americans living abroad about how they are treated overseas and what their friends, colleagues, students think of them.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/06/27/voices_from_abroad/?page=2
The best answer is here!
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060919160801AAwpmMn
http://www.waytorussia.net/Features/RussianPeople/2004Nov7/index.html
This Canadian TV show is pretty funny, even if it is embarrassing. The one about the 65-minute hour is pretty good. I must say, we do not come out smelling like roses here! But, it's funny.
http://home.comcast.net/~wwwstephen/americans/
Here are comments from Americans living abroad about how they are treated overseas and what their friends, colleagues, students think of them.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/06/27/voices_from_abroad/?page=2
What do people think of Americans???
This is a video I found on www.youtube.com , and it is a Real English MPG lesson. Their website is www.real-english.com
They have a whole series, and a lot of similar videos are posted on You Tube.
It's in an interview format, and takes place in England. The interviewer asks people what they think about Americans. APPARENTLY WE ARE LOUD!!! And generous and overly confident and friendly. I would have to agree with that. Of course, there are other comments as well, but it is good to hear from people in other countries.
Watch and tell me...what do you think Americans* are like??
*By "Americans," they--and I--mean people from the United States. I know we share a continent with many beautiful people from many interesting countries. I'm just taking their lead here; I am not being ethnocentric.
Credits: This video was added to www.youtube.com on January 02, 2007
From realdogswimming
Then, I saw this one--an ESL/EFL video posted in response to the video above.
She uses this video and a similar one about "What are the British like?" to create a lesson on adjectives. Then she goes into a bit on U.S. Football, then back to the adjectives lesson. It's very simple and cute. It's very interesting how she used the previous video for her lesson! I look forward to creating something like these videos for our podcasts/videos that we are making for our final project.
Watch it now:
They have a whole series, and a lot of similar videos are posted on You Tube.
It's in an interview format, and takes place in England. The interviewer asks people what they think about Americans. APPARENTLY WE ARE LOUD!!! And generous and overly confident and friendly. I would have to agree with that. Of course, there are other comments as well, but it is good to hear from people in other countries.
Watch and tell me...what do you think Americans* are like??
*By "Americans," they--and I--mean people from the United States. I know we share a continent with many beautiful people from many interesting countries. I'm just taking their lead here; I am not being ethnocentric.
Credits: This video was added to www.youtube.com on January 02, 2007
From realdogswimming
Then, I saw this one--an ESL/EFL video posted in response to the video above.
She uses this video and a similar one about "What are the British like?" to create a lesson on adjectives. Then she goes into a bit on U.S. Football, then back to the adjectives lesson. It's very simple and cute. It's very interesting how she used the previous video for her lesson! I look forward to creating something like these videos for our podcasts/videos that we are making for our final project.
Watch it now:
Star Trek and The Knights of the Round Table
Hi, all. I am putting this up as a test...my first video on this blog! It really doesn't have anything to do with ESL, just with the brilliant Monty Python and the always campy Star Trek. Monty Python's Holy Grail (1975) is one of my favorite movies, and whoever put this video together really spent a lot of time watching Star Trek--it is really well "choreographed."
I'm also posting it, with credits to Monty Python and the Star Trek crew, as an wonderful, if goofy, example of what marvels the digital age has brought us. It also goes right along with the topic of intellectual property, discussed in prompt 9. The jury is still out on how to control these types of things on You Tube. I just think the STar Trek and Monty Python folks will see this as what it is: a tribute and free marketing. the truth is, something like this only helps to keep them relevant today, 30 years after the fact. I'll let you know if I get a cease-and-desist message! What do YOU think (of the video and about this issue)???
Well, I am certainly not trying to pass this off as my own work (see note at bottom of post), but I wanted to share this hilarious video that makes me laugh! I hope you like it, too.
This song is from the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail Directed by
Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle,
Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin--geniuses, all!!! The original cast and crew of Star Trek included these major players: William Shatner - (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy - (Mr. Spock), DeForest Kelley - (Leonard "Bones" McCoy), James Doohan - (Montgomery "Scotty" Scott), George Takei - (Hikaru Sulu), Nichelle Nichols - (Uhura), Walter Koenig - (Pavel Chekov), and of course we give credit to Producer Gene Roddenberry (Show Creator)
Please leave your comments!
If it works, I will add something a little more teacher-y. Maybe!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Limitations, Caveats, and Challenges of CALL: Prompt 9
Egbert, Ch. 9
The limitations mentioned here are good topics to consider. There are obviously a number of issues, cultural, physical, and personal, that come into play. Working in publishing, I am hyper-aware of the plagiarism issue, and I always take extra care in choosing and citing any source I have used in developing material. With access to something like Wikipedia, however, the lines become blurry. We do not have a way of knowing whether or not the posted material on Wikipedia is from a new or a "borrowed" source. It is very tricky. Between Wikis, You Tube, and the like, these are the questions that keep creators of new material up at night. However, our best defense is a good offense (another example of an uncited quote--it has been called an old adage, but who came up with it?), and we should teach our students whatever the accepted norm in our milieu is. They need to learn our cultural values and legal restrictions insofar as their work will be evaluated based on these rules, and we must explain the impact that an obviously plagiarized work will have on their grade and credibility (all depending on where we are teaching them).
For visually impaired students, working in the Microsoft tools set should not be a problem--we would just have to teach them where the tools are to maximize the pages/fonts they are working on. Again, these issues just come down to training our students on how to use the technology we are requiring of them. Of course, if we were training students to use a chemistry set or a globe/map for a project, we would teach them how to use these tools before requiring a particular outcome, and the same should be said of digital or analog technology.
Additionally, we should consider these limitations that may arise: certain groups, such as the Amish or the Hutterites, often prohibit or restrict the use of computers as part of their unique laws (reflecting social, religious, or communal values). These cultural mores must be considered. The options here must include paper versions of assignments, including providing paper versions of any necessary reference materials.
In terms of the spell-check or handwriting questions Egbert notes, it seems to be a matter of balance. Our ELLs (and native speakers even) often use phonetic spelling as they are learning vocabulary. I think knowing the "best" way to spell something is important, but much less so today in the global reality we are living. There is a chosen dialect in each region that prescribes the accepted spelling rules for that area (North American vs. British English, for example), but with so many dialects and varieties of English around the world, and with the proliferation of chat rooms, e-mails, and text messages, the plain truth is that the importance of "proper" spelling has been lessening steadily for some time. Spelling has always changed over time, anyway--has anyone in this class tried to read an Old English or Middle English text?? And of course, that will cause conniptions among many sticklers, but I live in the real world. Therefore, my solution is that the students who need it use spell-check when possible, but not for a test situation. Spelling bees are still really great, but let's look at things in the context of real world language use. I have friends who are smart and successful native English speakers whose spelling is simply tragi-comic, but very few people think any less of them for it. Modifications are, by their nature, personalized to the student and his or her needs, anyway, and it should not take an undue amount of time to come to an agreement on the best way to serve a student in a situation such as this.
The limitations mentioned here are good topics to consider. There are obviously a number of issues, cultural, physical, and personal, that come into play. Working in publishing, I am hyper-aware of the plagiarism issue, and I always take extra care in choosing and citing any source I have used in developing material. With access to something like Wikipedia, however, the lines become blurry. We do not have a way of knowing whether or not the posted material on Wikipedia is from a new or a "borrowed" source. It is very tricky. Between Wikis, You Tube, and the like, these are the questions that keep creators of new material up at night. However, our best defense is a good offense (another example of an uncited quote--it has been called an old adage, but who came up with it?), and we should teach our students whatever the accepted norm in our milieu is. They need to learn our cultural values and legal restrictions insofar as their work will be evaluated based on these rules, and we must explain the impact that an obviously plagiarized work will have on their grade and credibility (all depending on where we are teaching them).
For visually impaired students, working in the Microsoft tools set should not be a problem--we would just have to teach them where the tools are to maximize the pages/fonts they are working on. Again, these issues just come down to training our students on how to use the technology we are requiring of them. Of course, if we were training students to use a chemistry set or a globe/map for a project, we would teach them how to use these tools before requiring a particular outcome, and the same should be said of digital or analog technology.
Additionally, we should consider these limitations that may arise: certain groups, such as the Amish or the Hutterites, often prohibit or restrict the use of computers as part of their unique laws (reflecting social, religious, or communal values). These cultural mores must be considered. The options here must include paper versions of assignments, including providing paper versions of any necessary reference materials.
In terms of the spell-check or handwriting questions Egbert notes, it seems to be a matter of balance. Our ELLs (and native speakers even) often use phonetic spelling as they are learning vocabulary. I think knowing the "best" way to spell something is important, but much less so today in the global reality we are living. There is a chosen dialect in each region that prescribes the accepted spelling rules for that area (North American vs. British English, for example), but with so many dialects and varieties of English around the world, and with the proliferation of chat rooms, e-mails, and text messages, the plain truth is that the importance of "proper" spelling has been lessening steadily for some time. Spelling has always changed over time, anyway--has anyone in this class tried to read an Old English or Middle English text?? And of course, that will cause conniptions among many sticklers, but I live in the real world. Therefore, my solution is that the students who need it use spell-check when possible, but not for a test situation. Spelling bees are still really great, but let's look at things in the context of real world language use. I have friends who are smart and successful native English speakers whose spelling is simply tragi-comic, but very few people think any less of them for it. Modifications are, by their nature, personalized to the student and his or her needs, anyway, and it should not take an undue amount of time to come to an agreement on the best way to serve a student in a situation such as this.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Kid Pix Activity
This is a story starter, intended to inspire a creative writing assignment. The children can look at the picture and story starter, then look at the model Bubble Map graphic organizer for ideas (two posts up on this page), and then they can create their own to map out their own stories. The original story board with the picture provides the first sentence of the story and the beginning of the second.
The story starter says,"Once upon a time, deep, deep in the ocean, there was a family who lived in an old ship. Every day, they would..." This is a rough draft...please add any helpful comments or ideas to improve it.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Assessment--Prompt 8
CUMMINS Ch. 3. Assessment
EGBERT Ch. 8. Assessment
The differences between formal--particularly high-stakes--assessment and authentic assessment are many. Authentic assessment is based on what the students are actually learning, and is delivered in a way that complements or mirrors the way the students actually have been learning the material. Authentic assessment is generally more informal by nature and can include in-class observation (with a checklist or otherwise), teacher-developed "quizzes" at the end of a unit or theme, portfolio assessment that shows real progress over time, self-assessment, or even a simple conversation or interview with the student to see where they are in their learning. Multiple measures are the best way to evaluate progress and/or highlight areas for improvement or intervention. As Cummins points out throughout ch.3, authentic assessment provides immediate feedback to the learner and the teacher, so that an action plan for helping the student can be made, no matter whether this involves extra help such as tutoring the student or by modifying the teaching methods being used. This idea of assessment results tied to instruction is also known as formative assessment, which Egbert states is a crucial criteria for authentic assessment. She also poses that it must be interactive.
Standardized testing, on the other hand, is more broadly based, yet tests only a limited set of skills, usually through a multiple-choice format that reflects neither the way students are taught nor the uses of the knowledge tested in the world outside of the classroom. The high-stakes placed on these tests have created no end of debate and controversy, and there has been very little or no proof that these testing situations are guiding schools to better instructional habits or that they are helping to narrow the achievement gap between the diverse groups currently divided along cultural and socio-economic lines. Although more standardized test developees are incorporating extended response (such as math problems where students show the steps of their work or essay-type questions for English tests), the use of a narrow set of standards and the overuse of multiple-choice questions weaken any interpretation of test results.
Both of these types of assessment can take place on a computer--for standardized tests, this happens through a transfer of the test items onto a software platform that can capture the student's responses. Hopeful aspects of online standardized testing include:
1) the ability to get test results quickly, so the tests themselves can possibly become somewhat more formative,
2) Perhaps this format can help to create a less stressful testing environment, at least for students with computer skills, and
3) Computer-Adaptive Testing has the goal of adapting the test to the test-taker while the student is taking the test, so there is a possibility of a student getting more test questions at a level comparable to his or her knowledge (this way the given test construct can be tested more thoroughly for each individual student).
It is all very interesting, but the unrealistic high-stakes tied to these results have to go. They aren't doing students or teachers any good.
For other types of assessments, the options are as varied as the assessment tools and tasks themselves. Examples include a reading reflection blog (like this one), compiling research online, preparing presentations for class through Power Point or audiotaped interviews, creating/editing/adding to a Wikipedia entry at , or creating a test or worksheet for their classmates. With access to such programs as Skype
and podcasting capabilities, there is no limit to what a thoughtful and creative teacher can do (the only limit are the resources he or she has access to) with the availability of digital resources we see on the World Wide Web and in computer software developments today. Just as with non-computerized assessments, though, it must reflect the students' reality in class and outside of it.
EGBERT Ch. 8. Assessment
The differences between formal--particularly high-stakes--assessment and authentic assessment are many. Authentic assessment is based on what the students are actually learning, and is delivered in a way that complements or mirrors the way the students actually have been learning the material. Authentic assessment is generally more informal by nature and can include in-class observation (with a checklist or otherwise), teacher-developed "quizzes" at the end of a unit or theme, portfolio assessment that shows real progress over time, self-assessment, or even a simple conversation or interview with the student to see where they are in their learning. Multiple measures are the best way to evaluate progress and/or highlight areas for improvement or intervention. As Cummins points out throughout ch.3, authentic assessment provides immediate feedback to the learner and the teacher, so that an action plan for helping the student can be made, no matter whether this involves extra help such as tutoring the student or by modifying the teaching methods being used. This idea of assessment results tied to instruction is also known as formative assessment, which Egbert states is a crucial criteria for authentic assessment. She also poses that it must be interactive.
Standardized testing, on the other hand, is more broadly based, yet tests only a limited set of skills, usually through a multiple-choice format that reflects neither the way students are taught nor the uses of the knowledge tested in the world outside of the classroom. The high-stakes placed on these tests have created no end of debate and controversy, and there has been very little or no proof that these testing situations are guiding schools to better instructional habits or that they are helping to narrow the achievement gap between the diverse groups currently divided along cultural and socio-economic lines. Although more standardized test developees are incorporating extended response (such as math problems where students show the steps of their work or essay-type questions for English tests), the use of a narrow set of standards and the overuse of multiple-choice questions weaken any interpretation of test results.
Both of these types of assessment can take place on a computer--for standardized tests, this happens through a transfer of the test items onto a software platform that can capture the student's responses. Hopeful aspects of online standardized testing include:
1) the ability to get test results quickly, so the tests themselves can possibly become somewhat more formative,
2) Perhaps this format can help to create a less stressful testing environment, at least for students with computer skills, and
3) Computer-Adaptive Testing has the goal of adapting the test to the test-taker while the student is taking the test, so there is a possibility of a student getting more test questions at a level comparable to his or her knowledge (this way the given test construct can be tested more thoroughly for each individual student).
It is all very interesting, but the unrealistic high-stakes tied to these results have to go. They aren't doing students or teachers any good.
For other types of assessments, the options are as varied as the assessment tools and tasks themselves. Examples include a reading reflection blog (like this one), compiling research online, preparing presentations for class through Power Point or audiotaped interviews, creating/editing/adding to a Wikipedia entry at , or creating a test or worksheet for their classmates. With access to such programs as Skype
and podcasting capabilities, there is no limit to what a thoughtful and creative teacher can do (the only limit are the resources he or she has access to) with the availability of digital resources we see on the World Wide Web and in computer software developments today. Just as with non-computerized assessments, though, it must reflect the students' reality in class and outside of it.
Kidspiration Podcast outline
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Hi, all! This is a rough draft version of our storyboard for our podcast lesson. Rosario, Max, and I are a team for this podcast lesson. Rosario came up with the idea of a lesson focused around the first day of school. We can practice school and classroom vocabulary with a focus on the simple past tense with this lesson.So far, we are just kicking around ideas and trying to brainstorm the best way to make this an interesting, useful podcast that ESL students and teachers would want to listen to and use. For our graphic organizer, we used Kidspiration. We have found this to be a great teacher's aid, Kidspiration for teaching children or Inspiration for more adult classes. You can download a free, 30-day trial at www.inspiration.com .
I will post more as our outline and storyboard develops. If looking at this storyboard gives you a brilliant idea, please share it with a comment! Mil gracias (Thanks a lot).
Quickshare
For my Quickshare activity, I presented a variety of Web Quests (one completed one, and a template and rubric guide). Please see several other links under Technology ideas to the left of this blog, specifically www.webquest.org , the "Crime and Punishment" one, and the "Fabulous" one. These Web Quests and templates even provide rubrics for clear and easy evaluation.
Using computers, students practice their reading and research skills and work collaboratively as part of a team. In addition, most Web Quests can be differentiated by level--it may be built into the Web Quest you use, or you can modify the tasks or links the students use.
I recommend providing at least some of the necessary links to the desired content, otherwise the goal of finding and narrowing down the information on the internet is overwhelming. Even with designated links, students have a lot of leeway in how creative they can be.
I have used the "Fabulous" Web Quest in a class of high-level adult students (ages 18-65), and the outcome was wonderful. Each team created a presentation (practicing writing and speaking skills) where every member participated, and then the other groups in the class had to listen and ask questions on specific details from the presentation (listening focus). The students amazed me with their creative and hilarious plot twists! We worked on it in the computer lab maybe 15 minutes a day for four days, followed by 45 minutes or so in-class to prepare their presentations, and they gave their presentations and answered the follow-up questions in about 30 minutes for three groups. To give credit where it's due, this is called "On the Road Again," and it's designed by Paula Emmert. This is the experience that made me and my students a fan of Web Quests! Please give me feedback if you use it, or let me know if you have a favorite Web Quest. I cannot wait to get back into the classroom!!
Using computers, students practice their reading and research skills and work collaboratively as part of a team. In addition, most Web Quests can be differentiated by level--it may be built into the Web Quest you use, or you can modify the tasks or links the students use.
I recommend providing at least some of the necessary links to the desired content, otherwise the goal of finding and narrowing down the information on the internet is overwhelming. Even with designated links, students have a lot of leeway in how creative they can be.
I have used the "Fabulous" Web Quest in a class of high-level adult students (ages 18-65), and the outcome was wonderful. Each team created a presentation (practicing writing and speaking skills) where every member participated, and then the other groups in the class had to listen and ask questions on specific details from the presentation (listening focus). The students amazed me with their creative and hilarious plot twists! We worked on it in the computer lab maybe 15 minutes a day for four days, followed by 45 minutes or so in-class to prepare their presentations, and they gave their presentations and answered the follow-up questions in about 30 minutes for three groups. To give credit where it's due, this is called "On the Road Again," and it's designed by Paula Emmert. This is the experience that made me and my students a fan of Web Quests! Please give me feedback if you use it, or let me know if you have a favorite Web Quest. I cannot wait to get back into the classroom!!
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Content-based activities: Prompt 7
EGBERT Ch. 7. Content-Based Instruction
Crucial to content instruction for ELLs is that the message be understandable, and that the content remain intact. That means we should pre-teach vocabulary, use the students' backgrounds and previous knowledge as resources to scaffold their further learning, and we should use a plethora of visuals and hands-on materials and activities. Egbert points out that the use of real content can make the language meaningful and authentic for our ELLs. The language (and language support) the teacher uses and teaches before and during the content lessons can make the content accessible. So, language and content instruction can be integrated nicely (with a lot of planning) to give students every opportunity to learn and succeed in their classes. She also stresses the importance of cultural relevance, and I absolutely agree that this is extremely important.
The most obvious way to incorporate technology into content lessons is for research and visual support. As the author notes, however, we must choose the Web sites for research carefully. Too many options can be confusing, and some of these websites are really not geared for ELLs or even younger students. By having students do their own research on topics they love or are interested in, their affective filters can be reduced. There is also a wide variety of cultural resources online that classroom teachers would have a hard time getting access to.
I love the NASA site www.nasa.gov , and some others I'll post separately as a links list. What's great is that these sites walk the students through the lessons and there is built-in language support (glossary links, demonstrations, and lots of visuals).
I like the lesson plan Egbert refers to here from CoBaLTT (Content-Based Language Teaching with Technology, http://www.carla.umn.edu/cobaltt/ ), with "Content Obligatory" and "Content Compatible" goals, the first for content and the second for language objectives. Egbert also advocates using outlines, rewriting the text for students, using audio and visual support, and modeling. These are all useful techniques for ESL, EFL, and content-based instruction.
Crucial to content instruction for ELLs is that the message be understandable, and that the content remain intact. That means we should pre-teach vocabulary, use the students' backgrounds and previous knowledge as resources to scaffold their further learning, and we should use a plethora of visuals and hands-on materials and activities. Egbert points out that the use of real content can make the language meaningful and authentic for our ELLs. The language (and language support) the teacher uses and teaches before and during the content lessons can make the content accessible. So, language and content instruction can be integrated nicely (with a lot of planning) to give students every opportunity to learn and succeed in their classes. She also stresses the importance of cultural relevance, and I absolutely agree that this is extremely important.
The most obvious way to incorporate technology into content lessons is for research and visual support. As the author notes, however, we must choose the Web sites for research carefully. Too many options can be confusing, and some of these websites are really not geared for ELLs or even younger students. By having students do their own research on topics they love or are interested in, their affective filters can be reduced. There is also a wide variety of cultural resources online that classroom teachers would have a hard time getting access to.
I love the NASA site www.nasa.gov , and some others I'll post separately as a links list. What's great is that these sites walk the students through the lessons and there is built-in language support (glossary links, demonstrations, and lots of visuals).
I like the lesson plan Egbert refers to here from CoBaLTT (Content-Based Language Teaching with Technology, http://www.carla.umn.edu/cobaltt/ ), with "Content Obligatory" and "Content Compatible" goals, the first for content and the second for language objectives. Egbert also advocates using outlines, rewriting the text for students, using audio and visual support, and modeling. These are all useful techniques for ESL, EFL, and content-based instruction.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Adding to Prompt 6
FYI: We have been reading this book in our grammar class: Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language Acquisition by Catherine Doughty (Editor), Jessica Williams (Editor), 1998, Cambridge University Press, New York. We have just read an article by Merrill Swain, who has examined and championed the concept of output and of the importance of language learners "noticing" features in their language and in their interlanguage. So, the response to Prompt 6 regarding output was fresh on my brain, due to our recent class discussion.
Software Evaluations 1 and 2: Merit Software
Title of Software: Merit Software, Basic English Fitness and Process Writing: Paragraph Punch units
Producer:Merit Software
Target students: It varies, but Basic English Fitness is really geared towards specific levels of proficiency (high beginner to intermediate), Process Writing: Paragraph Punch and is targeted for students of 5 to 10 years old.
Proficiency levels: Basic English Fitness (BEF) is for intermediate language learners, but I think it would be appropriate for anyone from a high beginner's level on up. Process Writing: Paragraph Punch (PW:PP) is not exclusively for ELLs. ELLs using this software would likely have to be at high intermediate level to follow along, simply because there are many steps with a lot of language in this module.
Description:
Provide a brief description of:
What the program is: BEF is a grammar review and practice tool. PW:PP is a guide for writing paragraphs through Process Writing. It shows studenst, step-by-step, how to write a paragraph, and gives them the opportunity to do so.
What it does: In 4 steps from Tryout to Evaluation, BEF gives students different opportunities to select the correct response for grammar (articles, subject-verb agreement, etc.), spelling, and other usage items. The Workout section, the meat of the software, is basically multiple choice questions with one of two tasks: either to choose the incorrect part of the sentence or to choose the correct sentence. So, it could get boring pretty quickly to many students. But, the best part is the feedback it gives for a correct or incorrect answer on the first part of the Workout: it explains WHY that is/isn't the right answer--very helpful for ELLs.
PW:PP takes students through five elaborate steps to build a paragraph. It provides topics, and offers over 1500 prompts loosely based on 15 different topics. Each student can choose one topic to write on from 3 different topics given, so that can be good at lowering students' affective filters to some degree. It gives examples and sentence starters for students to practice with, leads them through a detailed brainstorming session (to jot down just words and ideas), and takes them through the whole experience. There is a button for a "Tip" that gives examples and one for "help" that offers tech advice. It offers several reminders and writing tips along the way, a chance to order, then reorder the sentences in the paragraph, and it gives chances to add or delete or edit content along the way. It offers advice on what to look for in proofreading, for style and structure, and it helps by suggesting specific connectors that will help the flow of the writing.
How it looks: Egads, look out, Merit--you need an editor. This is the trial software I was using, and on the COVER screen of BEF Unit 5, it says Eavaluation. Be careful when you are selling and publishing this stuff--especially before we buy it!! Everyone makes mistakes, but your clients are paying a lot of money for this software.
Otherwise, BEF looks fine. The user earns happy sounds for a right answer, and there are some happy graphics (like confetti and colored spinning wheels) throughout. However, there is not a great use of the "real estate"---oooh lala, a new online publishing word I just learned--on the screen. There is one item presented at the time, just typed at the top of the screen. There are a few colors, but it could be more dazzling for sure.
PW:PP populates the top half of the screen and a little more, with very clear cursors and navigational aids. It is well-designed.
How the user interacts with it: Now this I like, for both programs. They are easy to use and have very clear instructions, examples, help screens, and easy navigational tools. This software really is user-friendly, and the language is genrally clear. It also loads super fast; I did not encounter any long waits or technological glitches.
Language skills targeted: BEF targets grammar skills such as article use, subject-verb agreement, spelling, etc. PW:PP is a writing tool.
Evaluation:
What are the program’s strengths or weaknesses? Do you feel it would be effective for helping ELLs learn English? Why or why not? Would you use it in your classroom? Why or why not? What method or approach to language teaching does this program appear to represent? I have gone into a good deal of detail above, but generally I am not too impressed with BEF. I do like the feedback on why the answers are right or wrong, though. The PW:PP is a well thought out program, and a true desire to help the students practice and learn step by step is obvious. In PW:PP, there is a lot more language and may be rather complicated for some ELLs, even though at this age group in school, it is very appropriate to the real life content they will be seeing. It also scaffolds the writing experience through a lot of examples and tips, so it is useful and helpful overall. This isn't the time to discuss how useful the standard five-sentence paragraph is, but it is something we all learn to do in school. This program can help ELLs through that process. In a nutshell, I like Process Writing: Paragraph Punch and think it can help ELLs improve their writing, and I think the Basic English Fitness falls way short of the mark.
Producer:Merit Software
Target students: It varies, but Basic English Fitness is really geared towards specific levels of proficiency (high beginner to intermediate), Process Writing: Paragraph Punch and is targeted for students of 5 to 10 years old.
Proficiency levels: Basic English Fitness (BEF) is for intermediate language learners, but I think it would be appropriate for anyone from a high beginner's level on up. Process Writing: Paragraph Punch (PW:PP) is not exclusively for ELLs. ELLs using this software would likely have to be at high intermediate level to follow along, simply because there are many steps with a lot of language in this module.
Description:
Provide a brief description of:
What the program is: BEF is a grammar review and practice tool. PW:PP is a guide for writing paragraphs through Process Writing. It shows studenst, step-by-step, how to write a paragraph, and gives them the opportunity to do so.
What it does: In 4 steps from Tryout to Evaluation, BEF gives students different opportunities to select the correct response for grammar (articles, subject-verb agreement, etc.), spelling, and other usage items. The Workout section, the meat of the software, is basically multiple choice questions with one of two tasks: either to choose the incorrect part of the sentence or to choose the correct sentence. So, it could get boring pretty quickly to many students. But, the best part is the feedback it gives for a correct or incorrect answer on the first part of the Workout: it explains WHY that is/isn't the right answer--very helpful for ELLs.
PW:PP takes students through five elaborate steps to build a paragraph. It provides topics, and offers over 1500 prompts loosely based on 15 different topics. Each student can choose one topic to write on from 3 different topics given, so that can be good at lowering students' affective filters to some degree. It gives examples and sentence starters for students to practice with, leads them through a detailed brainstorming session (to jot down just words and ideas), and takes them through the whole experience. There is a button for a "Tip" that gives examples and one for "help" that offers tech advice. It offers several reminders and writing tips along the way, a chance to order, then reorder the sentences in the paragraph, and it gives chances to add or delete or edit content along the way. It offers advice on what to look for in proofreading, for style and structure, and it helps by suggesting specific connectors that will help the flow of the writing.
How it looks: Egads, look out, Merit--you need an editor. This is the trial software I was using, and on the COVER screen of BEF Unit 5, it says Eavaluation. Be careful when you are selling and publishing this stuff--especially before we buy it!! Everyone makes mistakes, but your clients are paying a lot of money for this software.
Otherwise, BEF looks fine. The user earns happy sounds for a right answer, and there are some happy graphics (like confetti and colored spinning wheels) throughout. However, there is not a great use of the "real estate"---oooh lala, a new online publishing word I just learned--on the screen. There is one item presented at the time, just typed at the top of the screen. There are a few colors, but it could be more dazzling for sure.
PW:PP populates the top half of the screen and a little more, with very clear cursors and navigational aids. It is well-designed.
How the user interacts with it: Now this I like, for both programs. They are easy to use and have very clear instructions, examples, help screens, and easy navigational tools. This software really is user-friendly, and the language is genrally clear. It also loads super fast; I did not encounter any long waits or technological glitches.
Language skills targeted: BEF targets grammar skills such as article use, subject-verb agreement, spelling, etc. PW:PP is a writing tool.
Evaluation:
What are the program’s strengths or weaknesses? Do you feel it would be effective for helping ELLs learn English? Why or why not? Would you use it in your classroom? Why or why not? What method or approach to language teaching does this program appear to represent? I have gone into a good deal of detail above, but generally I am not too impressed with BEF. I do like the feedback on why the answers are right or wrong, though. The PW:PP is a well thought out program, and a true desire to help the students practice and learn step by step is obvious. In PW:PP, there is a lot more language and may be rather complicated for some ELLs, even though at this age group in school, it is very appropriate to the real life content they will be seeing. It also scaffolds the writing experience through a lot of examples and tips, so it is useful and helpful overall. This isn't the time to discuss how useful the standard five-sentence paragraph is, but it is something we all learn to do in school. This program can help ELLs through that process. In a nutshell, I like Process Writing: Paragraph Punch and think it can help ELLs improve their writing, and I think the Basic English Fitness falls way short of the mark.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Inquiry, Problem Solving, and Podcasting: Prompt 6
EGBERT Ch. 6. Inquiry and Problem Solving
RICHARDSON Ch. 8. Podcasting and Screencasting: Multimedia Publishing for the Masses
Hmmm, I have been thinking about this one. Having taught mostly adults, the content learning is either business-based or involves some kind of awareness of current events such as news, social awareness (the environment,etc.), art exhibits, or even entertainment. I believe some of the role plays (with an information gap or two opposing goals for each "actor") or research for the purpose of creating and giving a business presentation or for an in-class debate would count as an inquiry. As far as critical thinking skills go, these activities would include: distiguishing fact from opinion, assessing the accuracy of a statement, detecting bias, and/or distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information. Also, through some Web Quests or some map-based activities my students have been able to plan various routes, solve specific problems like budget or what to do when a specific problem arises. I'll post a link to my favorite Web Quest on this blog. Another problem-solving activity was when I took my students to the grocery store, and asked each small group of a different level within the classroom to solve a problem or find some information. For example, beginners had to find fruit that was like the fruit they had in their home countries and compare the names and prices of fruit, and the most advanced group had to shop for a week for a family of five within a given budget, and give reason for any unusual choices they made (so they had to persuade their group to concede to buying more expensive brands and so on).
I have also given students some in-depth lessons involving field trips to an art exhibit, an outdoor public park, or a concert, where they are given several things to notice or observe (in the exhibit/show or in the crowd and environment), then are asked focused questions to get them to recall information. Then the students share the information to come up with a complete list or story to answer all the questions (summarizing and synthesizing) or they compare and contrast their observations with each other's and with a third set of facts/opinions (for example, with their home culture or with the classroom).
Because podcasting is available on a wide array of topics, podcasts can very easily fit into an inquiry and/or problem-solving activity as a source of information. The end goal of a lesson could also be to have the students create and edit a podcast to broadcast over the web. I know from my own publishing experience that simply creating and editing something for mass consumption can be a detailed problem-solving activity. Plus, they would have to collaborate and decide what content goes into the podcast and what doesn't. The WillowWeb defined in the Richardson book (pp.116-117) is a good example of this. Plus, podcasting seems really fun; I think students will love it. There is an added motivation for students studying here with families overseas--it is a cheap, interesting, and easy way to let others at home know what you are doing! I wish it had existed in its current easy, breezy incarnation when I was overseas for so long. That would have been sooooooo cool.
RICHARDSON Ch. 8. Podcasting and Screencasting: Multimedia Publishing for the Masses
Hmmm, I have been thinking about this one. Having taught mostly adults, the content learning is either business-based or involves some kind of awareness of current events such as news, social awareness (the environment,etc.), art exhibits, or even entertainment. I believe some of the role plays (with an information gap or two opposing goals for each "actor") or research for the purpose of creating and giving a business presentation or for an in-class debate would count as an inquiry. As far as critical thinking skills go, these activities would include: distiguishing fact from opinion, assessing the accuracy of a statement, detecting bias, and/or distinguishing relevant from irrelevant information. Also, through some Web Quests or some map-based activities my students have been able to plan various routes, solve specific problems like budget or what to do when a specific problem arises. I'll post a link to my favorite Web Quest on this blog. Another problem-solving activity was when I took my students to the grocery store, and asked each small group of a different level within the classroom to solve a problem or find some information. For example, beginners had to find fruit that was like the fruit they had in their home countries and compare the names and prices of fruit, and the most advanced group had to shop for a week for a family of five within a given budget, and give reason for any unusual choices they made (so they had to persuade their group to concede to buying more expensive brands and so on).
I have also given students some in-depth lessons involving field trips to an art exhibit, an outdoor public park, or a concert, where they are given several things to notice or observe (in the exhibit/show or in the crowd and environment), then are asked focused questions to get them to recall information. Then the students share the information to come up with a complete list or story to answer all the questions (summarizing and synthesizing) or they compare and contrast their observations with each other's and with a third set of facts/opinions (for example, with their home culture or with the classroom).
Because podcasting is available on a wide array of topics, podcasts can very easily fit into an inquiry and/or problem-solving activity as a source of information. The end goal of a lesson could also be to have the students create and edit a podcast to broadcast over the web. I know from my own publishing experience that simply creating and editing something for mass consumption can be a detailed problem-solving activity. Plus, they would have to collaborate and decide what content goes into the podcast and what doesn't. The WillowWeb defined in the Richardson book (pp.116-117) is a good example of this. Plus, podcasting seems really fun; I think students will love it. There is an added motivation for students studying here with families overseas--it is a cheap, interesting, and easy way to let others at home know what you are doing! I wish it had existed in its current easy, breezy incarnation when I was overseas for so long. That would have been sooooooo cool.
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