Week 16

I have previously read part of Pedagogy of the Oppressed in another class, so I was familiar mostly with chapter two and Freire's banking concept in education. I have to say that I understand where Freire is coming from; oftentimes many students and teachers in this age of standardize testing feel as if banking is the only way to get meaning across. But I agree with Freire that this concept does not allow for free thought and and exchange of ideas among our diverse student (and teacher) population. I think a little lecture is fine, every now and then, but student centered learning and discussion based classes really do allow for a much more productive learning environment and exchange of ideas. I feel that there is much to be done in education for all of our diverse students, and I hope in this age of testing, we are able to move away from the banking concept.

Week 15

I had it written down that I was supposed to blog for Thursday, but I realize we only had readings for Tuesday, so I am writing a belated blog for the week.
Since we've already talked about the Anthology and Kuma. articles in class, I suppose I will talk a bit about what I thought of the Kuma. chapter.  I think Kuma. has some interesting things to say, as far as M&M model goes. In school, I had never experienced one of my teachers being observed or observing another teacher, so in reading how to do this, I think it is a really interesting idea. One reason is it shows students that the faculty are supportive of each other which is important in creating a school community.  I also think that, as a teacher, this a great opportunity to get feedback from your co-workers and to correct things that aren't working within your class that you may never have noticed before. I think that I would, as a future educator, enjoy feedback like this, and hope that I will be able to experience this.

NCTE conference

I was able to attend the NCTE conference in Chicago on Nov. 19.  It was really a very interesting place! I was able to attend a few really great sessions, but unfortunately I was unable to see any that directly pertained to TESOL.  The first one I attended was on how to get LGBT authors into your classroom for free to talk to your students. It's a great resource, and I heard a lot of ideas from current teachers on how to best use this resource in the classroom. I'm really glad I went to that session because it gave me some ideas for my own class. The second session I attended was on blogging (I was inspired to go to it from my experiences from this class) but was rather disappointed. I am happy to say I have learned more about blogging in this class than what the presenters were discussing in their panel, and I really did not think it was a worthwhile session. The last session I went to was about the use of film as text in the classroom. As a preservice English teacher (with some experience in TESOL) I hope to be able to use different means of textual representation in the classroom and the session really helped me to better understand ways to incorporate film as literature in the classroom. All in all, NCTE was a great experience, and I was very glad I was able to attend.

Week 13: Assessment

Tuesday's reading cover section 14 of the Anthology book.  Each of the articles weighed in on different thoughts, ideas, and/or approaches to alternative assessment in the second language classroom.  I would have to agree with using alternative assessment in a ESL setting as well as any other classroom setting. As far as the articles go, I really like what the Huerta-Macias had to say about the usage of alternative testing.  She writes in her article how "alternative assessment..consisting of valid and reliable procedures that avoid many of the problems inherent in traditional testing, including norming, linguistic, and cultural bias...[alternative assessment] as the power to tell a story" (342).  I think this is very important to keep in mind because of how assessment can affect our students.  Alternative assessment is no less valuable than any other means of assessing students, and, in fact, it can engage more students by allowing them to express themselves more fully than a traditional test.  Alternative assessments--like journal writing, for example--can allow students to express themselves while teachers can keep up with students' progress and give them great feedback.  Overall, I really approve of alternative assessment because of what it can do for both students and teachers.

Week 11: Integrating Skills

Tuesday's readings both came from the Kuma book from chapters 9 and 10.  Chapter 9 focuses on how to provide the context for language learning for L2 learners, while chapter 10 looks for ways to integrate L2 language skills for the learners.  I think that both topics are very important, as they help to provide a language learner with a better way of understanding the language, but I think that you would need to really know your students well to be able to meet their basic speaking needs in order for these theories to work.

Week 10: Vocabulary

Thursday's articles focused on vocabulary. Vocabulary, of course, is important for students in any language classroom because it helps to build upon all other aspects of the language.  The two articles in the Anthology book as well as the Folse article provide interesting ideas for teaching vocabulary.  I  particularly like how both of the articles in the Anthology book discuss the importance of students being able to develop strategies for learning the vocabulary on their own.  I think that looking for words in context can be very beneficial for students because it allows for a greater understanding of the word.  I know from my own personal experience in learning a second language, seeing the word used in context in a sentence allowed me to be able to remember it much more than memorizing its definition from the list.  I really liked how in Hunt and Beglar's article they address what students should do in the classroom, as well as what they should do for independent practice.  I think dictionaries can be very beneficial, but at some point a student can't solely rely on one, so I like what they had to say about how to use dictionaries.  They note that while "bilingual dictionaries have been found to result in vocabulary learning" (263).  The important thing is for students to be able to understand how and when to use a dictionary and to help track their proficiency levels.

Week 9: Learning Strategies and Learner Autonomy

Today's readings dealt with how L2 students utilize learning strategies in acquiring an L2.  The Anthology articles, by Rebecca L. Oxford and David Nunan (respectively), and the article by Stephen Cary each provide different insights into this topic.
Oxford's article went over various aspects of how different learners use their strategies in L2 acquisition as well as talk a little bit about cultural aspects and how effective or ineffective the strategy can be.  Nunan uses a real life example of how students in Hong Kong are presented with different learning strategies, especially with the use of guided journals to help with their English acquisition.  Cary's article went a similar route, talking about how teachers use different strategies (the article talks about reading strategies like graphic organizers to help students) that provide students with a better understanding of the material. 
I have to say, that unfortunately in much of my learning of a second language, I was expected to use more rote memorization techniques rather than more natural methods.  I wish I had been able to use some of these other learning strategies that were talked about in the articles, I think that would have helped me become more proficient in Spanish.  In Oxford's article, I believe she mentioned something about cultural aspects and learning strategies needed to be further researched, I agree.  I think that there are many possibilities of understanding L2 acquisition more if there is more research done on the more subtle aspects like culture.  The Nunan and Cary articles were good in showing the application of different types of learning strategies that teachers can present their students with and in showing how effective each can be.

Week 8: Listening

This Thursday's readings dealt with the topic of the importance of listening in L2 learning.  Several writers in Section 10 of the Anthology present their views on how listening should be incorporated into L2 instruction.  

The three articles (by David Nunan, John Field, and Wendy Y.K. Lam, respectively) demonstrate different facets of listening learning in L2 instruction.  Nunan's views focus on more of a need for using listening as a means to build proficiency after other more schematic strategies have been implemented, listening should be done for specific purposes, and must be individualized according to each specific learner.  Field's article poses a design for using listening with three distinct sections--pre-listening, listening, and post-listening. Pre-listening consists of vocabulary, grammar, cultural topics, etc.  Listening consists of intensive/extensive distinction, questions about what is being listened to, tasks to do while listening, etc.  Post-listening is comprised of meaning making for words that are being taught.  He also focuses on some of the problems that need to be remedied with listening--such as teaching it rather than testing it.  Finally, Lam's article draws attention to the importance of using other materials (spoken and written) in teaching listening.

In thinking of the articles, I like most of Nunan's ideas, but I think that perhaps it may be a bit difficult if dealing with a large number of students to personalize listening instruction.   Field has some valuable points to consider in his essay, and I like how he describes how to go about teaching listening skills.  I agree with him that oftentimes students are tested rather than taught how to listen to their target language.  Lam's article I thought, sort of had similar ideas to that of Nunan and Field, but made them more concise and better to understand.

Final Project Idea

I think I would like to write a research paper for my final project about content based instruction and perhaps include aspects of the focus on form aspect of the SIOP model.

Week 7: Teaching of Reading and Writing

On teaching a second language, it is important for students to be able to read and write in their TL in order to obtain better proficiency in the language.  Without these necessary skills, it would be very difficult for L2 speakers to function in the TL's society without proper means of understanding and producing written means of communication.
The texts for this week focus on the various aspects of reading and writing for ELL students.  The articles talk about various strategies to help L2 learners in reading and writing proficiency. Both the Kuma. article on heuristics and the anthology readings (particularly chapter 28) focused on "the process of self-discovery on the part of the learner" and how important it is to being able to read and write competently in the TL.  As Kuma. states "activating the intuitive heuristics that every learner naturally possesses is a worthy goal to pursue, and...there are several options available to those L2 teachers who wish to pursue that worthy goal" (203).  Meaning that there are several factors that influence how students learn.
I particularly enjoyed these readings.  They helped me better understand why my reading comprehension wasn't always the greatest when I was learning another language.  I think what Kuma. has to say about heuristics is very important for us as future educators to understand because it helps in understanding how to better help our students.   

ELT Curriculum

The first article for today--chapter 3 of the Anthology--was about lesson planning. This chapter, to me, was very straight forward, since I spent all of last semester in a lesson planning class.  I really found the chapter 7 article on ELT curriculum to be very interesting.  Denise Finney describes how in today's research on some of the planning that is being done in language learning classrooms.  She proposes ideas of the major types of curriculum which include content (what is to be learned by/transmitted to the learner), objectives, and process (enable individuals to progress toward self-fulfillment).  But, as Finney points out that most classrooms tend to "be a blend of all three" (77).  I agree with Finney in a blending of all three of these approaches.  I can't image only going with one in a classroom setting, that would not seem beneficial for students.  Finney also states "there is a need for flexibility and openness to change and influences from the broader perspective of general education theory" (77).  I agree.  Students do not adhere to a cookie-cutter model, so why should we expect them to in our approaches?

Content Based Instruction

The article in Anthology, "Project Work: A Means to Promote Language and Content," was one I felt  to be very interesting.  It talks about Content Based Instruction (CBI) where the activities in the classroom are based on what it being taught.  I think this seems quite like common sense--activities should relate to what one is trying to teach in the classroom.  The article goes on to list how it helps to motivated students in their work.  CBI also brings about the idea of Project Work--which is just as it sounds, sometimes with group work, though.  I rather like the idea of CBI and Project work because there seems to be endless possibilities when it comes to classroom activities and projects that will help students to get excited and interested in the material being covered.

Week 5: Task Based Instruction. Tue. 9/20

Today's readings were comprised of two articles that highlight the basic ideas for task based learning, as Peter Skehan explains in his article on the subject that "naturalistic use (of a language) has to come first and is necessary to drive forward interlanguage" (1).  Task-based learning has students accomplish proficiency through exposure to real-life scenarios with the target language.  The article also brought up the idea of Focus-on-Form where "learners may be participating in interactions with meaning as primary, there is some concern on form" (2).    I think that task-based instruction is good because it gets students to deal with more real, practical context for language, but I think it would probably work best with some sort of combination with communicative language teaching in order to better reach proficiency.  I think using the two together would bring a more holistic view of learning for the students and help them to understand concepts more efficiently.

Hu's Article

In going with this week's theme of communicative language teaching (CLT), Guangwei Hu, in his article "Potential Cultural Resistance to Pedagogical Imports: The Case of Communicative Language Teaching in China, shows how CLT is used in China to teach English.  While it would seem like CLT would be a good choice for Chinese learners of English, Hu points out that CLT conflicts with traditional views on education in Chinese culture.  Hu states that since Chinese education is primarily based on Confucian thinking that education is seen as"a goal in itself [that] has been internalised throughout Chinese society, even by those who themselves have not received any schooling" (Hu 97) and that CLT conflicts with this way of thinking because it does not strive for necessarily the fully mastery of the language.  I find this very interesting, as it seems that CLT can be very helpful in learning another language, especially in the ever-expanding world of global business, but I can also understand why the Chinese would not want to over-turn hundreds of years worth of practice and philosophy of education because of something that would make learning easier.  It's interesting, to me, since we as Americans tend to forget how young we are in our thinking and want the quick and easy way to solve a problem or learn a concept, while so many other cultures have been cultivating ideas for centuries.

Response to Kuma. Chapt. 3

I thought Kuma's chapter on Maximizing Learning Opportunities raised some interesting points to consider.  I particularly like what he has to say about the limitations that teachers must realize they have in their classroom.  He outlines the limitations of agendas (lesson plans), materials, and syllabus specifications.  He says that "teachers know that they cannot become prisoners of their own agenda" (45), I find this to be very true.  How can one expect to teach and learn if one cannot be flexible with one's students?  He goes on to state "what is taught is different from what is available to learn" (45-46) and teachers have to be willing to be flexible for their students, the same with materials and the syllabus for the class.  We, as future educators, must adapt to our students' needs in order to better facilitate learning, and in turn become better teachers.

Response to Pennycook

Pennycook's article provided interesting views and ideas on critical approaches to TESOL, which include critical domain, transformative pedagogy, and self-reflective stance on critical theory.  Each is important in understanding how to approach the issue of teaching English to speakers of other languages when in the classroom.  I mostly enjoyed what he had to say about the different power relationships that one encounters in TESOL.  One quote particularly caught my attention was when he states that some researchers feel there is a "need to address the inequalities in the relationship between the constructs of the native speaker and the nonnative speaker" (333).  I found this interesting because got me to think about this relationship that we hear about often of the native speaker (NS) and the nonnative speaker (NNS).  There do seem to be quite a bit of inequalities--in placement and such--but to what extent can we help our students?  Is there even a right way?

Response to Kuma. Chapt. 1

In chapter one of Kumaravadivelu's book Beyond Methods, he asks readers to understand the most common types of teaching methods used and to look critically at each.  In the introduction to the chapter he writes that teaching "is basically a subjective activity carried out in an organized way" (5) meaning that no matter what the method, the implementation of the teaching/method is only as good as the teacher.  Kuma states that there are three main types of teaching practices, teachers as passive technicians (using behavioral psychology as a basis for method), teachers as reflective practioners (using reflection as a basis for method), and teachers as transformative  intellectuals ("believing that pedagogy...is embedded in relations of power and dominance, and is employed to create and sustain social inequalities" 13).  Kuma, after detailing each thought, adds that--in most teaching situations--each of these is interchangeable and can work with the other in order to get a somewhat decent method.  I can understand using these three approaches to teaching, but I also can see the danger in not looking out for other methods or trying out other ways in order to get students to learn.

Celce-Murcia Article

The Marianne Celce-Murcia article "Language Teaching Approaches" discussed the various methods of TESOL learning throughout history.  I thought it was interesting how very little work had been done prior to the 20th century and how much work has been done during the 20th century based on the amount of information and research done in the field.  I thought that her perspective that there have been so many changes in recent decades has been because teachers were not aware of the other methods.  I have to wonder what language learning teachers must have thought with all of this change, and what teachers in the pre-20th century must have felt about the way they taught?  It is an interesting concept to think of because the little amount of study that seemed to have taken place in the area of TESOL.

Tuesday, August 30

I found this week's readings to both be equally interesting in terms of contrasting the two of them together.  Both pieces focused on the use of theory in the language learning classroom, but each had vastly different views.  I thought that the key issue at both of these articles was the views on the appropriateness of theory in language learning.  The first article opposed use of theory, while the second had a more favorable view on theory use in the classroom of language learners.  This lead me to wonder how much should teachers rely on theory and how much should they rely on their students own abilities? This seems to be something worth addressing in order to become a more effective ELL educator.

Blog One: Thoughts on Diaz-Rico and Weed

I found Diaz-Rico and Weed's thoughts on the different cultures that have influence in the United States to be very interesting.  I always think it is important that as teachers we should be aware of cultural traditions that differ from our own so that we ourselves will be better able to understand our wide-range of students.  I also thought this article had some very enlightening information about the wide diversity of students and their living conditions in this country, as well as some views on how to help struggling students.
One of the key issues that the article addressed was the importance that immigration has played in the cultural growth of the United States, showing how traditions and culture expanded as more people from various cultures immigrated to the US. The article also addresses some of the major cultural influences that are evident in the US, which include Native Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Arab Americans.  The article also touched on how these minority groups are often in the most need of attention as they are a growing population facing poverty and language barriers (56% speak a language other than English) as the population in US begins to change to reflect the non-European immigrants that are growing in numbers in this country.  Finally, the article addressed some of the issues that lead people to immigrate to a country which include economic problems, political problems, religious problems, and family unification.
I had a couple of questions come to mind as I was reading the article.  What can we as future ESL teachers do to incorporate various cultures/traditions into our lessons? and How do we react and adapt to students coming from a poverty background?
I think this article provided useful information that could be applied to thinking about how poverty effects immigrant or minority students in their ability to learn in English which may or may not be their first language.  This may be something to think about exploring further as the semester goes on.