4.3b: Think of a specific language course which I taught. Which aspects of the chart in Figure 4.4. did the course focus on? Which aspect(s) were the organizing principles for the course? Conceptualizing Content According to Language, Learner & Social Context I’ll focus on my conversation class in Mexico because it was the one for…
1. THOU: I believe that a sense of cohesion among students and teacher — the forging of bonds between individuals to create community — is essential for optimal learning. Consider the classic scenario in grade school classrooms: children uniting against the teacher: whispering, giggling, throwing spitballs and mimicking the instructor behind his or her back…
Interlanguage According to Ginna: What is interlanguage Interlanguage is what is spoken by a language learner who is in the process of acquiring a language additional to his/her first tongue. It implies that the learner has begun to develop some grasp of the language, but with errors. It represents, ideally, a phase that the learner…
I was teaching in a city of about 400,000, situated about 1.5 hours northeast of Mexico City. Once a hub of silver mining, Pachuca continues its creep up the mountainside from its historic center. The population seems to be mostly working and middle class, with my students apparently from the latter. I saw almost no…
Ur, Penny. “Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for Teachers.” Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Approach to Grammar Introduction of target structure: deductive approach. Being an activity-based book, all the exercises involve student use of a target form stemming from auditory and/or visual stimuli. I found no exercises involving reasons or rules (prescriptive or…
Reflection Paper on Visuals: Relationship between Language Classroom & Culture Overview From the visuals that classmates presented, I saw a range of themes which I’ll identify here as headlines. In the classroom, culture can be: An impediment to communication A way to enhance communication A means for students to learn about themselves and each other…
Assignment: “What was the bump about? When and how did it occur? Describe it as clearly as you can. Describe your behaviors and feelings. What cultural values do they represent? How will this learning impact you in the future? What were the other person’s behaviors and feelings? What were the behaviors that you expected from…
Problematizing My Independent Study Project as if I didn’t have enough problems already and call me “prescriptive” if you will, but that’s not a real verb anyhow In addition to the more universal considerations of building a teaching unit — what will the content be, where is the language therein, how do I maintain students’…
I was teaching in a city of about 400,000, situated about 1.5 hours northeast of Mexico City. Once a hub of silver mining, Pachuca continues its creep up the mountainside from its historic center. The population seems to be mostly working and middle class, with my students apparently from the latter. I saw almost no…
Ur, Penny. “Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for Teachers.” Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009. What kind of text is it? Modular units and activities organized by grammar category. Part of a series of activity- and theme-based handbooks for language teachers. CD with PDFs of exercise handouts. Exercises for elementary to advanced students, children…
Students 10–20 US community college or continuing education EL students (male and female) from various language backgrounds (ages 20 and up) Educational experience: Literate in L1 and English (high intermediate to advanced), with some competence in study and composition skills Purpose: To advance communicative and written English skills for educational, professional or enrichment purposes Will…
I am struggling to think of a concrete example that I can dissect, but I can’t. So I’ll invent a hypothetic class from SIT, and there have been some like this. I never watched the clock because I was so engaged. I was having fun or was otherwise mentally occupied, but never on only one…
Major constraints in developing your course & challenges to address for success Will people sign up for the course because they have the interest to sustain them through the work, or will it be because it seems an easy fit for a requirement? The class is predicated on student interest in the topic; how will…
English for teens at a language institute in their country (EFL setting). There are 12 students, 5 boys, 7 girls, 13-14 years old. Class meets in the afternoon for two hours, two days a week, for three months. Why are they taking the classes: their own interest, or requirements of someone else? How much English…
Designing a Language Course is a Work in Progress The classroom is like an ocean: always in flux. Even if the students are the same, their levels of energy or interest or attention or enthusiasm in a given moment continually shifts. What the teacher says, how students feel about each other, the events of their…
Internship Cover Letter This doesn’t seem to fit elsewhere in the internship materials so I’ll put it here. It is my opinion that SIT should not work any longer with Magdalena Chavez as the organizer, nor do I think the school should have accepted her irresponsibility this time. I believe that SIT, despite its long-term…
Lesson Plan T/T Kids: March 4, 2010 Supplies: Lesson plan, book, poster Setup: Arrange seating. Hang poster and contract. Write agenda. Write: What did you do yesterday? Yesterday I ___________ __________. Time Activity Teacher Students 5:00 HW Return & collect Sharon: What yr animal eat/live? 5:05 What did you do yesterday? Model. Talk about yesterday…
Lesson Plan T/T Kids: March 2 Supplies: Lesson plan, book, poster, blank poster, Sarah, Triceratops pix & lyrics and CD. Setup: Arrange seating. Hang poster and contract. Make good-behavior grid. On WB draw rods & colors & sample cloze sentences. Write (and cover with poster) questions: What color(s) are you? Are you alive? What covers…
Lesson Plan T/T Adults: March 2, 2010 (I have once again lost a lesson plan: the final one for March 4, which was a pretty good and lively class.) Supplies: Lesson plan, book, CD, computer, church picture, basta stuff, philosophy game Setup: Write agenda. Write i and ee. 2-column grid: name & Mexican music (Jaime,…
Reina — The Queen When I was introduced to Magdalena’s housekeeper, I was friendly, warm and low-key. I knew I was about to be spending a long time with her since she lives with Magdalena except on weekends, and wanted to get off to a good start. I tried to talk with her as best…
Today’s project was like one in 4 skills: write and then tell a story — this time a short one about a person, place or experience from the internship — while the other listens and writes it as just notes rather than whole sentences. She did that in a two step process: first showing us…
Rather than point to the book, write on WB What did you do: good question, because it’s a shared point of reference Make sure that “transactional” language is as clear as the rest: avoid colloquialisms, shortened forms (“gonna”), phrasal verbs (“figure out”): set the stage with more clarity, modeling, and scaffolding. Go slowly here especially.…
Final Summative Memo: Stories — Observations on How Not To Teach What happened that impacted you and your teaching? What happened that has helped you become a more aware, humane, attentive, happier, critical teacher? For my final summative memo I’d like to explore my negative observations about teaching and turn them on their heads to…
AYMAT INDEPENDENT STUDY SUBMITTED BY: Ginna Allison DATE: March 9, 2010 TITLE: Documentary Stories through Media in the ESL Classroom CREDITS: One PURPOSE OF INDEPENDENT STUDY To explore how technology and personal documentary storytelling — through writing, photography, audio and/or video — can be effectively adapted as a tool for language learning in the intermediate…
Lesson Plan Saturday Conversation, February 27, 2010 SONIA, DIANA, SAMANTA, ALEJANDRO, ADRIANA, YAEL, GABY, JUAN MANUEL Supplies: Computer, flash drive, LP, Mad Libs, timer, pen & paper, address form, classical music selections, presents for everyone Agenda: No written agenda this time since we’re focusing on one task: your presentations. As always, we’ll explore pronunciation, American…
Some quick observations about tonight’s classes: I feel that the kids have returned, if only temporarily, to reasonable order. After the nightmarish class I created a full-color handout with four rules in English and Spanish, got them to read and check each one, and to paste a copy in their notebook. I keep the other…
Lesson Plan T/T Adults: February 25 NAHUM, ALEXIS, ROBERTO, ARMANDO, JAIME, DANIEL, ILLALY Supplies: Prerecorded audio tape, LP, various objects for discussion, tape, camera, pens & eraser Write on board: Date; TAKE the train, the subway, the bus; RIDE a motorcycle, bike; walk; drive. Wh- words (including why… because); opinion words. Agenda: Explain why we’re…
Lesson Plan T/T Kids: February 25 Supplies: Lesson plan, book, extinct animal picture, homework assignment, returned homework, pens & paper Setup: Arrange seating. Hang poster and contract. Make good-behavior grid. Explain theme (continue to work on animals past & present, and on how we ask questions in English) and look at agenda: Rules and business…
My supervisor said I needed to intervene in correction both earlier and more often, especially with high-frequency or often repeated errors. It’s true. Yet I need to figure out how to do that without it seeming like interrupting all the time, because I believe that raises the affective filter. What I’ve been doing is to…
Some proverbs related to teaching that I came across at Wikiquote: The more you know, the more you know you don’t know. The teacher has not taught until the student has learned. Repetitio Mater Memoriae (Repetition is the mother of memory)
Situation here dismal. I’m going nuts. Have tried to keep my spirits up but being watched and criticized constantly has cracked me. I can’t wait to leave. Every time I walk by a window in this house I want to break it. Every time I pass one of my two cohabitants, I want to trip…
Lesson Plan T/T Adults: February 16 NAHUM, ALEXIS, ROBERTO, ARMANDO, JAIME, DANIEL, ILLALY Supplies: Prerecorded audio tape, Faces, CDs (I am a rock, getting to know you) and their lyrics. Agenda: Explain why we’re doing each activity! Getting To Know You In My Opinion (book) Faces Tongue Twister I Am a Rock Eeek! Ick! Homework…
Lesson Plan T/T Kids: February 23 Supplies: Lesson plan, book, poster, homework assignment, cootie catcher, reveal the picture photo, hunting photo My objective: Wh-questions in past and present Institutional objective: Finish activities and content through 9 Setup: Arrange seating. Hang poster and contract. Make good-behavior grid. Write on board: Agenda: Contract Cootie Catcher Jog Jog…
I’m almost paralyzed. Every time I try to get up again after a knock-down teaching challenge, I get socked over again. Mister Popup, or whatever you call those toys that people hit as hard as they can in the face, only to slug him repeatedly when he rocks back upright. Magdalena is impossible. And in…
I must’ve deleted digital copies and tossed out hard copy of the LP before this one. Crap. Lesson Plan T/T Adults: February 25 SONIA, DIANA, SAMANTA, ALEJANDRO, ADRIANA, YAEL, GABY, JUAN MANUEL Supplies: Chat A & B, Death Valley Queen video, Mad Libs, La Llorona transcript, computer, Breugel drawing and small cards, graphic organizer. Agenda:…
Lesson Plan T/T Adults: February 16 Supplies: Audio tape, Getting to Know You song & lyrics, faces, headlines, Once I Traveled Agenda: Explain why we’re doing each activity! Getting to Know You Strangers Meet Expanding Headlines Once I Traveled… Homework: Faces Time Activity Teacher [I] Students [Thou] Objective(s) [It] 7:00 Welcome Invite questions on pretest…
Lesson Plan T/T Kids: February 18 Supplies: Lesson plan: Poster board. Toy animals. Handout for Raquel. Audio tape cued to 6. Map of the world? Organizational goal: Finish activities 4 through 7 Set up: Arrange seating. Hang poster in back or side of room. Write on board: Endangered & Extinct Animals; tally for positive and…
Whenever I talk to Magdalena about a school-related matter, she tells me things I think she should have told me sooner. Her theory, I imagine, is “let her find it out for herself.” I’d prefer more… scaffolding. If she knows that a particular child has a particular problem with a particular thing, withholding it doesn’t…
From TeacherVision. [dealing with disabilities, but applicable]: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/classroom-discipline/resource/2943.html How to Manage Disruptive Behavior in Inclusive Classrooms Question 1. Could this misbehavior be a result of inappropriate curriculum or teaching strategies? [Inappropriate curriculum: yes. It’s too abstract, doesn’t tie to their lives, and is beyond their interest. I tried to tie it to their lives in…
The two classes last week with the jovenes had been abominable. Both times, they endured that grueling testing I wrote about, and then gathered in my class for instruction about an entirely new unit. From the first class to the second, they got progressively more out of control. My mind was spinning. I completely understood…
Lesson Plan T/T Kids: February 16 Supplies: Lesson plan: dino pix, dinos, audio tape, markers, eraser, sticky stuff, Workbook objectives: simple past; -er comparisons; stress, rhythm and intonation. Simple SVO syntax for present tense Q&A On board: • Animals Past & Present: as we go along, branch to extinct, endangered, safe • Hang low: five…
I observed Kim’s class today. Aside from her level of energy being dauntingly high and her voice loud without variation, she was incredibly inspiring to watch. I love seeing the products of a good brain. So many clever ideas. She had a clever thing for Valentine’s Day. She’d made a copy for everyone of a…
I’ve now finished the third of my observations with Elka. She raised some interesting points, and some that were moot under my circumstances. I’ve outlined key takeaways in the memos posted here. More about how I’ve applied them: 1. She said I needed to intervene in correction both earlier and more often, especially with high-frequency…
Lesson Plan T/T Adults: February 9 NAHUM, ALEXIS, ROBERTO, ARMANDO, JAIME, DANIEL, ILLALY Supplies: Audio tape, markers, eraser, sticky stuff, Norwegian Wood song & lyrics, index cards with nouns and prepositions, photograph, homework with feedback, ice homework, Illaly’s homework, computer, lyrics to Wind Time Activity Teacher [I] Students [Thou] Objective(s) [It] 7:00 Greetings. Explain class…
Lesson Plan T/T Kids: February 11 Supplies: Dino pix, audio tape, markers, eraser, sticky stuff, LP, rods Workbook objectives: simple past; -er comparisons; stress, rhythm and intonation Add’l: Get them to know present and past of “to be” Time Activity Teacher [I] Students [Thou] Objective(s) [It] 5:00 Testing Helps administer test Listen & write Evaluation…
What a dispiriting sight it was to see my little students in the language lab taking their unit pre-test: little automatons sitting in glassed cubicles looking daunted and confused. I was genuinely shocked. Even my language labs before the dawn of time were more humane. So first the teacher flicks switches on a control board…
Memo in Response to Second Observation and Feedback After the first observation I adapted my lesson plans to incorporate ideas from our discussion: allowing for a physical and mental break every twenty minutes or so; always looking for opportunities to maximize and delve deeper into the language of an exercise; trying to be random in…
Here is Luz reading her homework about the importance of gymnastics. [audio:luz.mp3] And here is Lupita on swimming. [audio:lupita.mp3] And here is the teenage class trying to learn American pronunciation. [audio:teens.mp3]
Final Four Skills Paper: Key Learning from the Course Because of how gracefully the MAT courses interlock with one another, it is difficult to write a paper that isolates my learning specifically about my Four Skills class. My brain is an eddy — rather, a maelstrom — of new information: ideas about teaching writing (from…
Breaks One of the big challenges with a group of kids, no matter how small, is maintaining their attention. Two hours is a long class for adults and it must seem interminable for kids. Knowing that, I have tried to build in some physical, artistic and other exercises to break the monotony of the workbook…
