I wish you all much success in your endeavors

Wowowee!! As this spring semester comes to a close, I would like to thank everyone for contributing to our little learning community. As educators and students, there is always much to be learned and taught from one another as we journey through our careers. The talent, knowledge, memories, and compassion that was shared are just some of the things I will take away from this course. I learned a lot of practical skills that I have already started to apply in my teachings. I wish each and everyone of you success in all your endeavors! I hope to see you around in the halls of SOE come fall semester!

-Julie :)

Thank you ALL for a good semester!!

Mogethin!

I just want to thank each and everyone in our class ED481G and Dr. Rivera for a wonderful and meaningful experience this semester. I had a wonderful time with each and everyone in this class. I have learned a lot from the blog sessions, Moodle sessions as well as from everyone's personal experiences that was shared in class. I took this course not knowing weather this is something I want to continue on but now after sharing a insightful and a wonderful semester I am thinking to continue this journey I have started this semester. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and creativity as well as your personal experiences in the teaching field with me. Thank you all and have a great and safe summer!!

Best,
Beauty Letewasiyal

Its Been A Good Time Together

(Be sure to listen to this clip!!!)

 

After the late night classes, blogging and moodling, and constant emails, we have reached the end of the semester and I have to say...."ITS BEEN A GOOD TIME TOGETHER!!!"

Thank you all for your insightful experiences, sharing your unique talents, and great collaboration! I have learned a tremendous amount of information and I am sure I will be applying it in the very near future. Through our ongoing learning together, I know that we will all become knowledgeable professionals. I enjoyed our time learning from each other and sharing with each other. I hope to see you all again! I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors. And remember, my fellow ED481ers, Its been a good time together and the best is yet to come!

Thank you and have a great summer!

Hafa adai,

I would like to thank everyone for being gracious and supportive.  I have learned a great deal from all of you through our blog, forums, class discussions, and presentations. I feel like I am better equipped to help the mainstreamed ESL students that enter my classroom.  The course has reawakened my sense of creativity.  I am looking forward to developing new thematic units in my reading class that are supported by a variety of genres and interactive activities.  Making material relevant to students and allowing them to have more input on topics and reading selections are ideas that resonate with me.  The experiences that all of you have shared has made me more cognizant of what English language learners are going through in school, both academically and emotionally.  Again, I would like to thank all of you for being wonderful classmates and sharing the ED 481 experience with me.  I would also like to thank Dr. Rivera for her insight and guidance this semester.  The course has definitely made me reflect on my teaching practices.

Have a wonderful summer everyone!

Sincerely,
Daryl

Farewell my fellow classmates

Dear class,

I would like to thank each and every one of you for creating a classroom environment that is fun, warm and very insightful. I enjoyed our discussions both face-to-face and online. Since the majority of you are experienced educators, I felt greatly humbled and appreciative to learn and hear your perspectives on the topics and issues discussed in class. Although, this is my farewell post, I know this is not the last time we will all see each other. Again, thank you for the wonderful classroom and learning experiences. I wish you all the best in your continuing studies, and I hope one day we will work together as fellow educators.

Sincerely,
Jackie Fathal

Farewell For Now

This is just my first semester for M. Ed. (TESOL) program, and I will be around for a while. I am glad to have known you and had you all as my classmates. My knowledge has become more well-rounded because of your sharing for the class forums and on the blog. Thanks again, and you all are awesome. Have a wonderful summer. I hope to be with you guys again in more classes.

POST BY: FINA LG

It's been a great semester working with all of you in the class. I have truly learned a great deal regarding English language learners and what approaches/methods to use when working with them.The Moodle and BlogSpot posts have allowed us as a class to be open in our discussions on several different topics. I really enjoyed reading everyones response to the questions as well as the feedback given by peers to my answer. The in class activities were fun and provided us with the opportunity to get to know everyone. Overall, this class was a great asset to me as an educator. It opened my eyes to the many issues and concerns that ELL's may face when they enter the school system. The class had a positive effect on my perception and approach with ELL studnets. I will continue to use what I have learned in this class at my school site and with he ELL students.

Service Learning Experience

Because I am an undergraduate, I was required to have two service learning experiences.  The first service learning experience I conducted was in my mom's 3rd grade classroom at Liguan Elementary.  I read two books to her students, Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes and The Gruffalo's Child.  They absolutely loved it and I had a great time as well.  After I read each book, I asked a series of questions just to see whether they comprehended the books.  I also gave out pencils and erasers as prizes.  Of course, every single child got a prize for participation.  They were so engaged and very willing to share their ideas.  It was amazing.

The second service learning I did was with my 75-year-old aunt.  I gave her a few options of books to choose from such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Micronesian Legends, etc.  She asked me to read her the bible.  She said that her eyes weren't working too well anymore and it's been difficult for her to maintain her reading.  I was more than happy to read the bible to her.  I read verses from Matthew and Isaiah.  I am really glad that I got to share this experience with her.  I hope to visit her more often and read a few passages for her whenever I do. 

Farewell awesome people of ED481

This has been an amazing semester.  I met a lot of interesting and knowledgeable people in this class who has taught me so much in such a short period of time.  I appreciate all your experiences and wisdom and I will take everything that I've learned academically, socially and personally to my future ESL classroom.  Thank you so much for everything and I hope you all have a wonderful and great summer break.  Esta laters!

My Personal Reflection on the Overall Class

I really enjoyed this class. I learned a great deal about not only the subject of TESOL, but also about the teaching profession. While I never have taken a central focused education class, I did take a history class for teachers in my undergraduate degree. The professor had planned on a lesson plan project, but being there were other students like myself whose degree wasn't in education attending the class, she decided against. At the time, I had wished she had kept the project in being I wanted to see how to make one. Now that I have finally been able to make a lesson plan, I know how much work goes into it. It was a lot of fun as well though and I would like to try to make another one.

I really enjoyed reading all of my classmates posts and being able to speak with you all in class. This whole experience was a positive one and one I hope to build upon as I learn more about the subject of TESOL. Thank you and I hope everyone will have a great summer! 

-Kaylynne               

TPR interview by Dr. James J. Asher

This is a video I found online on TPR an interview by Dr. James J. Asher. Since my method demonstration is on TPR I thought it will be cool to share this with everyone else. This is a website created by Dr. James J. Asher himself for TPR and I thought it will be nice to share with everyone else http://www.tpr-world.com/

Post by FINA

Heritage Tribal Language Program

 

When I was attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I had to observe a Hawaiian
Immersion School for one of my classes. The school serviced children from kindergarten
up until the 8th grade. The children enrolled at this school were of Hawaiian decent
and a majority of them spoke English as the primary language within the home. The
schools schedule reflected that of a typical American school, with reading, writing,
mathematics, science, social studies, and the other content areas. However, the difference
was everything was taught in Hawaiian. Hawaiian was spoken throughout the school
day, during instruction and social interaction. English was taught on a daily basis for
a 45-minute period only. In addition to the regular content, the children also studied
a lot about the Hawaiian culture: dance, songs, and other traditions. When I observed
the school I was amazed at how advanced the students were in both languages. Many
of them came from households were English was the primary language spoken, but in
school the children understood and spoke the Hawaiian language with little difficulty.
It really opened my eyes to the positive effects of the Hawaiian immersion programs.
The Hawaiian Immersion School that I observed matched perfectly with the heritage
tribal language program discussed in chapter 20. The purpose of the Hawaiian Immersion
School was to teach the language and culture so that it could be revived and preserved by
the children. Since the implementation of the immersion schools there has been a great
revival of the Hawaiian culture and language among the younger generations of native
Hawaiians.

Village Immersion Program



This video clip expresses the benefits of the village immersion programs. It also features a group of Chinese teachers touring the village and gaining information to bring back to their country. The goal of the individuals involved is to develop and maintain a language learning program.

 

Two-Way Bilingual Immersion. Holland Public Schools. Holland Michigan

We have learned about Two-Way Bilingual language programs in our chapter reading. This is just a short clip to see how a prorgam with two-way bilingual immersion is utilized in one part of the US mainland.

Village Immersion Program

While writing my reaction paper for chapter nineteen, I was reminded of the village immersion program. I thought this was such a neat program and I actually wished there was something like this in the area I had grown up in. I'm sure it would have been more enjoyable than some of the summer camps that I had to attend being I love learning new languages. I found the website if anyone was interested in some of the activities or pictures they had for the camp.

http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/index.php

-Kaylynne

Foreign Language Programs

Children learning Spanish, French and Chinese at Jabberu Foreign Languages for Kids in metro Washington D.C.Wow! It's amazing how these children are learning three different languages. I guess that is why they said the earlier they learn the better they become when they get older.


 

Method Demonstration

I think the assignment to present the choice of method or approach from the course textbook is the best example in putting the learned material to practice. That directly applies to the strategies that we have been learning throughout the semester. Everyone got to showcase their knowledge combined with individual experience and ideas towards ESL approach and method during the presentation. Reading a textbook is insightful, and when it is combined with practice and participation just like we did in the class, the conceptualized knowledge from reading is not only reinforced but also retained in our long term memory for further use of the knowledge. That certainly serves the purpose of education. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to carry out the method demonstration assignment.

Hands-on Demonstrations!

Positive Experience Approach

          The activities and comments shown in class today were excellent! Good job
to all presenters! I learned a lot and gaine many new ideas for the classroom that I would like to try. One activity I found interesting was the very last one, Dr. Rivera’s Positive Experience Approach. I think that that activity is a good way to lower anxiety and increase motivation within the class as a whole and as individuals. When students, old or young, are reminded of their good qualities they become more confident and enjoy their class and the company of his or her classmates. This activity can also be done as ice-breakers or small activities for extra
curricular groups or out-of-school groups. It is a good social motivator for even those English language learners who are new to a place. I will even do this for my students!

Positive attitudes create positive experiences!

Post by: FINA

I really enjoyed Julie’s presentation on Concrete Poetry. There were a lot of
great ideas I got from the presentation. I liked the worksheet on Figurative
Language it really helped to clarify and differentiate between a simile, metaphor,
personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and alliteration. Using songs as an
example for students to hear similes and metaphors was a great idea and resource.
I really enjoyed learning about how easy and fun it would be to incorporate poetry
into lessons for all students.
I learned so much and loved all the presentations tonight! Thanks for the wealth of
knowledge:)

ESL resource

http://eslresources.wordpress.com/

The link above has many resources and games for use in the ESL classroom. I thought the board game section was very interesting as I think games help students reinforce the material they have learned in a fun activity.

-Kaylynne  

ED481/G REMINDERS AND MORE

Dear ED481/G Students,

I'm pleased with the work that you've accomplished, knowledge that you've gained, strategies that you've learned, and so much more! In any event, it's that time of the semester again wherein we need to finalize all remaining course requirements. By now all assignments that you've submitted throughout the semester should have been graded. If I missed anything, please let me know as soon as possible.

If you haven't caught up, it is imperative that you communicate with me immediately. I have made considerations on a case-by-case basis with the understanding that quality work will be submitted.

Keep in mind that this Thursday we will be meeting in class. Be prepared to present your ESL Method Demonstration. We will also review Chapters 19 & 20.

As a recap, the following are the remaining topics for our class:

MAY 2:
-Chapter 19: Foreign Language Programs
-Chapter 20: Two-Way Bilingual and Heritage Tribal Language Programs
-Chapter 18 Reaction Paper Due
-LiveText Portfolio Discussion Continued
-Post Reflection in Class Blog at www.blogger.com (http://ed481spring2013.blogspot.com) 

MAY 9:
-Moodle online session–University of Guam: campus.uogdistance.com
-Case Studies: Teacher Narrations to Stimulate Professional Dialogue
-Chapters 19 & 20 Reaction Papers Due
-Final Self-Reflection Due
-Finalization of Online Portfolio Discussion
-Post Reflection in Class Blog at www.blogger.com (http://ed481spring2013.blogspot.com) 

MAY 16:
-Service Learning Presentation
-LiveText Portfolio Submission
-Post Final Reflection in Class Blog at www.blogger.com (http://ed481spring2013.blogspot.com)

----------
Be sure to also keep up with your blogging, as it is part of our online collaboration. You must reply/comment on your classmates' postings/entries as well.

As you know, I modified the lengthy LiveText Portfolio designing/submission in order to meet the needs of those who require additional time to complete the rest of the course requirements. Therefore, with regards to LiveText, you will only be required to submit the main artifact, namely the SIOP lesson plan, which was due on April 11, 2013. You may submit this in LiveText now, if you haven't already.

Good luck, keep me posted, and I'll see you on Thursday!

All the best,
Dr. Rivera

ESL Struggles and some strategies to help these students

This video identifies the struggles that face ELS today as well as numerous effective teaching strategies that can be used to combat them.

SIOP in Action

I wanted to know what was out there for SIOP lesson plans, and found this one. There is a lesson that makes use of SIOP lesson plan called “Exploring China through Folktales,” focusing on education for global understanding. I think it is one example of teaching language through content area, enhanced with technology. I am not planning to use the lesson but I have gotten some good ideas after I looked at the lesson plan. Having your own professional blog and reading other’s in the same profession seems like a seminar online, exchanging ideas and learning from each other.

http://mswaughsclass.blogspot.com/2013/03/exploring-china-through-folktales-siop.html

Tools for teaching-"Teaching Without Words"

The following clip explains how words pose an obstacle to learning, most especially for our English Language Learners. The narrator of the clip is Matthew Peterson, the creator of an instructional software that teaches math without using language. Peterson provides games that teachers can use within the classroom as a way of being effective without having to speak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2VLje8QRrwg

Affective Learning at BMS

As a first -year teacher at Benavente Middle School, I have witnessed many exciting initiatives that are taking place at my school. For example, an Advisor-Advisee Period (AAP) has been implemented as a course that replaced home room. The focus of AAP is not academics. Instead, teacher and student work intimately within a small classroom setting in order to improve and build positive characters. Students engage in a myriad of activities that highlight our school ESLR's. Every month a new theme is introduced and taught to the students using a structured lesson plan that is distributed school wide and created by teachers. Examples of past themes include: Peace, Giving Back to the Community, and Preventing School Bullying. In addition, students participate in Exploratory Day (initially called AAP Fun Day) in which a variety of courses ranging from intra-murals to cooking to Anime are offered and taught by teachers. Students have the option to change their Exploratory Day course every quarter, thus allowing them the option to explore and participate in activities that are of interest. So far, the AAP program at BMS has proven to be a success among the students because of its focus on personalization and building stronger relationships. 

Post by: FINA LEON GUERRERO

Shared Knowledge or Cooperative Learning

I have not missed to post reflection on the blog once. But, this time, when I opened the blog, I found many shared ideas all of which are very intriguing. So, I decided to write comments for those postings instead of putting something new this week. I enjoyed watching video clips, reading your ideas and picking your brain from your posting. I see this as an example of cooperative learning since you are sharing your experiences and findings with the rest of the class. Obviously, we can have cooperative learning without being in a physical classroom, thanks to the technology and thanks to you all.

Affective Activity: BLOGGING

Affective activities are great ways to make learning meaningful. One idea for an affective activity would be to create blogs for students to use. Because students are technology savvy and have access to it at home or at school, it would be an engaging way for students to apply their skills in the target language. Here is a link for teachers to create educational and safe blogs for students of all grades and courses: http://kidblog.org/home/

 

Digital Storytelling in the Foreign Language Classroom

Digital storytelling is a compelling activity for the language classroom. Easy to use for both writing and speaking practice, digital storytelling can be a good way to motivate students to use the language both inside and outside the classroom. Many teachers report high motivation levels, and not only for their students! This is interesting!

Using the first language and the target language in the classroom

Only having the target language spoken in a second language classroom, I think, could be too overwhelming for students. However, just speaking completely in the students' first language might not be much better. I think a mix of the two should be used. A teacher should modify their speech so when they do speak in the target language, they say words that the students know and have studied. If a word has to be spoken that the students do not know, then the teacher should provide the students a translation of the word. Although the below video is on the subject of a game, the teacher mostly speaks in English to his Japanese students. However, he then says it in Japanese if they don't understand. For example, the first question he asks is, 'What day is today?'. When none of the students answer he say in Japanese, '今日は何曜日ですか？' , which is 'What day is today?'( Although he doesn't say the particle は in the video.) That way the students can hear the question in English first and then the question in Japanese. 

-Kaylynne

The Power of Poetry

In chapter 10 it discussed the effectiveness of incorporating chants, music, and poetry. So, I saw it fit that I share with the class this YouTube clip on the power of poetry. The affect it has on an individual, especially an ELL, who can use poetry to express deeper thoughts and messages in a creative way that may be more comfortable for the ELL. Overall, this clip is the animation of Shane Koyczan's deepest issues and thoughts and how poetry helped him. What are your thoughts on the clip? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltun92DfnPY

Online Games

As we discussed in class and in our readings, we know that games are effective when it comes to learning. Considering our students are technologically savvy, online games came to mind. Because we are starting to see an increase in technology use within our student population, it would be a great idea to introduce our students to online games that are related to our lessons or provide practice in particular skills. There are various games online for different ages and contents and skills. Some games even require cooperative learning. I found images of a few games. Many games are made for younger students, however they have realistic online games that cater to the vocational and life skills for older students (such as the ATM game shown in the image below). The Internet is filled with games that are free and available. Looking through different apps and recommending them to students is also a great idea.
  

Ways to Promote Literacy Development

“Activities to promote literacy – Raising Children Network” is a parenting website in Australia and their slogan is “A child’s journey towards literacy involves learning to speak, listen, read, understand, watch, draw and write. You can help your child develop these skills from birth.” I will adapt their slogan to facilitate my ESL students, trying out the activities that the website has to offer. I believe that as a teacher, I can help my ELLs develop their language skills in promoting their literacy just like a parent could for his or her child. http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/activities_to_promote_literacy.html.

The Silent Way Approach

Being I am not a teacher, I find that videos of methods discussed in the book really help in my understanding. Sometimes I will just go through Youtube watching any type of method being taught in an ESL class. I came across the 'Silent Way' approach and thought it was quite interesting. There isn't anything quite silent about this method, but instead the students will come up with their own sounds from the English language. After enough of these sounds are assigned to colors, they can be stringed together to form words. I don't know how effective this method would be but I think if it was paired with other approaches, it could be helpful for students.

-Kaylynne

   

Simon Says!

In this clip, the game Simon Says is used as an instructional teaching strategy rather than simply an elimination game. Students are not eliminated as soon as they make a mistake. Instead, students acquire points and are allowed to continue playing whenever the teacher says the game is over. As discussed in our class, using games to teach our ELLs is beneficial because it appeals to all types of learners--visual, tactile, and, aural. Students are able to more quickly grasp concepts, such as the different body parts, because the game allows students to engage their sense of sight, sound, and touch when making the connection.

Jazz Chant Workshop

The creator of jazz chants, Carolyn Graham, conducted a workshop for teachers to develop unique jazz chants for their ELLs.  Jazz chants reinforce vocabulary and grammar, while lowering anxiety.  Watching Graham's workshop brought the concept alive and gave me a method for creating jazz chants.  The following is an informative 10 minute clip from Graham's workshop.

Carolyn Graham Jazz Chant Workshop

Active Engagement in Learning - 4-4-13

Songs for kids

Kids enjoy songs and are able to pick it up quickly when used in the classroom. The following clip is an example of a song about making new friends that is accompanied by music, lyrics, and visuals. Showing these kinds of clips may be beneficial for english language learners. This and many more songs and clips can be found at this website:

http://kids-songs.tv/



Learning a second language with music

In my own personal experience, I found listening to songs in the target language that I was learning to be very helpful in my listening comprehension. I would first listen to the song and write down any words that I understood. Afterward, I would go over the lyrics in the target language while listening to the song again. I would then start to translate the song into English with the help of a dictionary. While I could have easily just found the song already translated off of the internet, I found that if I translated the song myself, I was able to remember new vocabulary that was in the song better.

-Kaylynne

Storytelling: One activity dear to our hearts, valuable to our ESL teaching career

We grew up listening to our bedtime stories. Being a mother of two and having worked at a community childcare center and a daycare facility, I have told stories many of a time. After reading "Exploring Methods and Activities" in Making It Happen, I am more convinced of the value of storytelling, its positive impact and  impeccable result in language learning. Enjoy this clip of storytelling with young children and see if you want to modify some things for your ESL class.

Affective Domain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaRdbP4Y9tY

When planning lessons for my students, I always integrate content that I know would be of interest to them. For me, the best part about teaching is watching my kids have their "a-ha" moments without even realizing that they're learning. I rarely use the textbook when lesson planning. Instead, I utilize resources from the internet such as YouTube and twitter, have my students read stories that are current and relevant to their age group, and use a variety of instructional strategies that appeal to all my learners. 

TPR teaching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdJ4VziqC8s

This video reminds me of the game "Simon Says." I remember playing this game in elementary school as a way of learning the different body parts. Chamorro teachers also used the game to teach students the names of different body parts in Chamorro. Using such an interactive game is essential when learning a new language because it appeals to all types of learners-visual, tactile, and audio.

Language Acquisition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE4ce4mexrU

I found this video very interesting and quite related to Krashen's Natural Approach. Language acquisition is analysed by Deb Roy, an MIT researcher, who acquired more than 90,000 hours of  video and 140,000 hours of audio footage recorded over a span of 3 years in his house. Roy used the data to help him understand how his infant son acquired the ability to speak the English language. Although the clip is about 20 minutes long, it is quite astonishing to hear and watch the progress of how humans learn to speak.

Language Experience Approach video

Hello everyone,

I hope you’re enjoying the break. I have been reading your posts and watching your clips.  Your input has definitely helped me to understand our course content more clearly.  Our language experience approach analysis is due after the break.  After reading about your experiences, I made arrangements to work with an ELL that is still in the sheltered classroom.  This will be a new experience for me.  Last time I worked with a student that already entered my traditional classroom.  I'm looking forward to the experience and to see how we are able to interact with each other on our first meeting.  I found this short clip that reinforces much of what was shared in our forum.     

language experience video

Interactive Learning by Fina Leon Guerrero

The following post was provided by Fina Leon Guerrero. Due to technical difficulties with Gmail, she has used my account to post her blog. Please address all comments to her. Thank you!

Interactive Practices

Teacher is helping student identify items.

Interactive Activty: Grocery List

An example of an interactive activity is a grocery list activity, which can be used in different content areas (Math, Reading, and Language Arts). Students will be able to exercise their skills in reading, categorizing, spelling, addition, etc. Of course, this activity is open to modification depending on the skill that is being taught. Above are examples of different grocery lists that can be used for students at different levels of proficiency. As an enhancement to this activity: students can use ads from newspapers to complete lists and skill exercise, students can play store in the classroom and participate in different roles (cashier, stock person, greeter, customer, etc.) as well as use recycled boxes/packages of real products, or students can go on a fieldtrip to a grocery store (Kmart or Payless) and apply the learned skill. This grocery list activity is an example of relating learned skills in the classroom to life skills experienced by our students.

TPR: Guiding Principles

I found this image on some guiding principles of TPR. It is a simple way to remind us how to use this method in our classrooms.

Theory and Practice Combined: TPR

I found this 5 minutes long video clip relevant to what we read in Chapter 8 and 9. Krashen’s Natural Approach and comprehensible input is related to Asher’s underpinning theory of Total Physical Response. We can reinforce our reading by watching this short clip of brief explanation and demonstration of TPR.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJnW77vEz1E

Total Physical Response Example

As displayed by chapter eight of the textbook, 'Making it Happen: From Interactive to Participatory Language Teaching: Evolving Theory and Practice', the total physical response is a great method when combined with other methods to teach a second language. Being the student is involved in the language, they are able to connect the new vocabulary with their own actions. Whenever there is a new method or approach that the book discusses, I like to look up a video of it in use. Below is an example of TPR in the classroom.

-Kaylynne

Portfolios

Portfolios are great to use in the classroom for assessment purposes and beneficial for the students and the teacher.  The students can see their growth and achievements, they are actively involved with their learning, it allows them to reflect on their work and critique their assignments, and be able to establish short-term goals that they would like to achieve.  Teachers will be able to know what is going on with their students to see if they are progressing academically.  It is also a useful resource for teachers to see whether or not they have to adjust their instruction to meet their students' needs.

Active Engagement in Learning!

Central to the Affective Domain

The group that I was assigned with consisted of myself (Pedro), Gem, TinMar and Beauty.  The area that we covered was the Central to the Affective Domain.  There are three areas that involve this area and they are:

a.  attitude

b.  motivation

c.  anxiety

 

We covered Attitude and Motivation.  They made me the leader which at first I had built a little anxiety.  But, I found that cooperative learning is very effective and this is the attitude that I perceived as positive and being part of a group that gave me confidence to present to the rest of my colleagues/classmates in our class meeting and our assigned subject and participation.  Their moral support allowed me to confidently deliver the information with a positive attitude and gave me the motivation to want to deliver the information.  So this is my thought of how the many students that I may encounter, will be able to support the other students by group learning. 

Attitude and Motivation was basically applied by my group upon me.  My fellow group members made comments that helped to support me and make me feel like it wasn't impossible to present.

It was my experience as a student in this participation to be able to understand exactly how a student would feel while trying to fit in and cooperate with students of the target language.  Because I experienced this hopeful feeling of knowing I was supported, I felt as if I couldn't fail to deliver is the feel every student should be able to feel.  We should all be knowledgeable of how to positively affect and motivate, when we are teaching our children of Guam.  



Some reasons why students hate school

This video lists some reasons why students would say "school sucks". Imagine how students of another language would act if they felt this way about school and were totally intidmidated by the new culture they must adjust to. As ESL teachers, we need to connet with our students on different levels. Like we discussed in class, it is important that we make an effort to get to know our students inside and outside of the classroom. This allows students to be more comfortable and willing to participate in the new language and culture. It also would lessen the anxiety that the students are experiencing. It is always good to assist students in establishing relationships with classmates as well. Through social activties in the classroom, students may be able to start relationships with one another that would assist in the adjustment to the new culture or language. Once students are motivated to come to school and have a positive attitude, they will be able to adjust better and progress in the classroom.

Extrovert vs. Introvert

In today's class our discussion about how personality affects language acquisition stood out to me the most. The book described extroverts as individuals who may learn the spoken language faster because of their risk taking behaviors. When I think about my ESL students who were quick to learn the English language, I recall several of the students being extroverts. These students would comment, ask questions, and make statements on a topic. My quieter ESL students were also learning the second language, but did not feel comfortable speaking and sharing it with the whole class. These students who were introverts were able to express themselves better in writing. After reflecting on this part of the chapter, I realized it's important to identify ESL students as introvert or extroverts because the information would help the teacher find the most appropriate and effective teaching strategy to use with them.

Affective Domain

I wish I remembered sharing this story in class, but thankfully we have the class blog to share our thoughts.  In one of my current classes, I had a Chuukese classmate (I had her in several classes as well) who is an intelligent girl.  On the 3rd or 4th meeting, our professor put her on the spot by asking her a question she did not know the answer to.  He made a ridiculous comment about how she's supposed to know this information already since there was a prerequisite for the class he's teaching.  It was obvious to me that response really affected her that day.  I remember thinking to myself "She's going to end up dropping this class because of how he made her feel" and sure enough, she hasn't returned to class since.  My professor inquired to the rest of us about her whereabouts because she's still currently registered.  I wanted to say to him, "She's going to drop this class because of YOU!"  But of course, I kept that to myself. 

This is evidence, just like the rest of the stories we shared in class, that negative comments from a teacher truly affects the learner's affective domain and cause demotivation.  My Chuukese classmate and I are majoring in the same content and she needs this specific class to graduate, but that still did not stop her from dropping the course and waiting until next semester to retake the class, most likely from another professor.

Learning with the internet

I found in my own studies that reading websites in the target language is a really great way to become better at the language. Of course, this wouldn't be for beginning students, but once a student can somewhat understand and read in the second language, I think that using the internet as a tool for reading is a good idea.

The issue comes about with the type of material the student would read and have access to. I came across a program called WebQuest that helps in this area. Usually this is done in a Word Document or a small website is created on a computer for the students to access the content from.

WebQuest is a learning tool that allows the teacher to create links to websites for the student to visit as well as goals for the student to accomplish at these sites. A teacher could link to English websites for the student to read and in a group they could analyze and discuss what they have learned. This could also help students see how English is used in a real world example.

http://webquest.org/

-Kaylynne

Recent (and Ongoing) Attempt to Learn a New Language Online

After posting for journal sharing and reading the shared journals and perspectives on the use of technology for ELLs, I browsed a little bit to see what else is out there on the internet for language learning. I found the website Digital Dialects: Lange Learning Games, advertising that "the website features free to use online game for learning languages. Language resources include games for learning phrases, numbers, useful words, spelling, verb conjugations and alphabet. Games use Macromedia Flash Player” ( http://www.digitaldialects.com/ ). Sounds great. There are a bunch of languages from the most popular foreign languages like English and Spanish to some languages I had never heard the name of (honestly speaking) being offered on the website.

 “Do we all not have quaint interests in life?” I thought, having chosen Tibetan language to give it a try. The alphabet at first sight was really intimidating with all those strokes with different thickness of ink for different letters! However, many letters sound similar or the same to my native language. Thus, if there is a transliteration, I can sound them out perfectly. I could be reading transliterated Tibetan with impeccable pronunciation without knowing the meaning for a word of what I would be reading. Then, my next question is “Do we just learn the spoken form to learn a language especially there is a written form for it? How long is it going to take me to learn just the basic Tibetan – its (unfathomable-looking) alphabet and to count numbers- together with the written form?” Language learning is very challenging, and I came to realize that the technology helps in many ways to reach the goal but the process to reach the goal also involves the learner’s motivation, time, effort and appropriate learning methods with a teacher’s guidance.

Topic Avoidance Strategies

I really liked the section in chapter 4 about Enabling Students through Strategic Learning. The strategy that really stood out to me was in reagrds to teaching "topic avoidance strategies." Dornyei said, teaching topic avoidance strategies and fillers allpw the individual to gain more time for comprehension. this strategy opened my eyes to thinking "outside the box." Teaching a second lanugage is not only about learning the language but also to teach them

Common Core Standards

I learned (briefly) about the Common Core Standards and how important it is to align these standards with TESOL standards for ELLs.  I'm starting to freak out a bit because nobody really teaches us how to align standards.  I hope that we can learn a thing or two in this class regarding standards and alignment. 

"The one doing the TALKING is the one doing the LEARNING"

"the one doing the tALKING is the one doing the LEARNING"

the source of this quote is a mantra repeated frequently by my principal Mr. Fullo. After reflecting on the reading, I thought about the learning that takes place in my classroom. As a first year teacher, I have gained much of my knowledge through firsthand experience. teaching is a tough job, especially when dealing with learners who are resistant to putting in the effort. Utilizing evidence-based research, I have fortunately been equipped with skills necessary in ensuring that real learning takes place in my room through active class discussion. As advised by my principal, class lectures should be minimal, lasting anywhere from 5-15 minutes. In addition, a variety of instructional strategies are employed during lectures. For instance, after teaching a new concept I have my students team up with an "elbow partner." With their partner, students engage in "think/pair/share," an activity that requires students to think about new concepts critically and then share their thoughts and ideas. By doing this, students are able to think about concepts in different ways, thus, widening their worldviews. 

(Picture credit: https://www.marcellapurnama.wordpress.com)

Dialectical Relationship in Libertarian Education

I know that you all have read chapter 3. I just want to know what you have to say for the following questions.

“According to Freire (1970b), the relationship between teacher and student should be dialectical. What kind of classroom environment might foster this relationship? What sorts of activities might take place in such a classroom? Can you envision yourself in a dialectical relationship with your students?” (Richard-Amato, p. 89).

I have posted on today’s forum in response to one of our classmates that there are times I become my students’ student. Having done and said that, apparently, I envision myself in a dialectical relationship with my students. Dialectical process, according to Freire, is based on “libertarian education” in which the teacher and students are partners (p. 83). Richard-Amato explains that through meaningful communication, students are involved in acts of cognition. Dialectical process leads to cooperative relationship between the teacher and students which is important in second language teaching. As most of us are in this class to become teachers in ESL, I think understanding dialectical process is something good to know so that we can try or make use of particular activities with the goal to achieve meaningful social interaction in our ESL class and beyond. And what do you think?

Scaffolding

     As a teacher, I always use scaffolding as a teaching tool. A student can only build on what they already know. If the student does not have any prior knowledge about the topic then I provide them with those experiences so they may relate concepts with experiences. The more students discuss, read about, see pictures of, and experiment with the concept, the more they learn it.This is very true with my first grade students. Every year I would teach my first grade class about magnets. At the beginning of the unit, all of my students had the same basic knowledge. Most of them say they used magnets to hold up items on their fridge. As the unit progressed the students were exposed to more terms and activities regarding magnets. These experiences built off my students prior knowledge and added to it. By the end of the unit, the students were able to identify the north and south pole on a magnet as well as what made them repel and attract.

     Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development allows a teacher to gage how much their students have learned with the use of scaffolding. Just like my unit on magnets, the students had a basic understanding of what magnets were, but through exploration and experiences they expanded this knowledge.

 

Learning and having fun in the classroom

I am not yet a teacher, but I like to draw from my experiences from when I was a student in a second language class to think and plan on how I would teach. One of the topics that I thought about lately was having fun while learning. While of course not every single class can be entirely without memorization or learning difficult subject matters, I think a fun class ever so often would inspire and motivate a student. This would be very much the case if the student was young.

I took a month long German summer class when I was twelve and it was one of the most fun I've ever had in a classroom. We would sing a song in German with the aid of a songsheet that had the lyrics both in German and English. The teacher would then go over the similarities of the two languages from the translation and then why some concepts were so vastly different.

The best class of the month had to be the last, being it was themed as Christmas in July. We sang Christmas carols in German and the teacher brought in German dishes and desserts. The food really showcased the culture and it didn't seem so alien to me. Of course, my favorite part of the day was when the teacher gave out small toys that he had gotten from Germany. They were very inexpensive, but as a twelve year old it delighted me to have a toy from a different country. I kept it for years afterward and when I saw it sitting on my desk, I would speak the small bit of German that I remembered from the class.

When I was speaking about this subject to my mother, she brought up that in her High School German class, she would give her teacher some money and he would buy her some German comic books to read. She said she read them everyday when she was a teenage. It also help her a lot in the language being she would translate them herself. She loved the comics so much that she still has them to this day.

I think that if a student sees a class as fun, then they would want to learn more and be able to retain the knowledge they learn.     

-Kaylynne      

"Some teachers aren't allowed to teach English"

A friend of mine shared a story with me a few days ago.  She was having a conversation with an acquaintance of hers named "Mary."  Mary states, matter-of-factly, that "Some teachers, especially those who are not native English speakers, shouldn't be allowed to teach English."  Wow! This statement got my blood boiling.  Additionally, Mary commented on how "Many of the teachers on Guam have thick accents, so how do they expect to teach the proper pronunciation of words."  How ignorant can this person be to say who is qualified to teach English.  I have many friends who are non-native English speakers who speak the language better than I do...and I'm a native English speaker.  I guess "Mary" is talking through a prescriptive point of view and is entitled to her own opinion.  She may be one of those people that feel "The English language is better than the rest."  However, as a linguistic student studying to be an ESL teacher, I see language through a descriptive view and there is no such thing as a "better" language. 

Different perspectives in learning

As we saw these two names in our chapter readings, and if you want to know their philosophy briefly ...

No Exceptions Signs

This sign raises a lot of questions with me. I am not sure what the motivation was to put up a sign like this is Crestwood, but obviously the mayor is very adamant about knowing the English language. I wonder if this mayor ever took a class on multicultural diversity or ethnic studies. If he did, then he should realize his statement is harsh and insensitive.

Teaching the ESL learner

This clip shows a resources that may be of assistance for ESL teachers. The last half of the clip focuses on a demonstration of learning concepts. The teacher uses gestures to allow the learners to connects a new concept with something they already know. In teaching the word "shutters", the instructor uses the students' knowledge of window and uses a comparison to their bodies to assist in comprehending the new words. The teacher was effective because the student was able to define the term. This strategy can be used for all learners, but would especially help the ESL learners.

Recast and use in the classroom

When I read about the concept of recasting in the classroom, I had to reread it over again. I thought it was such a unique type of correction.

It related to my own personal experience in that I made a mistake in my Japanese class at college and the professor stopped the whole lesson to explain how and why I got the concept wrong. At that moment, I wished the world would have swallowed me whole. When the professor asked me to say something else, I froze and couldn't even speak. I had thought, what if I made another mistake and I was made a fool of again? I mumble the answer quickly and tried to keep from the professor's eye for the rest of the class.

I would never want any student in my class to have to experience something like that. Below is a youtube clip I found that displays an example of recast.

-Kaylynne