Post 3
http://esllanguageschools.suite101.com/article.cfm/teaching-teens-english-as-a-second-language
Tried and True Tips for Getting the Most Out of an ESL Classroom
This was another super article from my RSS feed. I like these articles because they are relevant to my position as a Student Teacher Supervisor. Another positive is that they are short and contain valuable information for busy student teachers. There were several suggestions for enhancing the curriculum. The most important suggestion was to use relevant topics that students would find interesting and would be willing to talk about. Getting teen students to share can be a challenge. Another suggestion was to use popular movies and books to reinforce global acquisition of the language.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Critical Thinking Activities for the Classroom
Post 2
http://esllanguageschools.suite101.com/article.cfm/critical-thinking-activities-for-the-classroom
This article was from my RSS feed. I observe my group of student teachers instructing students several times during the semester. Their lesson plans must contain evidence of higher order questioning or critical thinking activities. This article provided some good examples of critical thinking activities for ESL students. I think we erroneously believe that critical thinking activities should not be incorporated into an ESL classroom because of the students’ limited English proficiency. I liked this article because it contained a variety of methods to teach vocabulary as opposed to simply providing the definition.
http://esllanguageschools.suite101.com/article.cfm/critical-thinking-activities-for-the-classroom
This article was from my RSS feed. I observe my group of student teachers instructing students several times during the semester. Their lesson plans must contain evidence of higher order questioning or critical thinking activities. This article provided some good examples of critical thinking activities for ESL students. I think we erroneously believe that critical thinking activities should not be incorporated into an ESL classroom because of the students’ limited English proficiency. I liked this article because it contained a variety of methods to teach vocabulary as opposed to simply providing the definition.
Differentiation in the ESL classroom
Post 1
http://esllanguageschools.suite101.com/article.cfm/differentiation-in-the-esl-classroom
This article was one of my RSS feeds. Differentiating instruction in the classroom is a difficult task for the novice teacher. A teacher’s first year in a public school can be overwhelming because there is so much to do and so much to learn. This article provides useful information for differentiating instruction for reading groups. Explicit instructions are provided for the following: placing students into reading groups, goals of reading groups, and how to manage reading groups. I recommended this article to my group of student teachers and they found it useful.
http://esllanguageschools.suite101.com/article.cfm/differentiation-in-the-esl-classroom
This article was one of my RSS feeds. Differentiating instruction in the classroom is a difficult task for the novice teacher. A teacher’s first year in a public school can be overwhelming because there is so much to do and so much to learn. This article provides useful information for differentiating instruction for reading groups. Explicit instructions are provided for the following: placing students into reading groups, goals of reading groups, and how to manage reading groups. I recommended this article to my group of student teachers and they found it useful.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Prompt 10
Richardson discussed the annotation feature in Flickr which allows the user to add notes to parts of an image by dragging a box across an area and typing text into a form. This Flickr tool appealed the most to me for use in a language learning classroom. This feature could be used for vocabulary instruction. Students would view a virtual zoo field trip and identify the various animals by adding notes to the images. Illustration of poetry with Flickr images is another excellent idea. Students would select images to represent different parts of speech, or to represent an interpretive view of the poem. I think there is great potential for teacher and student use of Flickr.
I agree with Kern that it is the particular use of technology that affects the learning of language and the efforts of the teacher in coordinating the use of technology. One problem Kern points out is the dynamics of online environment versus face to face interaction. In a K-12 classroom the teacher would have to monitor interaction closely during a Skype session. However, I think telecollaboration is a unique and excellent language learning activity for students. Another consideration is evaluating performance of the students during the online sessions. Expectations and guidelines should be established and made clear to participants before beginning a project. CALL offers students a variety of language learning experiences that educators should incorporate into the curriculum.
I agree with Kern that it is the particular use of technology that affects the learning of language and the efforts of the teacher in coordinating the use of technology. One problem Kern points out is the dynamics of online environment versus face to face interaction. In a K-12 classroom the teacher would have to monitor interaction closely during a Skype session. However, I think telecollaboration is a unique and excellent language learning activity for students. Another consideration is evaluating performance of the students during the online sessions. Expectations and guidelines should be established and made clear to participants before beginning a project. CALL offers students a variety of language learning experiences that educators should incorporate into the curriculum.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Prompt 9
Corpus linguistics is the study of language through the use of computer assisted techniques to analyze large databases of naturally occurring language. Some language teachers are excited about corpus linguistics because it has been applied to the development of instructional materials, classroom instruction, and language teacher training. Corpus linguistics also affects grammar pedagogy. Corpus linguistics makes it possible for a teacher to describe the factors associated with the appropriate use of alternative structures when more than one structure is grammatically acceptable. Therefore, grammar teaching will become more focused on conditions of grammar use.
I have used the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) to analyze a student’s language sample for Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The student provided a retell of a story or a conversation sample which was recorded and transcribed. The language sample was entered into the SALT Program and compared to age-matched peers. The production summary report provided information on mean length of utterance in words or morphemes, number of word roots, mazing, and other characteristics of the student’s language sample. All the information was reviewed by two clinicians and a determination was made regarding the need for intervention. I can envision using other computer assisted techniques to analyze language samples for SLI or other communication disorders.
I have used the Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) to analyze a student’s language sample for Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The student provided a retell of a story or a conversation sample which was recorded and transcribed. The language sample was entered into the SALT Program and compared to age-matched peers. The production summary report provided information on mean length of utterance in words or morphemes, number of word roots, mazing, and other characteristics of the student’s language sample. All the information was reviewed by two clinicians and a determination was made regarding the need for intervention. I can envision using other computer assisted techniques to analyze language samples for SLI or other communication disorders.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Prompt 8
Levy describes the following CMC technologies: chat, MOOs, email/SMS, bulletin board systems (BBS), mailing lists and audio/video conferencing software. These CMC technologies allow for synchronous and asynchronous communication. Asynchronous communication such as e-mail, allows the learner time to process input. Synchronous communication, such as text chat, does not allow the learner as much time to process input. Levy states that this technology is free and readily available to the public. CMC technologies have a wide variety of options for a wide variety of users. The programs are versatile can be tailored to the needs of the student. I have little experience with CMC technologies. However, I use e-mail daily, but not as a tool to learn a language.
Dr. Sauro’s research posed two questions. Question 1 asked which type of CMC feedback would be significantly more effective for immediate gains in L2 target form knowledge. The results showed that metalinguistic feedback resulted in greater gains from pre to immediate posttest for familiar items than did recasts. However, the differences were not significant. Question 2 asked which type of CMC feedback would be significantly more effective for sustained gains in L2 target form knowledge. Results showed that over time, the recast and metalinguistic group demonstrated similar levels of target form knowledge when applied to familiar items. Both types of corrective feedback resulted in gains in immediate knowledge. Most importantly, the more information the learner is confronted with, the more difficult it may be for the learner to locate and identify the portion that is reformulated. Thus, a teacher should consider the type of corrective feedback given to students.
Dr. Sauro’s research posed two questions. Question 1 asked which type of CMC feedback would be significantly more effective for immediate gains in L2 target form knowledge. The results showed that metalinguistic feedback resulted in greater gains from pre to immediate posttest for familiar items than did recasts. However, the differences were not significant. Question 2 asked which type of CMC feedback would be significantly more effective for sustained gains in L2 target form knowledge. Results showed that over time, the recast and metalinguistic group demonstrated similar levels of target form knowledge when applied to familiar items. Both types of corrective feedback resulted in gains in immediate knowledge. Most importantly, the more information the learner is confronted with, the more difficult it may be for the learner to locate and identify the portion that is reformulated. Thus, a teacher should consider the type of corrective feedback given to students.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
PROMPT 7
The results of the Grgurovic and Hegelheimer study in cases of listening comprehension breakdowns revealed that participants used subtitles more frequently and for longer periods of time than a transcript. The four patterns of participant interaction with help options were; subtitles, transcript, non-interaction, and mixed interaction. Subtitles were the preferred help option before and after the activity. The higher proficiency group used subtitles more frequently and for longer periods of time than the lower proficiency group. Additionally, participants spent less time interacting with help options than was anticipated. The subtitles and transcript groups performed similarly on comprehension during and after the activity, while the non-interaction group varied the most in behavior and performance from all other groups. Implications for instruction are: making subtitles the help option in multimedia listening materials, offering a choice, and giving users more control over the choice of help. Grgurovic and Hegelheimer also suggested ways of encouraging the use of help with CALL materials such as: implementing software demos and tutorials to promote use of help, create CALL tasks that would require the use of help. Additionally, the teacher could train the students to use help options to the students’ advantage.
The most important factor for implementing CALL practice in my classroom would be to identify the language learning objectives. Levy states that successful use of CALL depends on teachers having a clear idea of what they want to achieve in the classroom. Therefore, the most important factor would be to identify the language learning objectives. Next, I would consider the choice of technology appropriate for achieving the language learning objective as well as the way in which it would be utilized.
The most important factor for implementing CALL practice in my classroom would be to identify the language learning objectives. Levy states that successful use of CALL depends on teachers having a clear idea of what they want to achieve in the classroom. Therefore, the most important factor would be to identify the language learning objectives. Next, I would consider the choice of technology appropriate for achieving the language learning objective as well as the way in which it would be utilized.
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