Course:LLED478B/S2012

From UBC Wiki

Hello and welcome to LLED 478B! Please note that this wiki will always contain the most up-to-date info, resources, dates, etc. If anything on here contradicts the paper syllabus, the wiki is probably right.

Day 1: Monday, July 23 - Introduction

Intro to the course, talking about what we'll be doing, assignments, etc.

We negotiated the syllabus and made some fairly major changes to the assignments: please see the new syllabus under "Recap & Resources" below.

Recap & Resources

UPDATED SYLLABUS!

Link to the course on the UBC Course Catalog

Description on LLED website

Joel's applied linguistics blog (read at your own risk)

Day 2: Tuesday, July 24: Assessment Intro

Intro to Assessment / Principles of Assessment

Please read the following before class:

  • Brown & Abeywickrama: Ch. 1 (pp. 3-11; skim the rest); Ch. 2


Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings

  • none


Recap & Resources

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Joel: The Compleat Lexical Tutor

The Compleat Lexical Tutor, or Lextutor.ca, is a website by Tom Cobb of the University of Quebec, which focuses on research, teaching, and learning of vocabulary and grammar, mostly in English and French. The site offers a number of useful internet-based and data-driven tools for teachers and learners, and draws heavily on corpus linguistics, a method of describing languages which relies on large databases of texts (written or transcribed) from "real-world" language usage (two prominent corpora on Lextutor are the British National Corpus and the Academic Word List). To make full use of the site's possibilities, a teacher would need to have some basic familiarity with the methods and jargon of corpus linguistics, but for even the corpus novice (like me), the site allows the creation of review items, quizzes, and word lists for classroom use or individual study.

In particular, the Cloze function can be used to create a variety of cloze tests with either rational deletion or Nth-word deletion; there are also sections designed to help students learn difficult-to-spell academic words, build vocab lists to study, and a variety of other tools.

Overall, the site is rich with possible resources, but it requires users to be comfortable with quantified, data-driven methods, and the interface is not particularly user-friendly. I have a feeling that people with computer science or database backgrounds will be more comfortable with this site than others, but the rest of us can use the simpler tools to help us create some useful learning resources.

Some other recommended links for Lextutor and Corpus Linguistics:

Day 3: Wednesday, July 25: Test Design

Please read the following before class:

  • Brown & Abeywickrama: Ch. 3; skim Ch. 5

Powerpoint

Additional Recommended Readings


Recap & Resources

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Mehri: Small Lab Learning

Smallab learning is an innovative method of teaching and learning which incorporates body movements and technology. Another name for this innovation is “Embodied learning”. The developers of Smallab learning believe that there is a strong relation between body and mind and they support the findings of Cognitive scientists in that “nearly all of our experiences are in some way grounded in the body.” Therefore, they believe that the embodied experiences can lead to more effective learning. Smallab enables learning with technology in the classroom. It is highly engaging and interesting to students due to the fact that it is kinesthetic, collaborative, and multimodal. Students have the opportunity to explore and learn the complicated science concepts in an engaging and interesting way. Smallab was created by the faculty and graduate students at Arizona State University's School of Arts, Media and Engineering. It is a product of the collaborative vision of these designers, educators, researchers, artists, engineers, computer scientists, psychologists, musicians, and dancers. It is mainly used for teaching K-12 Science and Arts in some schools in the United States and recently in Singapore Using this technology can be helpful for teaching science content vocabularies. Students will learn to learn an use the words in a practical way. Also, I think designers of this technology can create and designs some activities related to sentence structure and grammar to make language learning more appealing to students.

Ting Ting: TOEIC

Download the PPT here.

TOEIC stands for Test of English for International Communication. It is one of the main tests organized by ETS (Educational Testing Service). Unlike other standardized tests (e.g., IELTS, TOEFL) designed to assess the examinees’ command of academic English, TOEIC focuses primarily on English used in the business world. Therefore, the vocabulary and sentence structure appeared in TOEIC is relatively easy and more real-life. The conversations involved in IELTS and TOFEL are often situated at universities whereas those included in TOEIC are usually at the workplace. In addition, the set of language skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking) normally covered in a standardized exam is organized in two separate tests in TOEIC. The approach can be interpreted, as far as I’m concerned, as an indicator of flexibility and practicality. For instance, the English language skills a Japanese engineer needs at his/her work may simply be the capacity to read English documents. In that case, the company has the option to register him only for the Listening and Reading Test but not the Speaking and Writing Test. It would save the company more money and the individual more time. Overall, TOEIC is a good test to prove their English communication skills and to give them a certain level of competitive advantage during job-hunting.


Melanie: Michael Swan

Michael Swan is a poet and a linguist who is interested in descriptive and theoretical grammar, mother-tongue influence in second language acquisition, and the relationship between applied linguistic theory and language-teaching practice. He is the author of many grammar books and useful articles related to teaching grammar. His guide, “Practical English Usage” is a well-coveted resource in many ELT staffrooms and is a required textbook for CELTA as well. I personally like this book as a teacher resource because it answers many of the minute grammar questions that other grammar books don’t address. It is an invaluable resource for teachers teaching high level grammar or high level English Language learners. However, having said that, it is not a study book by any means, as it is more like a dictionary than a study book. The information is well laid out and easy to find- with headings written in red and explanations in black. Swan also has many video clips of his lectures that are also informative as well as entertaining.

He is also known for his many interesting, accessible and influential articles on the Communicative Approach and on task-based learning, which can be found on his website, www.mikeswan.co.uk. I particularly liked his article, “Seven Bad Reasons for Teaching Grammar- And two Good Reasons for Teaching Some” because I think it’s important for educators to see the flaws in their own work. The fact that Michael Swan writes grammar books and articles about why we should be careful about teaching grammar at the same time is outstanding, in my opinion.

Day 4: Thursday, July 26: Speaking

Please read the following before class:

  • Brown & Abeywickrama: Ch. 8

Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings


Recap & Resources

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Stefanie: National Geographic

The National Geographic School Publishing: Edge Series, is a resource book for teachers to help students who are reading or writing below grade level. There are four levels – Fundamentals (Beginning), Level A (Intermediate), Level B (Advanced), and Level C – each book corresponding to a specific grade level. Though this book series is defined as an ‘intervention’ resource, it has all the positive characteristics of a book that can be beneficial for ESL students. The pages have definitions at the bottom of each section, as well as, synonyms. The content in these books touch upon on a multitude of subject areas other than English including Science and Health Education. The questions and activities draw upon topics that students can relate to which provides authenticity for student learning. Furthermore, language arts and grammar are incorporated and taught within exercises as opposed to being taught separate from content. For example, if students are learning about a human cell, students could be asked to edit a paragraph about a cell. Another exercise could be oral speaking skills where students are asked to orally describe the contents of a cell and its individual functions. This is an important teaching tool because students are learning content and grammar simultaneously, and they are able to see the practicality of the task.

Aside from the textbook series, the webiste http://www.ngsp.com/ provides an immense amount of resources for teachers to use in their classroom. The free downloads offer teachers sample lessons and ideas for different class content such as space, geography, animals, shapes, and measurement. Teachers can also utilize the website http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ for videos, and may find the kids videos especially useful for Level 1/2 ESL students because they are simple, provide visual aid and a listening task. Moreover, if students are really struggling they do have videos that are in Spanish or Mandarin.

Overall, the book series is a useful tool for teachers. If school departments are unable to afford a set of books, simply having one of each level for reference can be helpful in the classroom. The websites are user friendly, well organized, and easy to navigate through. The free downloads are especially appealing for teachers who teach abroad because you can access them anywhere without having to carry around a textbook.


Vik: ESL Adventures

ESL adventures are basically the merging of an ESL class and an outdoors sports camp. If done properly this adds incredible value to the ESL student's learning process. At an ESL camp the student gets the same instruction in terms of lesson plans and ESL content as they would in a classroom setting, however it is done within a larger context of an outdoors camp type of setting. The students get to take part in individual and team building exercises on a daily basis as a catalyst for building the English skills they are learning within their ESL instruction seminars. The ESL student's learning is enhanced through the cultural exchange and communication opportunities via the activities scheduled around the ESL lessons.

Currently there are various company’s in the lower mainland offering summer ESL camps for public, private, and international ESL students. Private company’s provide three to four week camps starting at $3,500, which includes travel, lodging, food, and other accommodations. Public school districts also run ESL camps however they are not as elaborate as private company camps. The Richmond School District offers summer ESL camps starting at $500 for three-week camps, however provide no accommodations aside from minor transportation. As mentioned before it is key that you vet the private company's ESL curriculum to ensure that it is adequate and at least meets the provincial standards. Public company’s, who provide this service such as the Richmond School District, although not as elaborate in their set-up, do use provincially approved ESL curriculum.

Here are some useful links for ESL Camps:

1) Fireside ESL Camps (Private company with a well established reputation for good ESL curriculum & instruction): Fireside ESL Summer Camps

2) Richmond School District ESL Summer Camps (Public company with a provincially approved ESL curriculum): Richmond School District ESL Summer Camps

3) A non-profit independent website that reviews ESL camps across Canada (excellent tool to vet ESL camps): Independent Canadian ESL Camps Review Website

Day 5: Friday, July 27: Listening

Please read the following before class:

  • Brown & Abeywickrama: Ch. 7


Powerpoint

  • Today's powerpoint mysteriously disappeared.


Additional Recommended Readings


Recap & Resources

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Kate: Pearson Longman Academic Writing Series

Download the PPT here.

The Longman Academic Writing Series is an excellent writing resource for ESL students. It focuses on all the learning outcomes for levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 students. The abundant amount of charts; diagrams; essay and paragraph samples; grammar and writing exercises; peer and self-editing checklists; and writing rubrics and evaluations in the textbooks will give your students a great piggy bank of information to help them develop their writing skills. Furthermore, the language in all of these books is very teacher friendly, and the grammatical concepts are simple to understand. Here is a list of some great resources from the textbooks:

1. Punctuation rules: semicolons, colons, commas, apostrophes, quotation marks etc.

2. Kinds of sentences: simple, compound, complex

3. Connecting words: coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS), subordinating conjunctions, relative pronouns

4. Master Chart of Transition Signals

For more information about these resources, you can go to amazon.com. All of the books can be bought used, so they are very cheap! However, one down side is that these books cost money. I understand that this is difficult considering many of us are paying for our education on top of many other things. I won't include the depressing list here, but many schools in Richmond might be able to lend them to you.

Level 1- Fundamentals of Academic Writing by Linda Butler

Level 2- First Steps in Academic Writing by Ann Hogue

Level 3- Introduction to Academic Writing by Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue

Level 4- Writing Academic English by Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue

You may browse each of the textbooks on the amazon website. For more information, visit this website: Writing Academic English Level 4

Jeanie: OneStop English

Onestopenglish.com is published by Macmillan English Campus which is part of the Macmillan Education group. This website is a great resource for both ESL and EFL teachers as there are over 8000 resources that have been created and edited by a team of teachers and authors. A variety of lessons, for all levels, including lesson plans, worksheets, audio, video and flashcards can be downloaded from the website. Unfortunately, to access all of these resources a subscription is required; however there are a few resources that are available for free. In addition to classroom resources, there is teacher support area including articles about teaching methodology, teaching tips and tech tools. For teachers interested in working overseas a section of the website is devoted to the stories of teaching experiences from around the world. www.onestopenglish.com

Peter: Digital Mind Mapping

Digital mind mapping, is the process of creating a visual tool for brainstorming using electronic resources. This is similar to traditional mind mapping, but is much easier to share with students, and can also be saved for later use. A mind map uses words, colours, and positions to show associations between ideas. Digital mind mapping is an excellent way to brainstorm with a class. Using a computer connected to a projector or smart board, the teacher uses one of any mind mapping programs. Some examples are, Mind Node, Xmind, and FreeMind. As the teacher uses the program, the entire class brainstorms around a central idea. While this can be used in almost any class, it has particular benefits for ESL learners. It can help develop vocabulary by showing not only new words, but the ideas those words associate with. It allows for simplified content learning; this can be quite helpful when trying to teach complex concepts to new English speakers. It can also unlock content knowledge ESL students already have, but may be unable to express. Finally, because of it’s multi-modal nature, Digital mind mapping can help encourage reading, listening, and speaking simultaneously.

Resources:

Day 6: Monday, July 30: Reading

Please read the following before class:

  • Brown & Abeywickrama: Ch. 9


Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings


Recap & Resources


Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Dayanqi: IELTS

IELTS (International English Language Testing system) is the world’s most popular English testing system. There are two versions of IELTS: Academic and General Training. The Academic test is generally chosen by people who intend to study at the university-level in an English-speaking country. In contrast, the General training test is mainly for people who want to migrate, work or do secondary education in an English-speaking country. The academic test focuses on examinees’ ability to survive at an English-speaking university; whereas, the general training test focuses on examinees’ basic survival skills in an English speaking country. The two versions of IELTS have the same speaking and listening parts, but differ in the reading and writing sections. There is not a passing grade for IELTS. A student’s goal on IELTS would largely depend on the usage of the test score. Each institution sets its own requirement. Students are allowed to take IELTS multiple times, up to four times a month per person, and the test result for each one will not be related to each other.

Here are some useful links about IELTS that you may want to click-in if you want to research further:

IELTS official website

IELTS VANCOUVER

IELTS prepartion courses - by SFU

Free IELTS practice tests

Julie: TOEFL

Download the PPT here.

TOEFL, or the Test of English Foreign Language is one of the most popular forms of English assessment. It is the very first standardized English test, which measures an individual’s proficiency in the English language. In fact, it is so widely accepted that over 8,500 institutions worldwide accept it as a means to gauge one’s comprehension in academic use of the language. Many higher level institutions require it for admissions. Although there are various forms of the test, the most commonly used test is the IBT version, which is the internet based test. It is assessed out of 120 marks; with each section, listening, speaking, reading and writing, worth a total of 30 marks each. The writing and speaking section contains a combination of integrated and independent tasks, while the reading and listening section is composed of multiple-choice based questions.

The TOEFL test is taken for many purposes. As there are no age limits to examinees, it attracts an array of test takers from various age groups with various objectives. Some of these objectives include studying in higher level institutions, ELL program admissions, scholarship & admissions, visa applications and progress tracking. Although the TOEFL is a comprehensive test that has many strengths, some of its limitations include the time limit within the speaking section, lack of human interaction as well as its lengthiness.

One very useful resource for TOEFL preparation is “Delta’s Key to the Next Generation TOEFL Test” by Nancy Gallagher. This book contains over 800 pages of tests, quizzes, exercises and lessons for the four sections of the TOEFL Test. Each section is organized according to specific strategies that are relevant for each part of the TOEFL test. Although it is a text that pertains particularly to the TOEFL test, there are numerous resources that can be applied to an ESL classroom. Therefore, it is a wonderful resource for an ESL teacher to have.

Other great TOEFL resources include:

Krista: Games

Download the PPT here.

Games are interactive, engaging, and hands-on activities that can complement your regular classroom instruction. Not only are they useful teaching tools, but games can also be used as formative and diagnostic assessment tools in your ESL or content-based classroom. Drawing on the fact that most students perceive games positively, the affective filter is lowered and students may be willing to take more risks with language.

The games that I suggested - Taboo, Password, Apples to Apples, and Scattergories – are all useful for vocabulary development. Specifically, these games assess your students’ abilities to draw upon word associations and multiple meanings and uses of vocabulary. Look over my Powerpoint for specific details about the games, noting how each can address the critiques/challenges of game play: making games relevant to your classroom content, having the right supplies on hand, and using games as assessment tools. To read more about incorporating interactive games in an ESL classroom, read Dianna Townsend’s article "Building Academic Vocabulary in After-School Settings: Games for Growth with Middle School English-Language Learners" (Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Nov 2009) here.

Day 7: Tuesday, July 31: Writing

Please read the following before class:

  • Brown & Abeywickrama: Ch. 10


Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings


Recap & Resources


SAMPLE ASSIGNMENTS - Test Design: SAMPLE 1 / SAMPLE 2 Please note these are just two of many possible variations on this assignment, and that they were done in another class for another instructor. Please feel no need to religiously follow what these people did.

Culture Assignment samples coming soon!

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Elaine: ELL-PSA

ESL PSA is an organization that stands for English as a Second Language Provincial Specialist Association. They will be officially changing their name to ELL PSA to be inclusive of all English learners. The association is under the BCTF and is aimed to support ELL students all over the province. The ELL PSA’s objective is to improve the quality ELL education through advocacy, brochures, newsletters and an annual conference.

The ELL PSA advocates for ELL students in various ways. They have written an article called “Crisis in ESL” which summarizes the core issues and makes some recommendations for action. The ELL PSA creates parent information brochures to help parents and students understand the BC school system. It is useful for immigrant families who are new to the education system here. In addition, they publish a bi-annual newsletter, which is interesting to read to keep updated about ELL education.

I would recommend reading the letter the ELL PSA has written to Education Minister George Abbott. The letter calls for additional support for ELL students at the reception level and to remove the 5 year funding cap on ELL students. As we have learned, students take more than 5 years to learn academic English.

The ELL PSA holds an annual conference that brings educators from all over the province (presenters and guests). The conference includes one keynote speech and two workshops of choice. It is a great conference where you can network, meet other teachers that care about ELL students, choose workshops that relate to you and get a lot of practical resources. As mentioned, the conference is held on October 19, 2012 with Margaret Early as the keynote speaker. Visit the website for more information about the conference!

Additional resources:

  • ELL PSA official website

http://ellpsa.ca/

  • An article about how the lack of teachers, training, and funding is holding ELL learners back.

http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/03/29/ESLTeachersSwamped/

Catherine: BC TEAL

Download the PPT here.

BC TEAL (established in 1967) is The Association of B.C. Teachers of English as an Additional Language. It is a non-profit organization that focuses on professional development of EAL teachers in the province (www.bcteal.org) - specifically post-secondary and adult educators. Presently the association has a membership of approximately 700 individuals.

BC TEAL collaborates with other professional associations in and beyond the province, which includes but not limited to maintaining a strong relationship with TESL Canada. Currently BC TEAL is working with TESL Canada in organizing “one of North America’s most important…conference for language educators” (www.tru.ca/tc2012) being held in Kamloops, B.C. To note, it is mandatory to be a member of BC TEAL to apply for certification through TESL Canada; granted registration with an official provincial/territorial association, such as BC TEAL, offers full membership in TESL Canada.

There are many benefits to membership in a professional association. Becoming a member of any professional association provides opportunities to: hear about inside job prospects, learn about EAL developments through meaningful interactions and newsletters and expand your professional network.

Some useful links:

BC TEAL social media Twitter Facebook

TESL Canada

TESL Canada Conference 2012

Day 8: Wednesday, August 1: Alternative Assessment

Grammar, Vocab, & Alternative Assessment

Guest: Michael Trottier

Please read the following before class:

  • Brown & Abeywickrama: Ch. 11 (Also recommended: skim Ch 6)


Powerpoint

  • Unfortunately, we didn't get to my lecture on grammar and vocab. Here is the PPT I would have used.

Additional Recommended Readings

  • The Assessing Grammar and Assessing Vocabulary books from the Cambridge Language Assessment Series. (Let me know if you want to take a look at any of these.)


Recap & Resources

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Sue: Teaching Pronunciation

http://teachingpronunciation.pbworks.com/w/page/19934422/FrontPage

Constructed by Marla Yoshida of the University of California Irvine Extension for her TEFL programs, this wiki page is loaded with information about teaching pronunciation. It includes swf format slides of her tutorials, with sound and animated graphics that clearly illustrate the features of segmental and suprasegmental pronunciation. There are also links to numerous internet-based resources, including teaching materials, methodological approaches, and teaching tools. If you have any interest in teaching pronunciation, it is well worth your while to explore the links on this wiki.

Also visit the updated website version of this resource at: http://teachingpronunciation.weebly.com. This site is neatly organized and includes some material that wasn’t included on the wiki page. (Check out http://voki.com/ to build your own avatar and have it speak with different accents or your own voice.)

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. & Goodwin, J. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: A course book and reference guide (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.

This course text is widely used, including in the courses mentioned in the wiki. It gives an overview of the history of pronunciation teaching with regard to issues, methodological perspectives, and acquisition of L2 phonology. It gives a solid foundation in the sound system of North American English, including segmental and suprasegmental aspects. It provides a framework for developing communicatively based classroom activities as well as structured exercises. It outlines options in syllabus design vis-à-vis pronunciation. It includes a section on assessment and diagnosis. Finally it deals with the relationships between pronunciation and other skills and areas of language, such as listening, morphology, and spelling. Each chapter includes examples of exercises from available classroom texts as well as newly created ones. Two CDs are also included to give aural examples as well as listening exercises. Finally, there are 27 appendices. This is an extremely comprehensive text for helping teachers with pronunciation teaching.

Our guest speaker mentioned a resource as well – Judy Gilbert’s Clear Speech – which is another well-respected resource. The product series includes a Teacher’s Resource book as well as student texts and mobile apps. Here is a link to the product information website, where you can see a presentation by Judy Gilbert about her view of seven essential concepts in teaching pronunciation. This is quite comprehensive and informative – it is about an hour long.

http://www.cambridge.org/us/esl/catalog/subject/project/item405004/?site_locale=en_US

Martina: Dave's ESL Cafe

Dave Sperling created this website for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from around the world. The site includes resources for bilingual educators, features International Job Board for aspiring ESL/EFL teachers and has various ideas in the Cookbook for Teachers and Stuff for Students sections. Dave launched in 1995, “eslcafe.com staked out its share of the web as a bare bones site for finding teaching jobs abroad and discussing the life lived there. A decade and a half has passed, 25,000 people stop in everyday for a look at what Dave’s done. And that is create the world’s largest resource for teaching jobs and one of the most populated forums on the planet”. There were many useful aspects of the website such as: Jobs – Easy to upload resumes and a list of job opportunities worldwide in very specific locations, Stuff for Teachers: Lessons and Forums, Stuff for Students: Help Center, Chat Rooms for practicing, Stuff for Everyone: Links, Today in History, and ESL/EFL community throughout the world by creating a virtual community that connects both students and teachers together. “A cozy place for people to hang out, talk, learn, and share information”. The drawbacks of the site were: it was a little overwhelming with all the colors, not the most advanced site because it is managed by one person, the lessons didn’t indicate the levels and ages of the target learner, the learning objectives and in-depth details were missing from the lessons. The forums were used more as rants and the job opportunities needed more background information for their credibility. All in all, great for teachers who are looking for jobs abroad and need to find a jobs. The forums are useful when abroad and you need to share information in the virtual community. Lessons seem fun and there are lot of resources on the site. Lessons are not targeted to grade or level and do not have learning objectives or in-depth detail. Discretion is advised.

http://www.eslcafe.com/

Day 9: Thursday, Aug 2: Language and Culture in TESL

Please read the following before class:

Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings


Recap & Resources

  • Barnga! The simulation game we played today. It can be used in a variety of situations dealing with things like culture shock, intercultural communication, how people are socialized into different linguistic and cultural communities, etc. I hope you liked it -- I did! The manual with all the materials is available in the UBC Education Library. You can see an explanation of how to play here. The book is available to buy and there are some websites with all the materials, but I'm not sure about the copyright.
  • A very insightful analysis of the linguistic/cultural issues involved in the Korean Air crash -- it may not have been as simple as I described it in the anecdote I used.
  • Linda Harklau -- has done research critiquing the way learners' "culture" is treated in TESL. She had the example of the student who wanted to do a project about Germany but was not allowed to because it was not "her culture." Try her article "From the Good Kids to the Worst" or her chapted "Representing Culture in the ESL Writing Classroom" in Eli Hinkel's book Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning.
  • Adrian Holliday -- suggested the idea of "small cultures" and wrote an interesting book on racial/cultural tensions in teaching English as an international language.

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Jennifer: Graded/Levelled Readers

Graded Readers are a series of books of adapted classic literature (retellings) and some original stories written by ELT specialists for low-beginning to advanced ELL students. There are approximately 45 graded reader series worldwide. Some notable reader series’ include Penguin Readers and Oxford Bookworms. Graded readers are designed to help build reading confidence through accessible language and a variety of genres and topics. In these books, vocabulary, grammar, and narrative content are carefully controlled over several language levels (1-6 depending on series). Graded Readers are based on the 'Extensive Reading' theory. Extensive Reading is believed to be an aid to language learning by “reading for the gist” and reading for pleasure. Extended Reading supports the belief that the learner’s view and review of unknown words in a specific context will allow the learner to infer and thus learn words’ meanings more quickly. ‘The Extensive Reading Foundation’ created the term ‘Language Learner Literature’ (LLL) in an attempt to authenticate the literature in the face of critics. Of all the different series, Oxford Bookworms is considered most consistent in terms of style, quality, language control, and variety of titles (both classic and contemporary original stories). Features include teacher resource packs (downloadable pdfs via the websites), audio CDs, podcasts, and writing exercises with a range of activities (including book reports, letters, and short essays for a range of writing practice). Graded readers have received criticism for outdated formats, titles, and poorly written plots. Also, many claim that the rewrites are an insult to the original works. Others, however, argue that graded readers should be compared to rewrites for the stage or screen and point out evidence that they do in fact support language learning. While I agree that these books support language learning, I think titles should be carefully chosen, with most being more appropriate for beginning learners. I think that some of the simplified plays would be useful and appropriate for role play, drama, and readers theatre type activities in the ESL or EFL classroom.

Karen: UsingEnglish.com

UsingEnglish.com describes itself as a resource for ESL teachers, students and academics. The site is edited by Richard Flynn, who has an MA in TESOL and has taught English around the world, but limited information on the backgrounds of other site contributors is provided. Although Flynn set up the website in the UK, he expresses that many other world Englishes are incorporated. With a free membership, one has access to plenty of references such as large banks of idioms, phrasal verbs, irregular verbs, along with a grammar glossary. Hand-outs, worksheets, tests, quizzes, articles and lesson plans can also be printed or downloaded. One interesting feature of UsingEnglish.com is its section on teacher-training material where one can read and do short activities to enhance one’s ESL teaching. Another possibly appealing resource is its online forums section, with some forums designed for teachers, some for students, and some for students to ask teachers their questions.

On the whole, the website looks like a great resource and appears very helpful for the ESL community, but after closer examination, there are some pretty big downsides. For example, all handouts, quizzes, and tests are formatted in multiple choice questions, and “handouts” are not actually handouts, but rather worksheets. Furthermore, the lesson plans are quite vague and need to be modified for individual classrooms. Moreover, the site is covered in distracting advertisements, and manoeuvring ones way through the site consists of a lot of jumping around. And, finally, the sources of the information again are not always clear or reliable. All in all, this may be a good place for a quick reference check or to start gathering ideas for units or lessons, but it should not be the “go-to” website for all one’s teaching needs.

Delia: CET

College English Test, widely known as CET, is the most popular standardized English test in China. It serves as an English assessment for every university student. CET contains Band 4 test (basic level), Band 6 test (advantaged level) and SET (Speaking English Test). There are four parts of CET, namely, listening, reading, error correction or cloze, and writing. The total score of CET is 710. CET holds twice a year and there is no limitation of the number of test-takers. Usually second year students will take Band 4 test. The passing grade of Band 4 test is 425 points. After students obtain a Band 4 test certificate, they are eligible to register in Band 6 test. Only if test-takers pass Band 6 test with a high score of 550 marks or above, they are allowed to take SET. Band 4 certificate is a graduation requirement in China; therefore, CET greatly promotes the English learning in China. In the meantime it causes several problems, such as it leads to test-oriented teaching, ignores communicative ability, and distracts students from their own major. However, it is admitted that CET caters for Chinese situation that there are considerable demands for English talents in the society.

The official website of CET: http://www.cet.edu.cn/

Relevant essays:

1) Zheng, Y. & Cheng, L. (2008).CET (College English Test) in China. Language Testing, 25 (3), 408-41.

http://ltj.sagepub.com/content/25/3/408

2) Li, H. (2009). Are teachers teaching to the test? A case study of the College English Test (CET) in China, International Journal of Pedagogies & Learning, 25-36.

http://search.proquest.com/docview/215865428

3) Zhang, X. (2004), A review of questions about College English Test Band 4/6.

http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-WYJY200402011.htm

Day 10: Friday, Aug 3: World Englishes & TESL

Please read the following before class:


Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings


Recap & Resources

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Emily: English Club

englishclub.com "englishclub.com" features an online community (social network-type site) for English language learners worldwide. The site includes student resources for independent learning and references Some 'pros' to the site: •Some engaging material (i.e. up to date listening activities and relevant video series) •Customizable page for students with emphasis on social interaction •Students can choose to join groups with a theme of personal interest •Cost: Free A few 'cons' to consider: •Minimal teacher resources •Questionable educational quality of teaching materials •Chat rooms and pen-pals – how well are these regulated? •Not extremely well organized or intuitive to navigate site •Anyone can contribute/join

Linda: TEFL.net

http://www.tefl.net/ TEFL.net is part of the EnglishClub.com community, the one Emily presented above. All access to TEFL.net is free like English Club. The major difference between these two websites is that EnglishClub provides resources both for students and for teachers of English, whereas TEFL.net provides resources exclusively for teachers.

Useful tools:

Worksheet generator: Templates for matching, sorting, and scrambled worksheets will be automatically generated by the program IN SECONDS. All you need to do is to input vocabulary or phrases and click on “print” and you get your A4 or letter-size worksheets and answersheets. http://www.tefl.net/esl-lesson-plans/worksheet-generator/index.htm

Worksheets and games: In addition to Skill-based and topic-based worksheets, “TEFLtastic” worksheets section contains a growing collection (definite over a hundred of them!) of varied and useful worksheets and activity ideas, including “IELTS”, “TOEIC”, “writing, vocabulary, functional and social English, grammar games”, “songs and cultural worksheets,” “medical and pharmaceutical, business, telephone, technical, travel English,” “English for art students,” and so on. http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/worksheets/

Monthly Book reviews by category: Other than books about teaching listening, speaking, reading and writing, there are other categories such as pronunciation, vocabulary, business, ESP, and teacher training materials. http://edition.tefl.net/category/reviews/

Free ebook!! English prepositions List. http://www.tefl.net/downloads/PDF/EnglishClub-English-Prepositions-List.pdf

Ray: Randall’s Cyber Listening Lab

http://www.esl-lab.com/

Randall’s Cyber Listening Lab is a website created in 1998 by Randall Davis—a graduate of Brigham Young University with a master’s degree in TESL. He also has a Twitter and Facebook account as well as videos posted on YouTube that are updated regularly, and blends some of his personal interests with his professional work. The website is primarily aimed for college level students, specifically targeting those with high beginner to advanced skills.

Certainly, the website’s name reflects its general objective, which is to support improvements in the listening comprehension skills of its users. Pre- and post-listening exercises, as well as vocabulary activities, complement taped interviews and conversations. The post-test quizzes are a communicative stimulus-response to the taped dialogue, represented through Cloze questioning. Listening quizzes are ranked by difficulty (easy, medium, and hard). Immediate, statistical feedback of the test results provides a positive washback effect. An additional washback feature is the absence of time constraints—students are provided with as much or as little time to complete each question as they may require. Additional assessment activities include mixed sentences and multiple choice questions.

Randall’s free website is highly user friendly, uses short clips, high frequency topics, and allows users to copy scripts and quizzes. Randall created a sub-sectional list to help users navigate through the website, which includes a ‘Self-Study Guide’ for students, ‘Tips for Teachers,’ and support for first time users. Unfortunately, the spatial freedom of each test may not provide the most reliable feedback for users. It may be possible that multiple users collectively complete the test, which would certainly jeopardize the reliability of individual responses. Also, Randall has purposely decided against the use of colloquial language and accents. Certainly, he has done this to minimize potential ELL confusion, but selectively removes certain organic properties of conversations amongst a diverse community of English speakers.

Randall has also created the following ELL related sites (links found on his Cyber Listening Lab website):

http://dailyesl.com/ —this website provides conversational starters for potential visitors

http://ezslang.com/ —works to reduce the effect of student accents and offers conversational topics

http://trainyouraccent.com/ —helps individuals improve the rhythm of their speech

http://www.englishvoices.org/ —practice listening, speaking, and thinking skills through voice recordings

Day 11: Tuesday, August 7: Teaching Culture

Teaching Culture: Target Culture and/or Intercultural Approach

Please read the following before class:



Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings



Recap & Resources

  • Links to sample Culture/Context studies: SAMPLE 1 (Hong Kong Primary School) / SAMPLE 2 (Karen refugees in lower mainland)

Please note these are not 'models' per se and they may differ in terms of number of pages, how they annotated their sources, what they focused on, etc. This is just to give you a general idea of some of the types of content that are possible for this assignment.

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Lisa: Grammar in Action

PowerPoint Presentation (PDF file): Click Here

Grammar in Action, is a series of three books by Rosalind Fergusson, designed for young learners of English. Each book contains about 60 to 69 units, where readers are introduced to various key topics (or rules) of English grammar. Every individual unit consists of two pages; a page of explanation and a page of supporting examples illustrated in the form of a comic strip. Furthermore, complex topics are often discussed in more than just one unit, in which information previously learned on the same topic is reviewed before new details are introduced.

These books can be extremely helpful for ESL/EFL teachers; especially for those planning to teach abroad where grammar is expected and greatly emphasized in the English classrooms. On the other hand, for those not interested in teaching English grammar explicitly, the graphics (or comics) in these books can also be used as an amazing tool for teaching the different language skills. However, even though these books are intended for young learners, some degree of background knowledge in the language is required. In conclusion, comic or comic-related books are great to use when teaching English – they not only help promote effective reading practices, they also make LEARNING fun and interesting for students!

You can find a similar book here: Scholastic Comic-Strip Grammar (Grade 4-8)

You can access the publishing company here: Learners Publishing Private Limited

This might be something nice to have around ... Grammarman's Handbook for Using Wordless Comics

Calvin: LPI

LPI stands for Language Proficiency Index. It is a test that is used mostly in the lower mainland to provide standardized measurement of English competency. The test was created by the University of British Columbia and administered by Paragon Testing Enterprises, a subsidiary of The University of British Columbia.

There are multiple test sessions within each month at multiple locations. The LPI website provides free sample questions as well as sale prep books for the test. Teachers should be aware of this test because it is a requirement for many post high school education facilities.

The LPI consists of 4 parts to be done over a course of 2.5 hours and is marked out of 80:

  • Sentence structure(10 marks)
  • Recognize errors in sentence structures(10 sentences)
  • English Usage(10 marks)
  • Recognize errors in English usage(10 sentences)
  • Reading Comprehension(20 marks)
  • 2 parts
  • Part 1: Answer 4 MC about a prose(2 prose)
  • Part 2: Write a summary of a prose(3 prose)
  • Essay Writing(40 marks)
  • Write a 300-400 argumentative essay(3 topics given)

Many universities requires students to reach a certain score on the essay in order to enroll or graduate.(UBC requires a 5 or higher)


LPI Homepage

Apinder: Picture Books

PPT here.

Picture books are often looked upon and written off as stories for primary grades. However, in reality this is quite often the opposite as picture books can be a great tool for any teacher regardless of the grade level they are teaching.

Picture books can contain rhyming schemes which are great for read alouds as they focus on fluency and predicting word pattern. They are also excellent for students who need practice in prouncation are are a lot less daunting than novels. It is also important to note that the humour found within in picture books create a relaxed and enjoyable experience for the ESL learner.

Certain picture books are written with themes geared for older students with illustrations that help ESL learners understand the textual content. In addition, teachers can use picture books to increase phonemic awareness and to build vocabulary. Wordless books are an excellent tool for ESL teachers as students can use their own language to describe the events in the story and even create their own dialogue.

Picture books within an ESL setting are an excellent means to explain the elements of fiction: setting, conflict, plot, and theme. Futhermore, picture books can be used to explain literary techiques such as personification, metaphors and foreshadowing.

Adrienne Gear’s Nonfiction Reading Power is an excellent resource for teachers looking for picture books geared towards certain subject areas (history, science, etc). I also recommend 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up by Julia Eccleshare in addition to the resources listed in the PowerPoint.


Day 12: Wed, Aug 8: Teaching Culture II

Teaching Culture: National and popular culture in Canada

Please read the following before class:




Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings

  • none


Recap & Resources

Guess What I Found: PD Talks

Alfred: ITESLJ

The Internet TESL Journal - For Teachers of English as a Second Language Articles, Research Papers, Lessons Plans, Classroom Handouts, Teaching Ideas & Links

Information: http://iteslj.org/

This Internet TESL Journal is a has sources for ESL teachers. It has a variety of materials, including Articles and Research papers; Articles on Teaching Techniques and Lesson Plans. The website is divided into 7 sections. Teachers can refer to the published articles from 1995-2010. It accumulated different research articles, teaching tips, activities and quizzes materials.

This website is a good source for anyone related to ESL. For teachers, there are guides to give steps on how to prepare for the class , and how to start using the content/resource links.

The resources are for both students and teachers. Students can use the online sources to help practice English on their own time. For teachers, can use the links to make quizzes and have content to help students in class.

ITESL-J has a link to a4esl.org, which contains grammar,vocabulary and crossword puzzles with different difficulties for students. It also has bilingual quizzes for individuals to practice and get better understanding of English as second language through their home language.

Meredith: ESL Library

ESL Library started in 2002 and it was called ESL Images. It focused primarily on flashcards. In 2007 they directed their focus to lesson plans. 25,000 teachers, in over 100 countries, use the lesson plans. There are 4 people that manage the website; however, Tara Benwell is the main creator of the lesson plans. She is an English and ESL teacher, who obtained her certification in Ontario. The majority of the lesson plans are created through free-lance authors from France, Spain, Poland, Japan, Brazil, USA, Canada and Korea. The cost is $22 for 3 months, $33 for 6months, and $55 a year. It is based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

This website provides lesson plans, flash cards, a blog, and sells ESL resources. The lesson plans include everyday English, debates, famous people, famous things, famous places, idioms, holidays, business in English, travel in English, discussion starters and dialogues.

This website is easy to use, multi-modal, Canadian, used and created Worldwide and saves time. However, it is paper heavy, costs money and it only beginner and intermediate levels. This requires the teacher to determine which level is suitable for their students. It is questionable as to how credible the free-lance authors are; however, as far as I have observed, the lessons are reliable.

http://esl-library.com/lessons.php

John: Vocabulary in Use

Vocabulary in Use – Intermediate (Stuart Redman with Ellen Shaw)

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Information: http://www.cambridge.org/gb/elt/catalogue/subject/project/item404501/?site_locale=en_GB

This text can be used by students for the purposes of self-study or by a teacher in the classroom. The book is designed to help learners to improve their English vocabulary and includes some advice on strategies to achieve this goal. It is divided into two-page units with a side-by-side lesson on a vocabulary selection and a set of exercises. The exercises are designed to check the students understanding of the words through practice.

There are 2,500 vocabulary words included in this book and they are drawn from the Cambridge English Corpus, (http://www.cambridge.org/gb/elt/catalogue/subject/item2701617/Cambridge-English-Corpus/?site_locale=en_GB) an extensive collection of English texts from various parts of the world. A visit to the above link will provide many useful resources related to this corpus for both the teacher and the student.

The practical layout makes this text very user friendly for students using this material to expand their vocabulary. It is extensive and high quality illustrations enhance meaning and clarify information very effectively. The contents include learning strategies, word formation, phrase building, and parts of speech. The material is arranged to cover a wide range of topics appropriate and useful to a student learning English in North America. A comprehensive answer key is also available for the exercises.

For English teachers this text can provide a template to form the basis of a lesson on a specific topic drawn from the extensive list. It is useful as a reference or to provide backup material in situations when a lesson needs to be created in a short timeframe. In addition, the exercises could be used for practice and assessment.

Day 13: Thursday, Aug 9: Cultural Conflict

Cultural Conflicts, Challenges, & Triumphs: Creating Conditions for Successful Navigation of Unfamiliar Culture(s)



Powerpoint


Additional Recommended Readings


Recap & Resources

Vivian: OWL - Purdue Online Writing Lab

The OWL website is an online resource to supplement the writing lab at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. The website includes instructional and supplementary resources for educators and students. The website’s mission is to ‘assist clients in their development as writers’ and the resources provided are downloadable, printable, reproducible, and free for use by the on-line community.

The ESL section of the website includes two sections: one for educators (ESL instructors and tutors) and one for students. The educator resources include links to professional organizations, journals, policy resources, and teaching materials and the student resources include information on academic writing conventions and resources for writing for various audiences and purposes. To use the website to its full potential, users should explore outside of the ESL sections, which I found quite limited in resources, and access other features found from the general Purdue OWL home page. For instance, the Sitemap provides a comprehensive list of writing topics found within the site and the organization by categories, topics, and sub-topics was very easy to navigate. Also helpful was the OWL Exercises feature which provides an extensive list of grammar and other writing feature exercises and worksheets. Further, users of the site, regardless of whether or not they are affiliated with Purdue University may access help from writing tutors by email or use the live chat function with other on-line users.

I have very little that I did not like about this website. However, I did not like how the contributing authors to the site were named but their professional background or credentials were not provided. As well, even though there was a designated ESL section on the website, its contents were limited and not as useful as most were links to other organizations and websites. These links often led to a series of endless links and each new website had to then be screened for credibility and helpfulness.

OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ Grammar Blog: http://thegrammargang.blogspot.ca/ OWL CWEST ESL Materials:http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/3/

Day 14: Friday, August 10

  • Culture/Context Study Presentations
  • Food

478 A/B Facebook Link

Martina: Hey Everyone~! I made a Facebook Page for us to keep in touch~! Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/groups/258140977630815/

I want to organize a get together after the babies are born~! Tee hee:) Maybe Peter can recommend a place to go drinking???

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