Grammar Fundamentals Vocabulary Journal

Unit 1

Preposition: a word usually preceding a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word/element in the clause

Interjection: an abrupt remark, made especially as an aside or interruption

Predicate: the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject

Compound sentence: a sentence with more than one subject or predicate

Complex sentence: a sentence containing a subordinate clause or clauses

Unit 2

Grammar Translation Method: the study of rules and the translation of vocabulary and sentences from English to one’s L1

Rote: mechanical or habitual repetition of something to be learned

Mnemonics: a device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something, aiding or designed to aid the memory

Prosody: the pattern of rhythm and sound used in poetry

Phatic: relating to language used for general purposes of social interaction, rather than to convey information or ask questions (eg. Hello, how are you?)

Unit 3

Scaffold: a temporary platform, either supported from below or suspended from above, on which workers sit or stand when performing tasks at heights above the ground and/or to provide or support with a raised framework or platform

Holistic: characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole

Conjunction: a word used to connect clause or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause

Interlanguage: the version of the language which a leaner has at any one stage of development, and which is continually reshaped as he or she aims towards full mastery

Autonomy: the right or condition of self government, freedom from external control or influence; independence

Paralinguistic: relating to or denoting paralanguage (intonation, pitch etc.) or the non-lexical elements of communication by speech

Unit 4

Synthesize: combine (a number of things) into a coherent whole, make something, produce

Manifesto: a public declaration of policy and aims, a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motive, or views of its issuer

Collocations: the habitual juxtaposition of a particular word with another word or words with a frequency greater than chance, the action of placing things side by side or in position

Consolidate: make (something) physically stronger or more solid, combine (a number of things) into a single more effective or coherent whole

Modal verb: a verb that combines with another verb to indicate mood or tense, how we describe our worldview and articulate our perspective (ex. Can, could, should)

Cloze: of, relating to, or being a test of reading comprehension that involves having the person being tested supply words which have been systematically deleted from a text

Time Transition Words Lesson Plan

Introduction:

This lesson focuses in on time transition words. It corresponds with the CLB benchmarks level 5 with both working on using appropriate connective words and also writing a factual paragraph. The plan is based on the Presentation-Practice-Production method. It is meant to be easily understood, straightforward, and to use time wisely.

Time Transition Words Lesson Plan

Created by: Ebony Loewen

Date: November 27, 2018

Class levels: CLB 5

Class Time: 2 hours

Lesson Type: Presentation-Practice-Production

Context: intermediate CLB 5 adult classroom in a private school in Hong Kong

Communicative Language Task Goal

-          students will be able to use time transition words appropriately in a paragraph

By the end of the lesson today, learners will have:

-          define transition words and their function

-          identify transition words in a text

-          gather a number of time transition words in their transition journal

-          use time transition words appropriately in a paragraph

Lesson Procedure

Lesson activities and procedure	Language Skills	Purpose of the activity	Interaction	Time
Have students write 2-3 sentences about what they did this morning. (ex. I ate breakfast. I drove my kids to school.) As students write their sentences write your own on the board.	writing	Needs Assessment. Observe student’s use of time transition words. (I ate breakfast. Next, I drove my kids to school.)	Individual	20
Presentation: Read together as a class Example 1 (easy) or Example 2 (harder) depending on their use of transition words in the need’s assessment. Does this sound fluid? What might be missing? What could make it flow?	Reading, speaking	Have students begin to think about the need for transition words and the function of them.	Class activity	15
Presentation: Introduce transition words. Define transition words, the purpose of transition words (see below). Go back to example 1 or 2, add in transition words.	Listening, speaking	For students to be able to define what a transition word is and the function of them.	Teacher focused	20
Presentation: Introduce Transition word journal (see handout). Talk briefly about the different types of transition words (comparison, contrast, place etc.). We will be focusing on time transition words. When transition words come up write them in the transition word journal. Give 2-3 examples of time transition words perhaps already stated (later, immediately, until etc.)	Listening, writing	Give a resource for students to keep track of transition words. This will help in later classes as they expand their knowledge about transition words. It will also help them in their writing to have a data base that is easily accessible to them.	Class activity	20
Practice: Hand out the Peter Rabbit story. In groups have students highlight transition words they see. Remind them to record the words in their journal Float to different groups, help point out words if need be, give corrective feedback if necessary.	Speaking, listening, writing	Expand student’s time transition words vocabulary. Be able to identify transition words within a longer text.	Group work	25
Production: Exit Assessment: Write a paragraph (4-6 sentences) recalling a past event you attended (birthday party, concert, church meeting, a get together with a friend or family etc.). Be sure to use transition words. Float around the classroom, provide help and perhaps correction.	Writing	Observe and assess the use of transition words. Teacher can see if this topic needs to be directly readdressed in a later class or if there is a basic understanding.	Individual	20 (if they don’t finish take it home for homework)

Resources:

Example 1

John shovelled the drive way. His wife cooked supper inside. OR John shovelled the driveway. Meanwhile, his wife cooked supper inside.

Example 2

I went to find a park. First, I got lost. Later I saw a sign that told me which road to go down. Finally, I found the park.

Notes: Introducing Transition Words

Transition – a word, phrase or sentence that connects one section to another

introduce – transition journal (time, place, comparison, contrast etc.), will fill in time transitions

Time Transition words:

·         while

·         immediately

·         never

·         after

·         later, earlier

·         always

·         when

·         soon

·         whenever

·         meanwhile

·         sometimes

·         in the meantime

·         during

·         afterwards

·         now, until now

·         next

·         following

·         once

·         then

·         at length

·         simultaneously

·         so far

·         this time

·         subsequently

Transition Word Journal (Example Page)

As you discover different transition words write them down. Classify them in the correct group, some words may be classified in more than one group. It may be helpful to look up and write down the definition of the word for future reference.

Time Transition Words

_Ex. 1 – Later: doing something or taking place after the expected, proper, or usual time______ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Peter Rabbit Story

(adapted from https://americanliterature.com/author/beatrix-potter/short-story/the-tale-of-peter-rabbit)

**Highlight the time transition words that you find throughout the story. Remember to record them in your transition journal. **

Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were— Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter. They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fir tree. "Now, my dears," said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, "you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor. Now run along, and don't get into mischief. I am going out." Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella, to the baker's. Concurrently, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, who were good little bunnies, went down the lane to gather blackberries; but Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden and squeezed under the gate! First, he ate some lettuces and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes; and then, feeling rather sick, he went to look for some parsley. But round the end of a cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor! Mr. McGregor was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages, but he jumped up and ran after Peter, waving a rake and calling out, "Stop thief!" Peter was most dreadfully frightened; he rushed all over the garden, for he had forgotten the way back to the gate. He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages, and the other shoe amongst the potatoes. After losing them, he ran on four legs and went faster, so that I think he might have got away altogether if he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net, and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket. It was a blue jacket with brass buttons, quite new. Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself. In the meantime, Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve, which he intended to pop upon the top of Peter; but Peter wriggled out just in time, leaving his jacket behind him, rushed into the toolshed, and jumped into a can. It would have been a beautiful thing to hide in, if it had not had so much water in it. Mr. McGregor was quite sure that Peter was somewhere in the toolshed, perhaps hidden underneath a flower-pot. He began to turn them over carefully, looking under each. Presently Peter sneezed— "Kertyschoo!" Mr. McGregor was after him in no time, and tried to put his foot upon Peter, who jumped out of a window, upsetting three plants. The window was too small for Mr. McGregor, and he was tired of running after Peter. He went back to his work.

Bibliography

Franco, M. (2016, March 2). Transition Words in Reading and Writing. Retrieved from http://snap.roundpath.org/index.php/articles/articles-language/56-transition-words-in-reading-and-writing

How to Write Strong Transitions and Transitional Sentences. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-to-write-strong-transitions-and-transitional-sentences.html

Language, S. (2016, March 02). Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aksqJCgAMA

Linde, S. (n.d.). Transition Words Lesson Plan. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/popular/transition-words-lesson-plan.html

Potter, B. (n.d.). The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Retrieved November 29, 2018, from https://americanliterature.com/author/beatrix-potter/short-story/the-tale-of-peter-rabbit

Transitional Words and Phrases. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Transitions.html#time

Two Types of Lesson Plans - Unit 4

Two types of lesson plans have really stood out to me. These are the Present-Practice-Produce (PPP) plan and the task-based plan. Each stood out to me for different reasons.

Because I have no TESL experience, as I looked into the Present-Practice-Produce plan it definitely grabbed my gaze. The main reason for me being drawn to this type of plan is the simplicity and the straightforwardness of it. The PPP is controlled and it is easy to find resources for. A simple search on the internet or even flipping through a textbook will aid in this lesson plan. As a teacher, you can be well prepared and very focused within the lesson. It is also quite simple for learners to follow. The teacher is readily available and is extremely helpful throughout the lesson particularly in the present and practice steps. This lesson plan is definitely known for how easy it is for teachers to implement and perfect ("PPP TEFL Teaching Methodology", 2018).

All that being said, I realize that the PPP plan, although perhaps efficient for teachers and appropriate in certain contexts, is not how most students learn best. Task-based lesson plans are much more engaging and authentic for learners. This type of plan is based more on students’ needs rather than predetermined goals. Task-based lesson plans also focus on a more inductive approach to learning. These lesson plans begin with a task, after which students talk about the activity, learn from it and eventually attempt the task or a similar task again. During these tasks, students are free to use whatever language they desire in order to create the most authentic atmosphere possible. These lesson plans “…often mimic real-life tasks and situations” (Braddock, 2015) which is extremely helpful to keep learners attention and have them engaged with the lesson.  This can also be a fault where language is not so controlled and regulated, students begin using poor structure, form, and vocabulary (Clandfield, "Task-based grammar teaching").  I really appreciate task-based learning for the sake of its legitimacy to the real world. As a student, I also would agree that task-based learning helps me stay engaged, participate and ultimately retain the most information compared to the PPP type of planning.

All in all, lesson planning must vary according to the teacher, student, and context. As a new teacher beginning with a lesson plan based on the PPP plan may be helpful. Working with hands-on students may cause you to want to undertake teaching through a task-based plan. If you have a lot of time to prepare for a lesson try out the task-based plan. If you are pressed for time and have limited resources, stick with the PPP plan. As teachers, we need to be willing to be flexible in our teaching styles for the betterment of both ourselves and our students.

Bibliography

Braddock, P. (2015, December 28). Unit 9: Task-based learning. Retrieved November 28, 2018, from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/unit-9-task-based-learning

Clandfield, L. (n.d.). Task-based grammar teaching. Retrieved November 28, 2018, from http://www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/grammar-teaching/task-based-grammar-teaching/

PPP TEFL Teaching Methodology. (2018, June 26). Retrieved November 28, 2018, from https://seetefl.com/ppp-tefl-teaching-methodology/

Selective Correction - Unit 3

In a quiz, I took there was the statement that teachers should be selective when correcting mistakes and it was false. Honestly, this really surprised me, I thought it should have been true. Perhaps this statement should be better clarified. I assumed that it was speaking about one student’s work and I also assumed that this was an assignment or activity run during class. If this statement had meant that teachers should be selective when correcting mistakes on a test was false or if a student was asking for complete feedback specifically, then, of course, a teacher should not be selective in correcting mistakes. That being said, in accordance with my assumptions about the statement I think it may be wise at times for teachers to be selective in their correction. Especially for beginners, to correct every mistake they make can be overwhelming and downright discouraging. “Sometimes, teachers refine the choice by choosing to let beginners make many mistakes while correcting advanced students often” (Beare, 2017). Being selective with the most dramatic and consistent mistakes, in my opinion, would be a better option.

Some teachers feel that if mistakes are not corrected immediately students will become stuck in a rut with those errors (Beare, 2017). To some extent that is true but that definitely does not mean you bombard a student with corrections for every tiny mistake. I would argue that leaving some mistakes to be corrected at a later date is not so harmful. Think of a grade 1 kid, you do not expect them to be able to dialogue with an adult fluently about a complicated topic. We must remember our benchmarks (https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/language-benchmarks.pdf), CLB1 in speaking is not asked to speak with “excellent control over an expanded variety of complex grammar structures” ("Canadian Language Benchmarks") instead they have almost “no control over basic grammar structures and tenses” ("Canadian Language Benchmarks"). In this example, it would be ridiculous to correct every error a CLB 1 would make. Although this example is dramatic, I think the point is still true, teachers should be selective when correcting mistakes.

Feedback should serve “as a guide for the students to work a way out of their mistakes on their own and to attempt writing an improved version. Only then can writing knowledge emerge” (Mukhopadhyay). This applies beyond just writing knowledge. As teachers, we should be seeking to better our students not just make perfect robots out of them. By being available and involved with our students we can teach them how to identify errors and how to correct errors. 

I am not saying all this to say that we always correct mistakes selectively. There can always be exceptions within this depending on the person, their level, the activity etc. but for the most part, it might be wise to give corrective feedback step by step. Consider your own classroom, the students you work with, their personalities and their level. What would benefit them the most? This question should always be by your side.

Beare, K. (2017, March 27). Student Correction During Class - How and When? Retrieved November 21, 2018, from https://www.thoughtco.com/student-correction-during-class-how-when-1210508

Canadian Language Benchmarks [PDF]. (n.d.). Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Mukhopadhyay, L. (n.d.). How ESL Teachers can Give Feedback to Treat Writing as a Process? Retrieved November 21, 2018, from http://fortell.org/content/how-esl-teachers-can-give-feedback-treat-writing-process

Corrective Feedback

From Exemplars for the Productive Skills

Benchmark 1

https://universityofmanitoba.desire2learn.com/content/enforced3/309458-17788.201890/Content/materials/unit%203/Readings/CLB%20Support%20Kit%20Writing%20Samples.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=LPpWfW1jOTPuoSF9cnAdVh6eQ&ou=309458

To provide corrective feedback and error correct I would use what J. Harmer calls “responding.”  I would circle or cross out where something is missing or is extra. For example, “I ⭕married,” “I am married.” I would then on the side rewrite each sentence appropriately so that my student would see what their sentences should have looked like. In this way, students can begin to visualize and see the rhythm of sentence structure. If I would meet with the student, I would speak the sentences they had written and my rewritten sentences so they could hear the difference as well.

Comprehensible Input or Grammar-Based? - Unit 2

Betty Azar is the founder of Azar Grammar and grammar material for TESL classrooms. Her expertise has been formed over years of experience and study. What she has to say about communicative and grammar-based teaching is quite fascinating. She talks about how the goal of grammar is not to just know the rules and be able to translate a sentence appropriately but is it actually meant to be a tool for increasing meaningful, authentic communication by encouraging fluency and accuracy.

Fluency and accuracy are the main goals of grammar learning. They go hand in hand and should be valued as such. Fluency is not the means of speaking remarkably fast, but having a solid understanding so that there is less thought into how to structure a sentence or phrase. 

Accuracy is not gained primarily by a comprehensible input. Azar mentions how that in the late 20th century the naturalist movement in teaching was the newest, biggest and best. This movement pushed for no grammar to be taught in the classroom and those second language learners learned in a similar manner as a child learning their first language, comprehensible input. Yet this has been proven to be a failure. Students who have received years of comprehensible input often have dramatic issues in their grammar in all language skill areas.  

Azar claims that during the time of this naturalist movement in the teaching world there was a group of teachers and researchers who were growing in a desire for grammar usage in the classroom. Teachers were finding that students truly learned faster and better when they had an integrated approach to both a communicative teaching approach and a grammar-focused teaching approach.

Teaching in an ESL classroom can be complicated. Incorporating authentic texts to teach grammar and giving students tools to be able to communicate themselves is all very complicated. How much grammar should you focus on? What kind of grammar should I focus on? All these questions are realities in ESL classrooms. Nothing is ever quite as simple as we would like it to be (Beare, 2018). However, the reward at the end is worth the time and effort as teachers to find and create the right tension in the classroom.

Bibliography

AzarGrammar. (2012, October 30). Retrieved November 16, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJwbnQOguEk&t=490s

Beare, K. (2018, June 26). Preparing to Teach Grammar in an ESL Class. Retrieved November 16, 2018, from https://www.thoughtco.com/teaching-grammar-in-esl-efl-setting-1209075

Grammar Activity "A" and "An"

Part 1: Articles a and an are indefinite articles which means they describe a general noun.

Ex. I want a cake. The article is a and it is in front of the noun cake. It is not describing a particular or specific cake but a general one.

Ex. I am under an umbrella. The article is an and it is in front of the noun umbrella. It is not describing a particular or specific umbrella but a general one. 

Why use an instead of a in the second example? An is used as an indefinite article and when the noun has a vowel as the first letter (a, e, i, o, u) or a vowel sound at the beginning.

Ex. I have had an accident. An is the article describing the general noun accident. Because accident begins with the vowel a, an is used as the article.

Ex. I have been watching this movie for an hour. An is the article describing the general noun hour. Hour, although it begins with a consonant, begins with the o sound, the h is silent.

Part 2: Decide which article (a or an) goes in front of the noun.

1.      ___ old man

2.      ___ zoo

3.      ___ ice cream cone

4.      ___ hour

5.      ___ vehicle

6.      ___ egg

7.      ___ university

8.      ___ history

9.      ___ cup

10.  ___ one-day conference

11.  ___ historic occasion

12.  ___ hero

13.  ___ schoolhouse

14.  ___ union

15.  ___ x-ray

Part 3: As a class play Pictionary. Provide students with cards that include a picture/visual and the article/noun pair. When a student guesses the picture being drawn, they must use the appropriate article.

Teacher the Expert - Unit 1

Grammar scares me. The amount of time I have spent learning grammar in my life is extremely minimal. Sometimes I get the sense that something is not sounding right or it does not make sense in writing or in speech but most often I cannot identify the term to describe the mistake. Beyond basic nouns, verbs, adjectives and a few more grammatical concepts, I have a lot to learn. You might ask, how can you expect to be an English teacher? I would argue that teachers are not meant to be experts in their field. Should they be knowledgeable about what they are teaching? Yes, of course, but you do not need to be an expert to teach. One could argue that one of the best ways to learn is to teach, but that is a subject for another day.

If I think of any English teacher, I have ever experienced I would not describe them as English grammar experts. Sure, they know more than me, but they also send out emails or write on the board such poorly complied grammar it is hard to make out what they are trying to say. Probably most of us have outsmarted a teacher at one point in our lives by pointing out some obvious mistake that they glazed over.

With that being said, I think it is important to determine what the purpose is in learning grammar in order to know the level of expertise necessary to teach it. In my opinion, grammar’s purpose is to help portray thoughts, feelings, and information in both writings and speaking. Not only should it be portrayed but displayed in a way that is clear and understandable. As a teacher, the amount of grammar necessary to teach successful communication in this way is the amount of grammar you should know and probably a bit more, just in case you get some students whose motivation is high and their comprehension is excellent.

Grammar has often been taught as something to despise but as the article “Why Teach Grammar?” says, it should be taught as something to love. It is important for teachers to express what they are teaching as worthwhile and authentic. Grammar should come along and accent what is already being taught to create a more worthwhile and authentic skill for the learner.

As teachers, expertise is not necessary. General knowledge is very helpful and should be required. And it is always okay to say “I don’t know, I’ll get back to you.” For learners to see that their teacher is not a know-it-all, can be helpful as they experience learning together. “You can explain that failure is a part of life and happens to everyone, even you” (Miller, 2018). Together your students and yourself can grow in your learning, push each other to know more, experience more and explain more.

Miller, C. (2018, August 16). Help Kids Learn to Fail | Building Self-Esteem in Children. Retrieved November 6, 2018, from https://childmind.org/article/how-to-help-kids-learn-to-fail/

Owen, J. (2014, March 04). Why Teach Grammar? Retrieved November 6, 2018, from http://www.arrantpedantry.com/2014/03/04/why-teach-grammar/

Needs Assessment: Interview

Hand out to half the class interview questions. They go around to the other students and ask them the questions. They record their peer’s answers in full sentences (ex. What’s your name? Su. Her name is Sue.). After some time, have students switch who asks the questions.

1.      What country are you from? (I come from ______. She comes from __________.)

2.      Who is your best friend?

3.      Where do you live now?

4.      Why do you want to learn English?

5.      What is your favourite hobby?

This needs assessment helps students to get to know each other. As a teacher you can learn about your student’s lives, you can hear their speech and observe their writing grammar skills.

Tests vs. Portfolios - Unit 8

There is a grand difference between tests and portfolios for assessment.

Tests have been the go-to type of assessment type for much of history. From pop quizzes to exams and standardized testing they have been a way that draws strong conclusions for mass amounts of students. Some good things associated with stereotypical tests is just that, the ability it has to evaluate many students at a time. Tests can be a good way of judging particular information that was taught in a class. Students also know that the test generally covers what is talked about in class and so it can direct their studying. Another good thing could be that it “gives governments information on the education system in order to improve areas that are lacking” ("Pros & Cons of Standardized Tests", 2016). This way there can be an easy comparison between schools and school systems. It is a lot quicker to review where the greatest needs are.

Some not so good things about tests include they are often reliant upon memorization. I have written countless tests in my life where I walked into the room saying over and over things, I know I should know and then leaving the room with no information in my mind whatsoever. If you aren’t good at memorization tests are very hard. They also provide dramatic pressure on students, as often tests have a high-grade weightiness. Another downfall of tests is that they have a limited scope of the evaluation. Creativity, social skills or collaboration skills are all not seen through basic tests.

Portfolios are collections of student’s works over a course period. They include a variety of different types of work that demonstrate a student’s competence. Some merits about portfolios are that they can give a teacher a good idea what knowledge the student started with to where they are now. “Identifying weaknesses allows the student to focus on specific areas and seek effective measures to progress” ("The Pros and Cons of Assessing Students through Portfolios").  Along with that, it gives room for teachers to give personal feedback in order to direct their students well. It gives students opportunities to show their knowledge in ways they both are familiar with and unfamiliar.

Some demerits about portfolios are that they take a lot of work from the teacher, to facilitate, monitor, evaluate and give feedback. “The creation of portfolios in itself is time-consuming and requires utmost dedication and discipline to carry out” ("The Pros and Cons of Assessing Students through Portfolios"). Another downfall is that portfolios have often been associated with children, despite their effectiveness for adults as well. When using portfolios make sure to explain to adult learners the purpose and pros of this type of assessment.

I prefer the portfolio-based language assessment overall. I believe this type of assessment is most effective in giving teachers an idea of what a student truly knows and can skillfully do. However, if I would have an enormous class of students, I think I would tend to lean toward a standardized test, mostly for the simplicity of it. I would include some portfolio type assignments throughout the course in order to not put so much grade pressure on the tests while still allowing students to be creative and collaborative.

Bibliography

Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (Fourth ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

Pros & Cons of Standardized Tests. (2016, September 23). Retrieved November 1, 2018, from https://www.oxfordlearning.com/pros-cons-of-standardized-tests/

The Pros and Cons of Assessing Students through Portfolios. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2018, from http://www.teach-nology.com/litined/assessment/alternative/portfolios/

May We Never Lose the Wonder

Wonder and happiness. What two desired yet abstract thoughts. When I think of those two words the first thing that comes to mind is a little child going for a walk but stopping every few steps to look down at the ground to find an ant carrying a twig, or grabbing a leaf that fell of the tree or snatching a frog they see hopping. A little child is filled with wonder and happiness. How many times have we heard a toddler as “but why?” There is a wonder at the unknown yet they are delighted in their ponderings.

What does this have to do with teaching English as a second language? The article “New approaches to learner autonomy in language learning” talks about new approaches to learning. Two approaches they mention are the wonder approach and the happy learning approach.

The article talked about how when students are in wonder at what they are learning, that is, intrigued and fascinated by the subject, their motivation to learn increases dramatically. A struggle for ESL learners can be the fact that they lack a metacognitive mindset entering the classroom, being unprepared and unmotivated at the beginning of class. It is important as teachers to engage our student’s minds in what they are learning. The article “Motivating Students” says this about encouraging wonder in students, “include fascination with the subject, a sense of its relevance to life and the world.” It is impossible to force wonder and fascination onto a student, yet we can create an environment that appeals to their wonder. There are many ways in which teachers can do this.

One way in particular that can cause wonder in students is by having wonder as a teacher. Being clearly fascinated by what you are teaching about, draws student’s attention. Most people can probably think of a teacher they have had who was not fascinated by the subject they taught and as a result, you did not care about the class/subject. On the other hand, you have probably (and hopefully) had a teacher who was extremely fascinated and excited about the subject they taught. I have heard many testimonies of students falling in love with a subject merely because of their teacher.

The happy learning approach calls to light the idea that when students recognize the usefulness and helpfulness of what they are learning in the classroom to their everyday lives they are motivated, eager to learn and happy to learn. This feeling can be destroyed by the environment set up by the teacher, or it can quickly improve and enhance. By providing authentic and real-life learning in their classroom teachers can utilize this learning approach to springboard their students to higher learning.

A way that teachers can facilitate a happy learning environment is to teach subjects that the students can identify with. For example, if students in the classroom are newcomers to Canada, teaching them how to get a driver’s license can be extremely gratifying. However, the same lesson plan is pointless if you are teaching a group of students in Japan who never plan on coming to Canada. The article “4 Creative Ways to Use Authentic Materials for Teaching English” says this, “when teachers use authentic materials, they are in fact helping ESL students to make a comfortable transition into the L2 culture.” As teachers, it important to connect with your students so you know what they want to know and where their interests lie.

Bibliography

Chou, E. (2018, August 05). 4 Creative Ways to Use Authentic Materials for Teaching English. Retrieved from https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-english/authentic-materials-for-teaching-english/

Mcdaniel, R. (2018, May 07). Motivating Students. Retrieved from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/motivating-students/

Yagcioglu, O. (2015, August 19). New Approaches on Learner Autonomy in Language Learning. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042815045401

Reading: Oral or Silent

Oral or silent reading, should this even be a question? When reading in a class, there can be a choice by the teacher (unless offered to the students) whether to read out loud (orally) or in their head (silently). These are types of reading performances that the teacher chooses from. There are advantages and disadvantages to both oral and silent reading. Notably, however, most ESL classrooms use silent reading. How come? What are the disadvantages of oral reading? Are there no advantages to reading out loud?

One advantage of oral reading is that it allows teachers to hear how well their students read. Oral reading can be run as an informal (or formal) assessment for students. “Oral reading is an instructional strategy that can help students improve a variety of reading skills” ("What Is Guided Oral Reading?", 2017), and therefore provides opportunity for these skills to be observed and assessed. The teacher listens to how they are processing what they read. A teacher can decipher what the student is good at and where they are struggling.

Another advantage of oral reading is that it provides teachers with the opportunity to give a pronunciation check to their students. Just because a student might read in their head does not mean they are not pronouncing a word. When it comes time for them to read a text, their comprehension of pronunciation can be clearly seen and observed by the teacher.

The last advantage I want to mention is that oral reading can help highlight a particular passage in a text. Especially if the passage is short, by reading it out loud, students have the words repeated and fresh in their mind. Discussion around a specific text can flow easier and with greater focus.

Some disadvantages to reading orally are that it is not a very realistic activity. The majority of a student’s reading life will be silent reading. Rarely is a person called upon to read a text orally. Because of the lack of reality in oral reading, it is often avoided by teachers.

When oral reading students easily lose their attention and can become distracted by just about anything. I think we have all experienced this at one point or another. I find this true in a situation as simple as when a teacher begins reading off their notes word for word I lose interest. It seems fake to me and I think I can just return later and read whatever they just quoted (which I usually never do).

Oral reading is recitation more than any sort of interaction and participation. It is a rather unhelpful activity for a group of students to hear a fellow student struggle through a text that they can all read in front of them.

There are many advantages and disadvantages to reading orally. Each teacher must decide on their own accord whether to incorporate it into their lessons. Personally, I would encourage the majority of reading to be done silently. However, highlighting text or having students focus on a specific passage by orally reading it, is helpful and should be used at times. It takes a wise teacher to know when to integrate oral reading, when is too much oral reading and when to just stick with silent reading. The key to remember when thinking about oral reading is that “engaging oral reading is about both reading powerfully and listening attentively” ("Six Tips for Successful Oral Reading", 2000).

Bibliography

Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (Fourth ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

Sebesta, S. (2000, November 04). Six Tips for Successful Oral Reading. Retrieved from https://www.teachervision.com/six-tips-successful-oral-reading

What Is Guided Oral Reading? (2017, August 23). Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-guided-oral-reading

Group Work

Group work in an ESL classroom is an effective way to teach English. There are many advantages to using group work in a classroom and definitely many ways to include it in a lesson. Group work, in my opinion, would be defined as 3 or more students working together on a common activity. For the sake of this blog, I am going to incorporate pair work, 2 students working together on a common activity, in the term group work. Although group and pair work can be different there are many similarities.

One of the advantages of using group work in an ESL classroom is that it encourages the students to take responsibility with what they are learning. The teacher, although present and available, allows students to figure things out for themselves. Someone will take leadership and there will have to be communication between the students.

Another advantage to group work is how it creates interactive language. Communication is not limited to language by any means, however, when group work is required by a teacher, there is little chance that hand gestures will suffice. Interaction, in this way, generates true and real language that has a function for the students.

As mentioned earlier, there are many techniques to incorporate group work into the classroom. Drama and skits are some of my favourite group activities. By using drama and skits students can use their imagination to create scenarios, integrating authentic language into the scenario. Sociolinguistic knowledge must also be considered as they produce and perform.

 Games are another technique of using group work in the classroom. Games cause an interaction, creating authentic language as well as, mostly the game is centered around a particular subject being addressed in class. Other techniques to use in the classroom in order to incorporate group work can be brainstorming, projects, problem-solving, opinion exchanges, information groups, interview, peer review, dialogues and many, many more.

Something to be careful of, before you begin to incorporate group work into your classroom is to make sure your students have group work or classroom language. What I mean by this, is that your students must have or know the language they will need to participate in group work. If students do not know the basics of a spoken language, they are probably not ready to be left alone to figure out how to communicate with one another in a project.

Remember that you are the teacher. Just because your students participate in a group activity does not mean you are on coffee break. Visit each group, listen to what they are saying and if they need direction, pose them questions to cause them to think. Sitting back in your chair is not an option at this point. Stay involved with your students.

To conclude, group work is effective in an ESL classroom. Be aware of your classroom dynamics and the language that your students have accumulated already. When you think they are ready, challenge them to learn from each other, to communicate, and interact. Be available to them but give them a chance to figure it out on their own too. Both you and your students will benefit from it.

Bibliography

Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (Fourth ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

For more information look these up:

Implementing Group Work in the Classroom. (2018, February 28). Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/alternatives-lecturing/group-work/implementing-group-work-classroom

Verner, S. (2013, November 23). Top 10 Benefits of Group Work for ESL Classrooms. Retrieved from https://busyteacher.org/17846-group-work-esl-classroom-top-10-benefits.html

Working in pairs and groups. (2010, September). Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/working-pairs-groups