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/

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

   

Questions - Ch. 13

Do you know a person who likes to ask questions? Someone who seems to pause and wonder at almost anything that you say or do? I know someone like that. They ask question after question and by the time you’re done you feel like you learned something about yourself, not just them. Answering questions in this way brings greater understanding and clarity in given situations.

Have you ever had a different opinion than someone and use questions to guide them to your own opinion? I have. By just asking questions, I seem innocent and curious when really, I lead them right to the conclusion that I want them to. In a way, I teach by asking questions.

Questions are powerful and are keys to learning in any situation. Brown in Lee in their textbook “Teaching by Principles” explain how teachers should adopt a question strategy. Questions benefit students in multiple ways. For one, it creates interaction. Interaction draws out a practical side of language that encourages students to use what they know in order to communicate. By asking questions, students engage with one another and/or the teacher. They can also respond in authentic ways when a teacher presents them with a question (see http://thetesladventure.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-heart-of-communication.html for more about what I have to say about interaction).

Another benefit of students using questions in an ESL classroom is the very basic reason why questions are helpful, you receive answers. When a student is able to communicate questions, teachers are able to bring clarity to that which is misunderstood or not clear.

Teachers also use questions in order to teach their students. Brown and Lee refer to two type of questions teachers use, display questions and referential questions. Display questions refer to questions that the teacher already knows the answer to. Referential questions refer to questions that the teacher does not yet know the answer to.

Display questions can be helpful, especially in beginning levels of learning English. It can be useful for teaching basic vocabulary and gives students an opportunity to be taught appropriate sentence structure by the teacher. A teacher could hold up a shoe and ask “what is this?” The class should all respond the same, “shoe!” After collecting homework, a teacher could ask students “did you do your homework?” Students answers may vary but the teacher would know the correct response, answers could be “yes” or “no” or “yes, I did my homework” or “no, I forgot.” Display questions although useful at times can often become tedious and patronizing for a class. They should be used within reason.

Referential questions are a lot more fun to use as there is a lot more authenticity involved. Questions such as the 5 W’s become more common as well as asking how something works, asking what the summary or conclusion of a text is, and many more. These types of questions are often more open-ended and could have varying responses depending on the person. Referential questions are the most common questions and ones that help students learn, clarify, explore, expand and create.

Questions are a very important part of learning and should be encouraged at every point in our lives, especially in the classroom. By asking and responding to questions, we can expand our knowledge, glean wisdom from those around us, and contribute our own thoughts to willing ears.

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 resources look these up:

Beare, K. (2018, March 3). Learn How to Ask Questions in English Class to Help You Learn. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/asking-questions-in-class-4093551
Display questions. (2008, April). Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/display-questions

Learning Personas

Take a look at these 3 different learning personalities that could show up in your classroom:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fmLEvTJaX56IeOJponOzaffk4X3HSa41FDEYAhqrJLk/edit?usp=sharing

The Heart of Communication - Unit 7

Interaction, it is the heart of communication and relationship. Interaction gives space for exchanges about thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Creating an ESL classroom that involves interaction hastens the growth and learning of a language. By interacting we are communicating and language is a part of that communication.

When we encourage our students to interact whether formally or informally with each other we are encouraging the practice of their new language. Reading a vocabulary list may have its benefits but when we take that same vocabulary list and use it in spoken sentences the vocabulary becomes more than just words, there becomes meaning. This encourages initiation on the part of students as well as quick responses. It seems easier for students to parrot back a question to catch the flow but it can be a lot harder for the student to respond with an answer to that question on their own accord.

The interaction may need some encouragement from their teacher. As a student myself, I can relate to the desire of slipping into class, hopefully, no one noticing me, avoiding eye contact with the teacher when they ask a question, and then slipping out of class again at the end. No matter how comfortable this procedure is, it is not a helpful learning environment, especially for language learning.

In one massive university class, I had a professor who “forced” everyone to talk with the people next to them, work together and discuss questions with them. A month or so in, she again “forced” (I say “forced” because it was told to us like there was no other option but she did not check too closely if we did) us to move spots in the class and meet new people. By the end of the course, I had numerous friends who I would have never met had I continued in my introverted ways.

As you can see, when students are strongly encouraged to meet and talk with each other, they often find themselves actually liking the people they are with, challenging each other in class, helping each other out when they are unsure and in general learning exponentially more from their collaboration.

Interaction goes beyond just talking with each other. It also involves problem-solving, working on projects, creating presentations together and much more. Working together causes interaction. These are often times when the authentic conversations can occur. One student has an idea of what to do, the next student can either agree or disagree and give their opinions. In these types of instances, without the prompting of the teacher, students use language to achieve their end goal.

The rewards of interacting with individuals are more than a classroom triumph, it is a triumph that extends into the “real world.” With the language ability to interact and communicate, students can go beyond the classroom into the world and communicate (no matter how stunted) to people around them. The world is full of interaction, whether with a child’s teacher, with the cashier at the grocery store, with the banker or just about everywhere else. By introducing interaction in the classroom, you are equipping students to face the world beyond the classroom and function in an English society.  

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 resources look up these:

Carreiro, H. (2017, April 04). Classroom Interaction in Teaching English as a Second Language. Retrieved from https://classroom.synonym.com/classroom-interaction-teaching-english-second-language-2748.html

Interaction patterns. (2008, May). Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/interaction-patterns

Patterns of Communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.teach-this.com/ideas/patterns-of-communication

Classroom Management: What Would You Do? - Unit 7

Scenario: A learner in your class has sporadic attendance which prevents them from making any progress in their learning…How would you address this situation

What would I do in this scenario? What would you do? These are my thoughts in regards to what my response would be if I was the teacher in this situation.

Firstly, I am assuming this is an adult class. Second of all, I would hope that at the beginning of the course I, along with my students, would have come up with classroom “rules” outlining the importance of attending class and giving clear communication if attendance is unattainable. Assuming these things, I would proceed with having a conversation with the student. I would ask the student to stay after class (in a discrete way). I would ask the student what was going on and the reason for their poor attendance. 

If their response would be something along the lines of honestly unable to attend class because for example a sick child, a job, their own health problems etc. I would either suggest the student find a different job, find childcare etc. or drop the class for this season. Language learning takes time and great effort, if they are unwilling to participate in that way it would be better for them to drop. Perhaps I would suggest a course that was more flexible with its timing, maybe finding an online course or tutoring outlet or suggest a book that could help the student move along in their language study without having to commit to a certain amount of time in a week. 

If the response would be more along the lines of that they slept in, they forgot, a friend wanted to hang out with them etc. I would first ask the student about their desire to learn English and how serious they are. If they do not have a huge drive to learn English, perhaps they should not be in the class or they should wait for another time when they are willing to focus more on language learning. I would also be willing to set up or send out reminders for them of the class or work out time management and scheduling.

Depending on the response of the student, I would conclude the conversation by together creating an action plan to aid the student. We could work out steps to finding a child care or applying for another job. We could set up a plan that consists of reminders of attending class on time. Again, depending on the attitude of the student, I would suggest to the student a period of probation and maybe to schedule another meeting in a few weeks to evaluate how things are going. 

These are a few ideas and a lot of my response would depend on the situation but the main thing would be to communicate, communicate, communicate! In any relationship, communication is so important. I would want to clearly communicate to the student how I value them as a person, how I value my classroom, and I value their success. Communicating these things softens some of the confrontation that has to occur and encourages the student to respond kindly and responsibly.

For more resources look up these:

B, J. (2013, March 31). The Golden Rules: 10 Tips for Expert ESL Classroom Management. Retrieved from https://busyteacher.org/15100-expert-esl-classroom-management-10-golden-tips.html

Long, S. (2015, May 19). ESL Classroom Management Strategies. Retrieved from https://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/blog/ESL-classroom-management

Patton, S. (2018, May 04). Classroom Management Strategies for ESL Teachers. Retrieved from https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/classroom-management-strategies-for-esl-teachers

Lesson Planning - Unit 6

This week as I studied the topic of lesson planning I truly was amazed at the work that it takes to create an effective plan. Reading about and seeing the frustration of teachers putting together a fluent and effective lesson plan really opened my eyes to the work it takes. Creating a lesson plan is far beyond reading from a textbook, or presenting a power point. Many more steps are involved than just showing up to class.


One important piece of lesson planning is having and working towards goals, both terminal (longer term) and enabling (shorter term) objectives. These objectives should be clearly described in order to give the best direction. At the same time, these objectives must also be able to adapt and change according to the classroom. It is good to have a teacher desire great accomplishment for their students but if the students are struggling, it is better to backtrack on the goals in order to bring about excellence.

Another significant piece of lesson planning is creating a lesson that is real and authentic to the students. Texts, recordings, activities, role-plays etc. should all have a sense of reality to them. Having students learn proper grammar with sentences that are unrealistic (ex. The pineapple flew to the moon), are not helpful. Motivation increases as the topics students are learning about, through their learning English, are dealing with the challenges and interests of their own lives. Learning how to understand a hydro bill is a reality for a father compared to him learning to understand children’s songs. Be aware of your students, their needs, interests, and challenges and teach them accordingly.

Creating a lesson plan that is not too easy for learners but not overwhelmingly difficult is another challenge posed to teachers. I recall sitting in my grade eight class, working hard on the assignment handed out by the teacher, when I felt someone poking at my back. I turned around only to be distracted for the next ten minutes. I was distracted by one of the smartest kids in my class, who was always done early because the class was too easy for them. This is the danger of too easy of a class. Your student might not begin to distract others, but they surely will be bored and the class will be a waste of time to them. At the same time, having an extremely complicated lesson that only one or two of your students is catching onto is too difficult. Other students will give up and tune out the lesson in frustration. It is important to have a lesson and ultimately a course that affirms students in their capabilities but challenges them to go further in their learning. This environment creates a safe and learning culture in the classroom. Students in classrooms with this kind of tension are catapulted further in their studies.

These are three huge reasons why lesson planning can be so complicated. There are many more pieces of lesson planning to consider beyond this. Lesson planning may be difficult but with time and experience, both teacher and student will benefit.

For more resources look up these:

64 Free ESL Lesson Plans and Templates You Can Use Today. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://eslauthority.com/resources/free-esl-lesson-plans/

Case, A. (2016, June 24). Retrieved from http://www.esl-lounge.com/blog/106/time-management-for-teachers

Lesson Planning. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.teach-this.com/ideas/lesson-planning

Lesson Plan 2

Date: October 16, 2018

Class levels:  CLB 6

Class Time: 2 hours

Communicative Language Task Goal

The ability to discern, describe and find the details of an advertisement

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

Learned descriptive language used in advertisement, be able to compare prices, be able to discern what is being presented

Lesson Procedure

Lesson activities and procedure	Language focus	Language Skills	Purpose of the activity	Interaction	Time
Describe what learners are doing	Identify what linguistic and communicative ability elements are being addressed (e.g., vocabulary, sociolinguistic knowledge)	What skills are being practiced (e.g., Speaking)	Why they are doing this (e.g., to be able to…)	Are learners working individually, in groups, as a class	How much time it takes
Talk about advertisements. What is used in an advertisement? What makes you want to buy something? Explain Canadian culture.	Grammar, functional knowledge	Vocabulary, Speaking	Assess what the students already know about advertisements. Introduce new vocabulary and ideas.	Class activity	20 min
Show a basic paper/online advertisement, discuss if this is a good deal. Why? What are the qualities? Price? Use adjectives to describe.	Grammar and textual and functional knowledge	Comprehension of vocabulary, speaking	Using new vocabulary, learning comprehension of a static advertisement.	Class activity or group work	20 min
Show 2 video advertisements. Provide chart handouts for students take notes of both commercials	Grammatical knowledge, vocabulary, textual knowledge, functional knowledge, strategic competence	Listening, comprehension of vocabulary, writing	Understanding of the vocabulary, how to make a chart	Group activity/Individual work	20 min
Discuss the charts made by students. Create a conglomerated chart. Discuss the pros and cons of each offer.	Grammar, vocabulary, textual knowledge, functional knowledge	Speaking, listening, vocabulary	Communicate adjective vocabulary, comprehension of what is being offered.	Class activity	25 min
Have students pair up and come up with a poster advertisement of a vacation spot. Have them include the benefits of their offer and a price.	Grammar, vocabulary, functional knowledge, textual knowledge	Speaking, listening, vocabulary, writing	To use vocabulary and descriptions	Pair activity	30 min

Exit Assessment:

Display an advertisements. Students should be able to explain the details of the advertisement. Would they buy what is being offered?

Lesson Plan Template (1) Ebony and Maureen Draft 1

Date: October 4, 2018

Class levels:  CLB 3

Class Time: 90 min

Communicative Language Task Goal

The ability to use language appropriately in buying a pair of shoes or winter books

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

-learned and used descriptive language and questions needed for buying shoes.

Lesson Procedure

Lesson activities and procedure	Language focus	Language Skills	Purpose of the activity	Interaction	Time
Describe what learners are doing	Identify what linguistic and communicative ability elements are being addressed (e.g., vocabulary, sociolinguistic knowledge)	What skills are being practiced (e.g., Speaking)	Why they are doing this (e.g., to be able to…)	Are learners working individually, in groups, as a class	How much time it takes
Use pictures of shoes to discuss vocabulary for buying shoes	Grammar and textual (adjectives)  (color, size, width, comfort, shoes or boots, leather or vinyl)	Vocabulary, Speaking and pronounciation	Assess what the students already know about shoes and their descriptions and add new vocabulary	Class activity	10 min
Teacher asking questions about shoes using vocabulary (can be a game)	Grammar and textual and functional knowledge (adjectives)	Comprehension of vocabulary and speaking	Using new vocabulary and understanding of a question	Class activity	20 min
Making a chart of what footwear students are wearing	Grammar and textual	Speaking and writing	Understanding of the vocabulary and how to make a chart	Group activity	20 min
Describing questions to ask and answer when buying shoes	Vocabulary, textual knowledge, functional knowledge and sociolinguistic	Speaking, listening, grammar and vocabulary	To acquire vocabulary and language to ask and answer questions when buying shoes	Class activity lead by the teacher	20 min
Role playing in pairs for buying a pair of shoes	Sociolinguistic, fluency, textual knowledge, strategic competence	Speaking, listening, grammar and vocabulary	To use vocabulary and descriptions in a natural language situation	Pair activity	20 min

Exit Assessment:

Ask students to describe either “My favorite shoes are……” or “The shoes I want to buy are….”

Reflection and Suggestions for Next Time

Your notes after the lesson