I have three more questions.

What does EFF stand for and what is it?
How do you explain these points to someone who cannot speak English?
How do we know that an adult English learner is not doing all of this on his
or her own, and that the teacher is better at doing it and therefore in a
position to teach it?

Steve


On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 7:18 AM, Glenda Lynn Rose <glyndalin at yahoo.com>wrote:


> Michael brings up a great point. The EFF standards incorporate critical

> thinking at many levels.  For example, under "observe critically" are the

> following skills:

>

>

> • Attend to visual sources of information, including television and other

> media.

>

> • Determine the purpose for observation and use strategies appropriate to

> the purpose. (critical thinking)

>

> • Monitor comprehension and adjust strategies (critical thinking)

>

> • Analyze the accuracy, bias, and usefulness of the information. (critical

> thinking)

>

> • Integrate it with prior knowledge to address viewing purpose. (critical

> thinking)

>

>

>

> I don't know about other states, but my understanding is that our Texas

> standards for adult education are based on EFF.  (Okay, I admit I haven't

> been to the content and standards training yet....I've read the materials,

> but the training is one the agenda for this school year).

>

>

>

> If we are in a program funded through TEA (and thus, federally), we are

> expected to be using those content standards to inform our classroom

> practice. So, as Michael puts it, "it behooves us" (I love that) to review

> those standards and compare our practice to it.  It is just possible we can

> all find ways to improve our roles as facilitators of language learning

> (and/or acquisition).  I know that even after 20+ years of teaching English

> to adults and completing two bachelors, a masters and a doctorate in related

> fields (English, education, applied linguistics / TESOL, foreign language

> education) there is unlimited potential for improvement in my

> personal knowledge and practice.  In fact, the endless opportunity to learn

> and improve is one of the reasons I love this career.

>

>   Grace and Peace!

> *Glenda Lynn Rose, PhD*

> ESL Instructor

> Austin Learning Academy

> (512) 841-4777 - classroom

> (512) 789-5131 - mobile

>

>

>

>

-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.thelinguist.blogs.com
www.lingq.com
604-922-8514
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