Textbook vs. Authentic Materials - Unit 2

In my opinion, coursebooks are extremely helpful and useful in a classroom, whether ESL or other. The sheer number of textbooks available is clear evidence that they have a place. (“Should we use textbooks in the ESL classroom?” 2016). Coursebooks give good direction to teachers to keep in line with how the course should be proceeding. The website Teacher Vision says, “textbooks provide organized units of work” (“Textbooks: Advantages and Disadvantages”, 2007). This advantage definitely helps teachers plan out their course material and know what should be covered. It gives them a good idea of what topics/skills should be being covered as well as important key terms and ideas that should accompany their student’s learning. As a student in this course, I find that the textbook reiterates what is being expressed to me through other resources. This helps me in comprehending information and hearing it again in a different way, reminding me of what I had already heard and therefore allowing the information to stick clearer in my head. There are some courses that require you to get a coursebook but then never use it, I rarely take my own time to page through it and instead get frustrated with the teacher for wasting my money. There are other courses that the teacher basically reads through the textbook in class. This is not helpful either and I find myself wondering why I paid for a course when I could have just read the textbook.

All this being said, I think it is important to use a coursebook in the classroom. It may not be wise to stick so closely to the book that students are not allowed to engage with the knowledge being presented to them. However, using the coursebook as a guide, it can lead students into further understanding. It can allow them to take the material home and go over similar information that was presented in class.

As teachers, we should be well aware of our contexts. Some students delight in using coursebooks while others despair at the thought. Some coursebooks are extremely helpful and have good ideas, resources, activities, information etc. while others are dreadfully boring and lose students quickly.

I think it is a good idea to integrate authentic material into your classroom whether you are working with a specific coursebook or not. Authentic material can highlight and further advance student’s knowledge that might be already presented in a coursebook but is brought to life in other ways. Being aware of the context that we are in and how students learn best (as mentioned before) is key to knowing how to handle the coursebook with your class. Cater to the learning styles found in your classroom.

Bibliography

Harmer, J. (2007). How to teach English. Harlow: Pearson Longman.

Should we use textbooks in the ESL classroom? (2016, October 14). Retrieved February 21, 2019, from http://eslarticle.com/pub/english-language-teaching-elt/139076-Should-we-use-textbooks-in-the-ESL-classroom.html

Textbooks: Advantages and Disadvantages. (2007, January 25). Retrieved February 21, 2019, from https://www.teachervision.com/curriculum-planning/textbooks-advantages-disadvantages

3 Types of Resources - Unit 1

This course is once again introducing me to a set of new thoughts and ideas, some of which I have thought about and others, not so much. The course is called “Resources Development and Integration” and therefore has so far introduced different types of resources and the copyright and fair use rules with different resources. I am going to highlight a few of these resources which I see as important and valuable in an ESL classroom.

Some materials that I find important in the classroom are the textbook set for the class. Although this may not always be the most exciting material it is important to have a solid foundation for the course. Textbooks give good guidelines for teachers to follow in their classrooms. They may have students read from the textbook, do worksheets from the textbook or simply use it as a guide for themselves and come up with other material to enhance the information. Some “resource books are specifically designed to provide ideas for teachers” (Brown, 2007). In this case, teachers are guided by the textbook.

Another great form of resource material is realia. Realia is basically defined as an object lesson. From my own experience, I have found objects stick in my mind. I remember sitting at a funeral and the pastor talking about how my beloved aunt was now safe in the arms of God, he pulled out a dear little sculpture of a hand cherishing a little girl. This object lesson stayed with me. As one author says, realia breathes new life into a lesson (Soames). Talking about vocabulary is great but seeing the vocabulary come to life brings far greater understanding. 

There are many types of resources to use and also to learn to use. Lastly, I want to highlight technology. Technology can be a useful material as long as your context allows for it. Some classrooms do not have access to the internet, projectors, computers, screens etc. and therefore cannot be fully relied upon. Those contexts that are capable of utilizing technology in their teaching, may. From anything to news articles, radio, YouTube videos, and the list goes on. These technologies have the potential to aide a teacher in accomplishing their goals. One study showed that “75 percent of educators think that technology has a positive impact in the education process” (Cox). In this day and age, technology often gains attention as well. For this reason, again depending on your context, using technology can draw your learners into participation and engagement.

Again, there are many types of resources available in the education world today. Textbooks, realia, and technology really do not encompass the expanse of what is obtainable. It is important as teachers to keep our minds open to the types of material out there. Do not rule out anything. Seek out what best compliments your goals and what helps your learners. Use your imagination and let learning be exciting!

Bibliography

Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles an interactive approach to language pedagogy. San Francisco: San Fracisco State University.

Cox, J. (n.d.). Benefits of Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved February 14, 2019, from https://www.teachhub.com/benefits-technology-classroom

Soames, C. (n.d.). Using Realia in the Classroom. Retrieved February 14, 2019, from http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/lessons/index.pl?read=4488

My Learning Plan Revisited - Assignment 3

Your goal for this course:	How are you going to learn it?	How will you know you have achieved it?	How will you demonstrate that you have learned it?	Notes:
- Gain resources of simple assessment/evaluation templates/tools - Understand when and what type of evaluation tool is most beneficial in specific circumstances	- pay attention to extra resources listed in the class - create a list of helpful resources - ask for feedback/help/advice/ experience from peers - pay close attention to types and benefits of evaluation tools  - participate in discussion boards	- have a list of at least 7 outside resources/templates/ideas regarding assessments these do not have to be outside the course resources - see the purpose in evaluation tools and match them to specific circumstances	- hear a scenario and have a few ideas of tools to use in evaluation - Assignment 4 deals with connecting appropriate assessments with the lesson plan	- the previous two columns overlap slightly in their answers - I think coming up with great ways of assessing students is only as good as the appropriate type and timing of the assessments.

My goal for this course was to gain basic and foundational assessment/evaluation tools that I could practically use in the classroom. I also wanted to learn what type of assessment/evaluation would be the most beneficial and useful in specific contexts.

Some of the ideas I had come up with to help me in this excursion was to pay attention to extra resources, create a list of helpful resources, take note of types and benefits of evaluation tools and gain advice from peers.

I definitely found that the collaboration of my peers helped me in my understanding of assessments and evaluations. There are a number of fellow students who have/are working in ESL classrooms in one capacity or another. I try to pay extra attention to those who I know have experience in ESL classrooms as I find these students give very helpful insight. These are people, who despite never meeting them, I respect and therefore, value their opinions. Even those who do not have experience is ESL classrooms have proven to be helpful. One student, in particular, was very regular at responding to my posts, she always had praise to offer but would also provide helpful questions that would cause me to think further into what I had said. We ended up having some constructive conversations.

Throughout the course, I slowly added different online resources to a list to be an aide for me. They consisted of assessment templates, assessment ideas, as well as the basics of how to create an assessment and what to consider when creating one. Some of the resources I came across I found within the course, while others I found on my own either for different tasks or personal growth. I have accumulated over seven of these resources. Some of them are more helpful than others and some I read more closely than others. You can find my list of helpful resources on my blog at https://thetesladventure.blogspot.com/2018/10/helpful-resources.html.

The course itself aligned with my goals very well. Specifically, learning about formative and summative assessments was really helpful for me to learn the values of each, when they are appropriate and how best to present them to my students. When it came to creating my Assignment 4 for the class, I did have a few ideas quite quickly and was able to find resources to help guide me quickly and effectively. The Canadian Language Benchmarks PDF (https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/language-benchmarks.pdf) has been very helpful in giving ideas of how to assess different skills, it also gives excellent rubric material to utilize.

Overall, I believe I accomplished my goal. I was able to gain many resources and an abundance of knowledge about assessments and evaluations. My idea of what assessments were has definitely filled in the gaps. I did not have a practical concept of assessments, evaluations, their rubrics and how they were created. By following my learning plan and engaging with the course material in an intentional way I was able to obtain new knowledge and modify my existing knowledge.