Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id h8RKaaV13394; Sat, 27 Sep 2003 16:36:36 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sat, 27 Sep 2003 16:36:36 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <D45168CD-F12A-11D7-BF7F-000393B38F32@ticon.net> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: Sandra Heyer <heyer@ticon.net> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9516] Re: Favorite ESL Lessons X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.482) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed Status: O Content-Length: 4123 Lines: 90 Dear Jennifer, Well, here's my 2 cents worth, as a veteran teacher. I think it's fine to do some traditional work in a textbook or workbook--filling in blanks, etc., one page after another--because it's what many students expect to do in a language class. It seems to make students comfortable and gives them confidence in the teacher, so that they later trust the teacher's judgment when it comes to less familiar activities. In other words, it probably won't hurt your students if you incorporate some traditional paper-and-pencil work into your lesson plan to appease your supervisor, and there may be some benefits for your students (though maybe not linguistic ones). Sharron Bassano and Mary Ann Christison, who have come up with many innovative activities, give this advice, too, in a book called Community Spirit, also at Alta. (And no, I am not in any way affiliated with Alta!) Unless your supervisor insists on something you really can't live with--2 hours of straight workbook pages!--my advice would be to take the "smile and nod" approach, adding some traditional work, but making the "creative" activities your mainstay. Incidentally, one tiny word of warning about a class made up only of these types of activities: You still need to have some overall grand plan of where you want your students to be a month, 2 months from now, so that your lessons don't seem to be a hodgepodge of unrelated activities. Abbie Tom made some practical suggestions a few years ago in Hands-on English for organizing curriculum by themes. That would be a nice way of tying together the workbook work and all the interactive activities. She and Anna Silliman, the editor of Hands-on, both chime in from time to time on this list--maybe they'll throw their 2 cents worth into this discussion. Good luck--your class sounds great. Sandra On Wednesday, September 24, 2003, at 02:10 PM, Jennifer Morrow wrote: > Thanks Sandra! > I have both books and especially like Zero Prep for Beginners. My > first night I used the survey activity from that book and the students > loved it. My problem is that my supervisor does not approve of those > kinds of activities. She made the comment that it is fine to be > creative but that I needed to "hit the books" soon. She believes in > learning from a workbook and not the teacher. The nice thing is that > makes the job much easier but I have a hard time believing that is > authentic learning. Any advice for working with her? I just want to > be ready with some evidence that my students are learning through > techniques and whole group activities like the ones in these books. > Thanks! > Jennifer > > -----Original Message----- > From: Sandra Heyer [mailto:heyer@ticon.net] > Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 3:39 PM > To: Multiple recipients of list > Subject: [NIFL-ESL:9486] Re: Favorite ESL Lessons > > > Jennifer, > > If you like that kind of spontaneous "let's see where this will go" > activity, there are two resource books you might want to look > through--Zero Prep and Chalk Talks. Both are available through Alta. > > Sandra Heyer > Whitewater Community Education > Whitewater, WI > > On Tuesday, September 16, 2003, at 01:01 PM, Jennifer Morrow wrote: > >> Hey Everybody! >> I have just begun teaching a beginning level ESL class. Now that I am >> four weeks in, I am running out of ideas. My favorite activity so far >> is to hand out a picture and ask the students to tell me a story about >> it. I write the story on the board. We practice reading it together >> and they ask questions about pronunciation and grammar. It has been a >> wonderful experience each time I have done it. I like that kind of >> authentic, student directed learning. What is your favorite activity >> to do in class? What activity do you do that always seems to promote >> learning? What activity do your students always seem to enjoy? I >> would really appreciate the help! >> Thanks in advance, >> >> Jennifer Morrow >> Johnson County Public Library >> Adult Learning Center >> (317) 738-4677 >> jmorrow@jcplin.org >> >> > >
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