Assistant Director

I apologize for my lack of posting in the last three months! I resolved to post more often, but life has gotten in the way. This semester, I am on a full course release, and I am now the Assistant Director of the English Language Institute at Central Michigan University. 

Even though I'm not teaching this semester, I have been gaining a lot of new and valuable skills. Learning and experiencing education from the administrative end has shed a new light on how departments and universities work. I am very grateful for this experience, and I hope to share more with you about it at the end of the semester. 

This summer I will be back in the classroom, so I will try to post more about what I'm doing with my classes and other research that's out there. In the meantime, check out my Twitter account: @Caitlin_ESL and check back occasionally for updates!

Everyday I miss being in the classroom and interacting with students, but I sure don't miss the excuses for why homework isn't done on time!

Image via educational-alternatives.net

Writing Survey Questions

Image via sissurvey.net

For teachers of English for Academic Purposes, surveys are par for the course, especially in speaking and listening classes. They're great for many reasons; they not only promote critical thinking, students must also talk to people outside of the classroom, synthesize information, analyze results, present results, create charts/tables, etc. I use them in all classes (not just speaking and listening), especially informal surveys. However, when students are responsible for formal surveys for formal presentations, it's necessary to teach them how to prepare and execute them appropriately.

Image via surveyreviews.net

The first step when using surveys in class to to teach how to write survey questions. This is a very tricky step for all students, no matter their language level. Fortunately, ReadWriteThink.org is here to help. Here Patricia Alejandra Lastiri provides a series of four lessons to teach survey questions writing. She provides four 60-minute lessons along with wonderful printouts and websites. The original lesson is for grades 9-12, but it can be easily adapted for non-native English speakers and ESL classrooms. Included in the link is a survey evaluation form, sample questions and guidelines,  a great rubric (for participation, not just for surveys), and much more. You really should check it out for yourself to see what else can be adopted or adapted.

Image via readwritethink.org

P.S. Here's the link: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/question-writing-good-survey-1084.html?tab=3#tabs

Teacher Echo

Here's a great post about the negative aspects of teacher recasting. I find that I automatically "echo," or recast what my students say. Half to say it correctly  and half so that the other students hear the thought. The articles points out that not all communication needs (nor should) go through the teacher. This is neither authentic nor useful. I have always wondered why some students complain that they can't understand their classmates, and this may be one of the reasons. The students rely on me to negotiate for them, rather than negotiate for meaning themselves.

Do you recast what students say? Why or why not? If you're a student, would you prefer if you teacher didn't always repeat what you and your classmates say?

21st Century Teacher!

I am happy to announce that I have officially joined the 21st century! I am now using spreadsheets for my grade book. I have been clinging to the paper version for my whole career, and now I am utilizing the power of technology to help make calculating grades much easier! 

I still have my paper book for attendance and daily homework, but it all goes into the spreadsheet at the end of the day. It's a big step for me, but I'm liking it so far. 

What do you use to record grades? Paper grade book? Excel? Google Docs? Blackboard? Any suggestions for using spreadsheets? 

Interesting or Interested?

I'm just loving Vicki Hollet's videos. Have you checked them out yet? I posted about the difference between American and British English here. 

Here's a great video on the difference between interesting and interested. It's a great example for the difference between adjectives ending in -ing and those ending in -ed. Who hasn't had a student write/say "I am very interesting" or "I am very boring"?? Of course we English teachers understand what they mean, but we definitely want to make sure students don't say "I'm boring" to new friends! How do you teach the difference?

Image via www.jaymug.com

Confession: I didn't know how to explain the difference between adjectives which ended in -ing and those ending in -ed until I went to grad school (Thanks, Dr. Spruiell)! Of course I now know -ing is used for describing other items and -ed describes how people feel. I don't think native English speakers can automatically understand this any better than non-native speakers. What do you think? Was I just behind the curve??

Special Olympics: Before Volunteering

As I mentioned in a previous post, my high-intermediate speaking and listening class volunteered at the Michigan Special Olympics. This was an assigned volunteer opportunity, and it was the first service learning component I have applied to my courses. I realize now that this was a huge undertaking for my first time implementing service learning. Most teachers usually start out with the soup kitchen or animal shelter; however, the Special Olympics were coming to town at the beginning of our summer term, and I couldn't let that learning opportunity pass me (and my students) by.

I will go into more detail about the actual day of volunteering in the second of this three part series; in this part, I would like to focus on what I did to prepare students for this experience. First, I asked students general questions about volunteering and their experience volunteering. Then I asked them if they've ever had experience with people with special needs. I had some questions written out for students to respond to in writing, then they shared them with a partner, and finally with the class (think, pair, share). Here are the questions I asked them, along with a few of their responses:
 
(1) Why do people volunteer?
-I think that it is a very active method to help others, but also can increase your self-confidence, social experience, and benefiting your English.
-To help other people and get experience
-People have the ability to help people in need
 
(2) Who does volunteering benefit?
-everybody can benefit from volunteering
-The volunteer might learn something different from volunteering, and some people can get help to get out of trouble.
-make a good community
 
(3) How could volunteering help international students?
-to offer them a job or to make them get to know the culture
-The volunteering can help international students to learn English, know new culture
-it can help them to practice their language

 

Next, I had the students watch a couple of videos and go to the Special Olympics website for homework. I asked them to watch these three videos:Champions Together, Different, and Unleashing the Human Spirit. Here are a few sample questions they were asked to consider, along with a few responses:
 
(1) What are the Special Olympics?
-Big event in sports for people with special needs
-In my opinion, the reason we organize special game is that we believe the people who is intellectual disabilities also need to be respected, they are a special group of people who need more special care
-health, education, sports
 
(2) Who participates?
-Everyone who is special needs who is over 8 years old
-People with intellectual disabilities, more than 4 million per year
 
(3) Who volunteers?
-Everyone can volunteer
 
(4) What do you think the goal of the Special Olympics is?
-Everyone want to make the people with special needs have happiness in their life because they need anybody to care for them
-Because it does a great job with disability people. "I like help people."They make them feel different.
-Because it benefits for every people in the word. Keep going.
 
As you can see, the students' responses about volunteering and the Special Olympics were thoughtful and reflective. They really took this assignment seriously and wanted to know how they could best help other people. It was also clear that they were interested in improving and practice their language skills in addition to helping others.  

I will post later in the week about the actual event itself and what students' responsibilities were. My final post about the Special Olympics will consider how to help students make the most of their volunteer experience through reflection.



Image via www.napavalleyspecialolympics.com

If you have any experience with ESL and service learning, I would love to hear your experiences and advice. I know many of my colleagues have implemented this into their courses, as well as many other instructors around the state of Michigan and around the US. Please share what you have done and any suggestions you have for making service learning a valuable experience for English Language Learners. 

 

P.S. What did you think about the videos? I'll admit I got a little teary-eyed! How inspiring the athletes are!

Summer Term

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last month. I finished up our Spring Term, and we're in full Summer Term-mode here at the CMU ELI. That means 4 hour classes and starting at 8 am. It also means field trips, great discussions, and getting to know each student very well. While sometimes I don't think I'll ever get the grading done, I'm mostly excited to hear and read my students' ideas about our themes this semester.

Image via Justintarte.com

I am teaching advanced beginning reading and writing and intermediate speaking and listening. Any advice or activity ideas for these skills and language levels? My speaking and listening class volunteered at the Michigan Special Olympics last week (more on that soon, I promise!), and I already have my reading and writing class on their second extensive reading book (we use these, and the students really enjoy them).


Here are a few great links I'd like to share:

Reading-Based Freewriting for English Language Learners --I'm going to try this on Thursday with my class!

This post on culturally appropriate writing is spot on!

Etymological Origins of Insults  is awesome. Which is your favorite? Chump and Schmuck are a couple of mine. Thanks Jeanine!

Flashcards online and on your smart phone is just brilliant. I recommend it for my students, and I use it for my Spanish learning.

Emperor Penguins in Antarctica and Summer in Antarctica-- to go along with Mosaic 1 Listening and Speaking textbook (Chapter 2)

And finally, Nouns and Verbs by School House rock for those beginning classes that always need a little spice!

I am sure at some point in their careers, all teachers have heard "Did I miss anything?" from a student who missed class. My colleague Claire shared a great poem with our department that wonderfully addresssed the question, "Did I miss anything?"

Did I Miss Anything?

Tom Wayman

Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

      Everything. I gave an exam worth
      40 percent of the grade for this term
      and assigned some reading due today
      on which I’m about to hand out a quiz
      worth 50 percent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

      Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
      a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel
      or other heavenly being appeared
      and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
      to attain divine wisdom in this life and
      the hereafter
      This is the last time the class will meet
      before we disperse to bring the good news to all people
           on earth.

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

      Everything. Contained in this classroom
      is a microcosm of human experience
      assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
      This is not the only place such an opportunity has been
           gathered

but it was one place

And you weren’t here

 

From Did I Miss Anything? Selected Poems 1973-1993, 1993
Harbour Publishing

Copyright 1993 Tom Wayman.
All rights reserved.

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/013.html

Top 25 Education Professors in Michigan

Are you interested in education? Are you from Michigan? Here's a shout-out to my mom... one of the top education professors in Michigan! Congrats, Mom!

Here's the link: http://onlineschoolsmichigan.com/top-college-professors-in-michigan/education/

Student Blogging

Does anybody have any advice for good sites to hold student blogs? I'd like to use them in one of my courses this summer, but I am unsure of what to use. I've heard of edmondo.com, edublogs.org; and of course we could use the blogs on Blackboard or even Blogger. I'd really like something easy, user-friendly and share-able (with people outside of the class). Thoughts? Suggestions?

Image via blog.echoenduring.com

Have you ever used blogs in your class? Do you have any recommendations? Dos and Don'ts of classroom blogging? I would love to hear your advice. I will be doing some research on this soon, so I will also share what I find. And of course, I will be blogging this summer, so you can read about my successes and (hopefully few and far between) failures in implementing this medium in my class. 

End-of-Semester Crunch Time

Our semester at CMU is winding down: we have two more weeks of lessons and then exam week. I always find myself feeling short of time and pressured to finished everything that the students need to know before moving on. No matter how hard I try to evenly distribute the course objectives over the course of the semester, without fail I have to "speed teach" some of the remaining lessons. I'm currently doing that right now with my grammar classes. Does anybody else feel this way? 

I once heard a good tip: don't teach anything new on the last day of class. This day should be used for reflection, review, and application of lessons already learned. While it's tempting to scrunch in new information in on that last day before the exam, it's better not to! Students won't have time to work through the information, ask questions, and really master the content. They will gain more from reviewing, applying, and reflecting on what they've already learned. Do you have any tips for the end of the semester crunch? 

Written Corrective Feedback

As teachers, grading and providing feedback is one of the most important (and time consuming) parts of our job. I think it's essential that we think about how we provide feeback and purporse of that feedback. How can we best help students learn through our comments? How can we make these comments time effecive, especially when we have many students in only one class?

I recently came across a great presentation given by Dr. Rod Ellis on written corrective feedback on YouTube. He presents about different types of written corrective feedback and their effectiveness. Take a look because I think it's very clear, helpful, and practical.

Here is a shortened version of the video:

One of my colleagues often gives feedback for spoken presentations via the Voice E-mail function on Blackboard. It's basicially a long voice mail providing feedback that otherwise would have been written. He then gives the grade at the end of the e-mail in order to encourage to focus on feedback rather than the grade. I have tried this before, and I like it, but it never seemed to stick... I always go back to pen and paper feedback. Have any of you tried doing this?

How do you provide feedback? Why?

English Mania

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I haven't had much time to post during the beginning of the semester. I would love to share with you a great (and short) video that one of my colleagues found. It's about English mania and English as the world's second language. It is originally from TED.com, and the speaker is Jay Walker.

 

I love the focus on China, as well as his perspective on English NOT taking over the world. As an English teacher, I am all too aware of the issues of language and power. I don't want to dwell on it now (maybe in a different post); however, I think it's important to add to the conversation that English should be used as a supplement*, rather than a replacement* for one's native language.

Thanks for the link, Natalie!

P.S. I love TED.com

*supplement and replacement were vocabulary words in my ELI 082 class, and this was a "conclusion" we drew as a class while discussing English as the lingua franca.

Vocabulary Quick Tips

Vocabulary teaching quick tips from James Dunn on TESOL Connections.

Because who can't use quick tips?

End of Semester Reflection

As the end of the semester draws to an end, I would like to reflect on what I've learned this year:

Planning makes life easier.

(Disclaimer: I am a planner and an organizer. It makes me feel comfortable, and if you aren't a planner, what follows may sound like madness you! )

The classes for which I did most of the planning before the semester started ended up being less and better work in the long run. Moments of genius 5 minutes before class sometimes happen, which result in an amazing lesson; however, those are few and far between. When I know what I need to accomplish for the day, week, month, I find that I am better able to hone my lesson plan to meet my students' needs and the course's objectives. I like having a long-term plan, and even though it always changes after the first week of class, I think it's important to have a goal for the course's timing and schedule. This makes life easier and the lessons better.

It's important to listen to the students.

Sometimes it's just whining, but sometimes it's valuable advice and commentary. They're the audience... it's important to listen and respond to them.

Grading will still be there tomorrow.

After some wonderful conversations with my colleagues, Danielle and Natalie, I have realized that all grading doesn't necessarily need to be finished that night. It's not always (or usually?) necessary to get two hours of sleep when I have to teach the next morning. Because, of course, it will be there tomorrow!

It's important to have a sense of humor.

While I love laughing, I am naturally inclined to seriousness. Sometimes I have to remember to lighten up a bit. There's a running joke in one of my classes that I always keep them late and that they never get out early. I always look at the clock, astonished that we only have 10 more minutes! I've embraced it and have learned to laugh about it, too.

Lower level ESL students often don't understand jokes (due to language and cultural differences), but I've been trying to make more jokes (OK friends, I know how you feel about my jokes...) and laugh. It's also fun to see which students laugh and when they start to "get it."

Speaking of jokes, here' s a good one I saw on Facebook (Thanks, Gracielle!): What are Santa's elves called?

Answer: Subordinate clauses

Here's another, of my own: What do you call Mrs. Claus after she decides to leave Santa?

Answer: Independent Clause

OK, so maybe my sense of humor is why students don't laugh at my jokes...

Reflection is important

I never really had students reflect much after the courses are over. I am usually too worried about getting through everything to provide an opportunity to reflect. However, I highly value reflection, so I decided to incorporate it into the last day of my writing course. They wrote a letter to future students explaining what they learned, what they would have done differently, what they are glad they did, and any advice they had. The results were thoughtful, funny, and well-organized (the importance of this cannot be understated). I was amazed at their self-evaluation and insight into their actions. They actually advised future students to do all of the homework (they didn't always), to trust that what the teacher has them do will make them better writers,  to go to the Writing Center, and to participate in class. I was thrilled with the results and so very proud of their accomplishments. 


Sometimes I feel as though I learn more than my students in a given day or semester, which is making me into a better teacher (I think). I hope to be able to post more during winter break, as I won't have lesson planning, teaching, and grading to fill my time! 

"I lean forward to catch the drift of it"

Here is a lovely poem from The New Yorker. I first read it when I had just started studying for my MA in TESOL. I still love how well it captures language learning and teaching. 

SEMINAR
BY JUSTIN QUINN

I carry America into these young heads,
at least some parts that haven’t yet got there—
Hawthorne’s Salem, Ellison’s blacks and reds,
Bishop’s lovely lines of late summer air.

The students take quick notes. They pause or dive
for dictionaries and laptops, or turn to ask
a friend as new words constantly arrive.
The more they do, the more complex the task.

They smoothly move from serious to blasé
and back again. I love the way they sit
and use their bodies to nuance what they say.
I lean forward to catch the drift of it.

When it’s ended, they’ll switch back to Czech,
put on their coats and bags, shift wood and chrome,
and ready themselves for their daily trek
across a continent and ocean home.

via The New Yorker

Rhetorical Analysis Assignment

I am working on the post about my presentation the Intercultural Strategies in Civic Engagement Conference at which I presented about two weeks ago. Our presentation was called "A Collaboration in the Pursuit of Civic Engagement through Service Learning." I won't give away too much, but we discussed some of what Alma College does in terms of service learning. I posted the abstract in August, if you'd like a little bit more information before my full post about the experience.

In the mean time, I have been busy planning for, grading for, and teaching my three grammar classes and one freshman composition class. I have posted a bit for grammar, but I thought I would share what my composition class is up to.

We are now working on rhetoric, and their current assignment is a rhetorical analysis. I believe most English 101 teachers provide options for their students for the essay which will be analyzed; however, I took a different approach. I decided to let the student choose an editorial they were interested in. I guided them toward good options (posted links on Blackboard, showed examples in class, etc.) and let them decide. They are required to send me three options for approval. The first few fell flat (i.e. they weren't editorials), but  they are finally sending me true opinion articles. It has been fun and informative to read the editorials because it gives me a glimps into what they're interested in, and what they'd like to write about. I will write more later about the writing process of the rhetorical analysis and resulting student critical thinking. Stay tuned!

In-class games: Line Ups

I think there are two kinds of grammar teachers: those who love Azar and those who don't. While the importance of language learning in context cannot be overemphasized, and I use books which use readings for grammar learning, I LOVE Azar. The explanations, charts, and examples are clear and abundant. There is so much to teach in grammar, and Azar has as many explanations and lessons as one could ever need. That said, sometimes Azar can be rather bland, of not supplemented correctly. There are some interactive activities and listening exercises, but they mostly discreet activities, rather than interconnected by a theme.

 

HOWEVER, the Azar Grammar Games book is amazing. There are lots of fun, interactive activities that get students up and moving and using the target grammar.



One of my favorite activities is called "Line Ups." Each student gets a slip of paper with a question or prompt, depending on the target grammar. (The slips pictured above are for modals.) You divide the class in half and line the students up across from each other. I like to use different colored slips of paper... it just makes dividing and lining up a smoother process. The students then read their slips to each other, and the person across from him/her responds appropriately. After each student has asked and answered for the pairing, they wait for the teacher to indicate it's time to move. Usually I give students a couple of minutes then I say "switch" or "rotate" or some easy cue. Then one group of students moves while the other group stays (this is also where the colors come in handy, i.e. yellow stays and blue rotates). Each student will get to ask and answer a question for half of the class (everybody in the other group).

This activity can really be done with anything, with a little imagination. I think you could use vocabulary words and definitions in a reading or listening/speaking class or main ideas and examples in a writing class.  I have had good luck with this activity, especially at higher levels. The only downside is that it can get loud and difficult to monitor what the students are saying. A follow up writing activity, which asks students to report the answers they received, may be worth while. I would also encourage them to actually remember what their classmates said!

If you're an Azar fan (or not but are looking for resources), I would recommend checking out www.azargrammar.com. Here teachers publish their own classroom materials, including worksheets, handouts, powerpoints, and my favorite song lessons.  

Do you have any sure-fire activities or websites with quality lessons and activities which can be adapted or adopted? I'm always looking for fun ways to engage students!

How Children Learn: A World Tour of Class Portraits

This is a beautiful piece, with amazing images, on classrooms around the world.

 

I love seeing where people learn. Just a snapshot gives such insight into educational systems.

 

 

Thanks for the link, Jeanine!



Students Leading Lessons

This semester, I am teaching three grammar classes! I have been thinking of new ways to teach the same old material, and I have been implementing (more and more, as of late) student-led grammar lessons. This is a great way to review grammar forms students have already learned but need a refresher on. 

First, I require students to study the grammar in the book (level 4 is studying perfect and perfect progressive; level 2 just finished present simple and present perfect), and I give them lots of practice and exercises. Then, I put them into groups to present their form to the class. They present the form (i.e. Subject + have/has+ been +verb-ing) and when to use it. They also provide examples to the class from the textbook, as well as from their own lives. Each group presents the lesson to the class, and the rest of the class asks questions, which the lead group must answer. I believe in the old teaching adage, "Who does the work does the learning," so I design lessons where students do most of the work. Usually this takes more work on my end in the planning and evaluation stages; however, the students are doing most of the "in-class" work, thus learning more through teaching. 

I also like this strategy because it reduced teacher-talk-time dramatically. I monitor the groups by walking around, asking and answering questions, guiding them in the right direction, and giving suggestions and clarification during the presentation, but students are talking way more than I am, especially compared to traditional grammar note-taking.  It also encourages them to think more analytically about the grammar, rather than passive taking it in (or in most cases, NOT taking it in).