Translingual/Translocal Blog

What follows is not exactly the assignment given in our blog prompt, however, it was a valuable lesson for me as an English tutor, and might help other tutors/teachers. 
               Depending on where you are teaching English, abroad or in the USA, the affective filter can play a significant role in one’s ability to learn a second language.  If one has difficulty speaking in their own language, or is perhaps even just a quiet person, or shy, to what extent will this inhibit their ability to learn how to both speak and write in a second language?  For this reason, authentic language instruction should be paired with real-world experiences, in order to maximize learning potential for ESL students.  I view code-switching as being essential to learning a language because of the potential it has in encouraging real, unlimited, unfettered conversation.  Who wants to talk in a second language if they think they are going to be corrected, or held to grammar technicalities that even some native-speakers can’t master?  I love the book, If you can say it, you can write it, but this circles back to my point that practice in freethinking oral skills, including the use of code-switching, will serve as a good foundation for learning to write in a second language.  Even native-tongue transfer errors can benefit from this.

               But I digress, I really just wanted to share an example of how I learned the value of “freespeaking.”  While tutoring as part of a class assignment, I was required to complete some background information about my tutee.   Hu (name changed) was a Japanese student going through the ACLP program before he could begin working on his MA in Business.  I instantly raised his affective filter when I corrected his grammar within the first five minutes of our conversation.  What was I doing?  I was supposed to be getting background information about him in order to help him. And, he really wanted help with his oral speaking skills!  It took me about 5 minutes of making fun of myself before I could get him to relax again.  While I don’t remember this conversation with him exactly, this is a fairly close rendition of it:

Me:        What is a hobby that you enjoy in Japan?

Hu:         Hobby?  What is hobby?

Me:        You know, it’s like, something you do for fun, but you do it often.

Hu:         Oh, I like swim.

Me:        You like to swim.

Hu:         Yes, I like swim.

Me:        No, No.  You like TO swim.  You need to put the preposition ‘to’ in front of swim.

Hu:         Oh.  I like to swim.

Me:        Awesome, me too.  Where do you swim?

Hu:         I go to swim at parks and gyms

Me:        A better way to say that would be to use the gerund form of swim.  I go swimming at parks and       gyms, see?

Hu:        Ah, yes, I see.

Me:       Okay, now you try it.

Hu:        Do we still have to talk about swimming?

Me:        I’m sorry (name).  Let’s begin again – this time I am not going to correct you, but I may make               some notes, okay?

Hu:         Okay.  I get nervous when I think my language will be wrong.

Me:        Believe me, I get it.  Let’s just talk.

Hu:        Okay.

We went on to have a great conversation.  I didn’t take notes, but I did record us speaking.  We later used the recording together to analyze some of his speech problems.  This was helpful to him and he stopped worrying about making mistakes.

Wondering

Do you ever wonder, when you look up in the sky, who else is looking there?  Are they hungry, or sad, or alone?  Are they wishing they were where you are?  Do you wonder why some are born with so much and some with so little?  Do you try to think of ways to make it better?  Do you care?  Are Americans really so apathetic to the suffering in the world?
Just wondering.

Original Lesson Plan for EESL501

Lesson Plan B:  Expand your Knowledge
                Evaluation of Scientific Articles and                       Organization of Materials

Grade Level:  Early Intermediate ELD (9^th-12^th grade)

Lesson Length:  Two sessions of 50 minutes each.

Instructional Plan:  Students will learn how to evaluate a news article, what the main idea is, and how to understand the content.  Students will also learn how to organize their learning process into a notebook.

Content Objectives:

1. To read scientific articles from National Geographic and comprehend texts.

      2. To understand unknown words and phrases.

Language Objective:

1. Write 1-2 proper sentences stating the main idea of an article.

Learning Strategy Objective:

1. Use graphic organizers to learn main ideas of articles.

2. Use a self-management strategy for vocabulary acquisition and organization.

Materials Required: 

A. Focus Sheet 1 – “Turtle Defender” (see N1 in footer)

B. Focus Sheet 2 – “Ape Anglers”

C. Focus Sheet 3 – “Your shot”

D. Focus Sheet 4 – “A World of Gestures”

E. Worksheet 1 - Brainstorm Word Chart

F. Worksheet 2 – Spider Map

G. Worksheet 3 – Main Idea Worksheet & Grading Guideline

H. A highlighter

I. Notebook with dividers, blank note cards and plastic case for note cards.

Warm-Up: The teacher presents the first article to the class; “Turtle Defender,” an Explorers Journal published by Jose Urueaga in National Geographic (November 2012).  

Session One:  The teacher reads the first article to the class.  Volunteers may read aloud as well.

Task Chain 1:  Reading the Article

1. While the teacher is reading, students follow along and highlight words and phrases that they do not understand in the article.

2. Together, the students and the teacher fill out Worksheet 1, “Brainstorm Word Chart.”

3. The teacher makes sure that everyone knows how to use the dictionary, online, in a dictionary, or on their phones.

4. The teacher hands out Worksheet 2, “Spider Map,” and completes in class with students.

Task Chain 2:  Learning to Learn

1. Independently, students will use note cards to write down the words/phrases that they did not know from Worksheet 1, “Brainstorm Word Chart.”

2. In partners, students will quiz each other on the words.

3. Using the in-class completed Worksheet 2, students will independently write one to two sentences about the main idea of Focus Sheet 1, “Turtle Defender,” in the first column of Worksheet 3, “Main Idea.”

Task Chain 3:  Using What You Know

1. Students will form pairs and assemble their notebooks with a section for Focus Sheets, Worksheets, and their note cards.

2. Teacher will observe and offer organizational help.

3. Students will read their main idea sentences from Worksheet 3 to each other.

Task Chain 4:  Using Your Skill

1. Students will read Focus Sheet 2, “Ape Anglers,” and Focus Sheet 3, “Ape Anglers.”

2. Students will highlight the words they don’t know and complete the Brainstorm Word Chart independently.

3. Students will complete Worksheet 2, “Spider Map,” for each article.

4. Students will emphasize the main idea by writing one to two sentences for each article on Worksheet 3, “Main Idea.”

5. Students will organize their note cards, along with their articles and worksheets, into a binder that will be used the whole year.

6. Teacher will show Focus Sheet 4, “A World of Gestures,” and go over with class (something fun).

Formative Assessment:

Task Chain 1:  Students will be able to use a chart to                     understand what they need to learn.

Task Chain 2:  Students will learn and practice new words

Task Chain 3:  Students write one to two clear sentences                   about the main idea of the article.

Task Chain 4:  Students demonstrate organization skills and                turn in completed folder.

Summative Assessment: Students demonstrate content knowledge of articles by writing sentences.  A grading guide is provided on Worksheet 3.  Students will demonstrate organizational abilities by completing notebook with all materials required.

 Focus Sheet 1
“Turtle Defender”

Instructions:  Listen closely while I read the article below.  Highlight any words or phrases you don’t know or understand.

 

Chapter 7 – Literacy Instruction for English-Language Development

Chapter 7 goes into some important strategies and methods for literacy instruction.  Standards-based literacy instruction is fine in some cases, but it often doesn’t target the specific needs of all readers.  In ELD classrooms today, teaching strategies that “integrate language, reading, and writing skills have gained increasing favor as a means of promoting emergent biliteracy.  I think it is especially important to find out what your students’ interests are, and to encourage reading in that area.  With my own son, getting him to read any chapter book (native speaker -9 years old), is almost impossible – he just isn’t interested or engaged.  However, he will read almanacs and fact books all day long.  When I show interest in the facts he is learning, this increases his desire to want to learn more.  He is just not a fiction reader, and so I have adjusted his reading to allow for this.

I think that “Strategies for Making Meaning” is one of the key concepts in this chapter.  The book states that “seeking meaning is natural to the mind.”  Human curiosity is a natural element to our lives.  This chapter introduces the concept of into, through, and beyond.”  This method is designed to build comprehension of an entire topic – rather than just one piece of literary text.   “Into” activities draw from the students’ prior knowledge of something,   Using a K-W-L chart is effective in engaging the student to ask “What do I know,?” and “What do I want to learn,” and What have I learned?”  When students can see the “big” picture, they are more likely to grasp the entire meaning of what they are learning in comparison to what they already know.  This is an interactive way of teaching literacy

Response #1:  Ian Caldon writes in his blog on chapter 7 that “in oracy, L1 can be very important in terms of building on something to better students’ reading comprehension and writing abilities.”  I like this because it helps me to understand that not only can it be helpful to students literacy that they read something that is interesting to them, but to remember that their L1 and C1 (culture1) are useful tools for building their literacy skills in English.  This kind of cultural sensitivity can be viewed as a bridge towards greater understanding of our students’ needs.

Response #2:  Joseph Magda writes about the “Language Experience Approach” (LEA) that Chapter 7 describes.  He states that “many students enjoy telling about their activities, and the LEA gives them the ability to do just that.”  This is true.  Everyone likes to relate stories about themselves or their family.  It puts them as the focus of any given assignment and is closer to a real-world situation that they might become interested in.

Chapter 6 - Oracy Instruction That Builds on the First Language

Chapter 6 talks about the listening skills of English Language Learners.  The audiolingual method has been updated to include more meaningful texts/stories that a learner can learn from, instead of just reciting back phrases and sentences verbatim.  This is an important aspect of the learning process, since when we are bored, we often do not listen as attentively – the mind tends to wander.  I like the idea of authentic tasks to encourage listening and speaking.  In my own experience with the Spanish language, I have learned the most when forced into real-world situations where I actually have to converse with a native speaker to make myself understood.

Dr. Diaz-Rico notes later on in the chapter that “pairing a new student with a bilingual buddy who speaks the same primary language as well as English eases the pain of culture shock.”  This is a very humanistic and sensitive way to treat English learners, and especially those new to the country.   Everyone needs to relate to somebody, and I view this as an effective way of helping the student both socially and academically.

Response #1:  I like what Joseph Magda writes on his blog about his own experiences with learning English.  He writes that his “roommate from Palestine and I would go over English words to achieve correct pronunciation. I can honestly say that it was a culturally enhancing experience.”  This relation to another English learner was encouraging to him.  I somewhat agree with him that “speaking is the main skill of oracy,” but want to note that listening is equally as important towards achieving oracy.
Response #2:  Ian Caldon writes in blog that “not only do we need to look for more authentic tasks as instructor, but also make sure we have scaffolded enough so that they are achievable for the students.”   I believe that authentic tasks are the key to ensuring learning success when it comes to language.  Real-world situations, like filling out a job application, or ordering food at a restaurant, or opening up a bank account, are the best teachers since they are not only woven into the language skills, but part of the whole fabric of existence and learning in a different culture.  Confidence is key when speaking a foreign tongue.

Chapter 5 - Learner Strategies and Learner-Focused Teaching

Learner autonomy is an interesting concept that places the student more in control of what they are learning.  For English Language Learners, this ability to own and feel a part of the learning system, which includes inclusion into the adopted culture, while maintaining pride in their own, is especially important.  As a native speaker, I can only imagine the issues I would have living in another culture AND trying to learn the language.  Where does one get self-esteem?  From their peers, and unfortunately for many non native speakers, their peers and society in general are not forgiving of foreign accents – depending on the accent of course.  Pride in the importance and difficulty of second language acquisition should be emphasized over and over by the teacher teaching ELL’s.  Most US Americans have no idea of the difficulties of learning another language while assimilating to another culture and still hanging on to one’s identity and self-esteem.  And this is where the learning strategies come in to play.
    
A teacher who is sensitive to autonomy and knows how to employ different learning strategies to ensure the overall success of students from all backgrounds, is a successful one.  I realize that this means employing certain psychological – what I call “cheerleading” methods, but I think they are especially important in the instruction of English Language Learners. 

Chapter 5 also talks about metacognitive teaching strategies.  It has been a difficult concept for me to completely understand.  The book cites that is “learning about learning,” and I understand that, but how is this different than simple cognitive learning?  I am still not clear on this. 

I see CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) as being absolutely essential in the classroom today.  With the ability to recite and hear back your own words, and the other possibilities technology has brought to the language learning field, teachers should be using this technology carefully and with guided instruction to optimize the potential benefits ELL’s can get from this.

Response #1:  On Joseph Magda's blog, he writes that the "SLA student should be taught both direct and indirect strategies to support a balanced learning program." While scaffolding supports direct strategy methods, I think it is absolutely essential that all students have layers of scaffolding beneath them.  Without this, there is not any confidence towards the subject matter.  I know this from my own experience.  The less I know about my target subject, the less confident I feel towards completing an assignment.  In my EESL670 class, I feel completely unbalanced and unable to achieve the assignments because I do not have the proper scaffolding beneath me to understand and complete the assignments.  It is frustrating.

Response #2:  David Sosa cleverly writes in his blog that he uses "graphic organizers as a means to hold a student’s thinking while they move on to another aspect of a task or new concept."  I really like this idea and will probably use it in the future.   Anything that is graphic has often been confusing to me as I am not a visual learner.  But, when computers first came out on the market, and I was forced to organize information into files and folders on computer desktops, one teacher struggled with me (I am old so learning this stuff was part of my job and not part of a school experience)and my inability to understand.  She gave m a graphic organizer much like what David is talking about by giving me diagrams of file cabinets and folders and having me write what I know about them on cleverly-designed worksheets, that enabled me to "hold" my thinking in various locations - so that I did not become overwhelmed.

Chapter 4 - Performance Based Learning

In Chapter 4 of Strategies for Teaching English Learners, we learn about performance based learning and assessments of English learners.  Measured objectives are central to the development of professional standards that can be used to assess abilities and aptitudes of students.  If appropriate standards are incorporated into lesson plans, especially those designed specifically by smart teachers who have assessed and know (or have a good knowledge of) the learning strategies necessary for their students, than student goals can be obtained simultaneously with alignment between the student’s needs and what Dept. of Education standards are.  These kind of performance standards included in curriculum are recognized as Outcome-based education.

Assessment is central to helping students achieve the goal of meeting the standards.  The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has made our education system a test-driven one – that often excludes ELL’s from high-performance scores.  What bothers me about No Child Left Behind is that it is all marks and bubbles – there is no room for oral presentations, teacher comments, and personalized input about the student that may exclude them from performing well on these types of tests.  When a school has a high level of ELL’s, these test scores are dramatically lower, and schools – the ones that need the most support because of their cultural teaching challenges, are penalized financially.  There is a strong amount of bias in these tests, and I think there should be many different diagnostic and achievement tests to meet these standards, rather than one set factor.

Response #1:  I really enjoyed reading Ian Caldon's blog about standards-based instruction.  Maybe I enjoyed it because I agree that one should always question and answer why and what we are doing.  No one should ever blindly follow instructions without questioning things.  Rubrics are an excellent way to achieve this kind of self-assessment and can only add to a student's learning experience.

Response #2:  As far as PBL learning is concerned, Yong Aday writes in his blog that "a successful PBL instructional plan should have content to meet the standards, but more importantly it should meet its language objective and learning strategy objective."  Content is so important when it comes to meeting objectives.  One cannot learn efficiently if the support content, including proper scaffolding, is not included in the lesson plans.