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ESL Teaching Tips: How to Work with Read-Alouds

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:49:35 +0000

Read alouds represent an effective form of strategy intervention technique where students are taught “skills [but] within the context of language” (Strickland, 1993). Teachers can start with reading (big) books aloud as many as three or four times a week for ten minutes. Creating the conditions for interaction has implications for bridging oral and early literacy instruction.

The all-popular story Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? (Carle and Martin,1999) can easily incorporate a variety of top-down and bottom-up teaching approaches including whole language and phonics respectively. By performing a variety of activities such as introducing/reviewing the names of the animals one by one using flashcards and pictures, talking about the picture, (“oh, does the bear look happy?”) and playing guessing games around the names of the animal and names of the letters, the ESL/ELL teacher can also review sound-letter correspondences and the phonetic families of ‘ee’ and ‘oo’ and words but within a word context.

This alternation between text and students reflects the research performed by Pressley, Rankin, and Yokoi (1996) who found that when exemplary primary teachers read to students, they often stopped to let students know what they were thinking, to focus on an interesting word, or to allow students to share comments related to reading. These teachers also balanced their literacy instruction by focusing on meaning-making activities and strategies, along with word-level and decoding activities. The evolving rhyme scheme and phonetic word families also provide early instruction of the alphabetical principle, word recognition and letter writing, and other oral possibilities for interacting with the text.

Guidelines for Read-alouds

1. Teachers should choose books they love, in hope that their own enthusiasm will transmit to their students.
2. Teachers should select books that have illustrations that support the text. The text has to be understandable.
3. Teachers should select books around previously introduced themes, so that the content area is familiar.
4. In order to activate awareness and background knowledge, teachers should have discussions prior to the reading prior to the reading, in order to activate awareness and background knowledge. These discussions can be done in L1, and should include predictions and brainstorming sessions around the title, the author, the cover, the excerpts on the back cover, etc.
5. Teachers should hold the book up to allow their students to see the illustrations. In lower grades teachers should strive to read books that have large print, so that the students can read along with them.
6. Teachers should occasionally stop the flow of reading to elicit predictions about what is to come next, and to ensure comprehension of what has happened, and of the gist.
7. Teachers can tape their students’ reading aloud, and encourage them to listen to the reading while following the text. Alternatively, teachers can record their own reading of the story for the same purpose.
8. Teachers should encourage their students to create after-reading activities, such as book making, puppetry, picture making, role playing, etc. These products can then be displayed in the classroom.

A successful lesson based on read-alouds helps to engage the entire class and result in some meaningful interaction.

I’ll be giving away a FREE teaching report on how to improve fluency in English language learners to those who leave a comment at the New Teacher Resource Center. Now…I hope you’ll visit the next site on the blog chain sponsored by the National Writing for Children Center. That site is: http://educationtipster.blogspot.com/. For a list of all the links on the chain, go to www.writingforchildrencenter.com

Why Are Some ESL Learners Quiet in the Classroom?

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:21:42 +0000

All ESL teachers have the same phenomenon of quiet learners in their classrooms. Come parents day, many teachers and parents will be talking about how much progress the student has made and most inevitably the comments of “s/he’s too quiet” will be brought up. What is the cause of this quietness that involves second language learning?

A learner may be quiet in the ESL classroom, but he may also be deeply processing the language. It is important to weigh in this factor when discussing the student’s performance in front of the parents. Bilingual children whose first language interferes with second language learning should not be forced to produce but only to listen to the language. It has been found that this act of listening greatly enhances the speed and quality of learning. Therefore the language environment, whether it be formal or natural, plays a crucial role during the silent period in terms of second language acquisition.

The silent period is a conscious and active period where simply listening to the target language is associated with the notion of a one-way communication which can extend for many months at a time without producing the language. Dulay states that when language finally does appear, it is produced quite minimally either in some form of elicitation or the communication of basic needs. (Dulay 19)

Premature pressure upon the second language learners to perform in the target language in terms of taking examinations, writing compositions and participating in oral classroom discourse can be exacerbatingly intense as well as discouraging and futile. in this learning situation, the
second language learner such as a tourist in a foreign country, does not possess an adequate amount of knowledge of the target language and so, he or she will lean on the first language in order to facilitate communication. A “silent period” therefore, may be tremendously beneficial in terms of helping the learners to strengthen some competence in the target language which can be “enough to permit some spontaneous speech production without relying on the first language” (Dulay 25).

Works Cited
Dulay, H., M. Burt and S.D. Krashen. 1982. Language Two. Oxford University Press.

I’ll be giving away a FREE teaching report on how to improve fluency in English language learners to those who leave a comment at the New Teacher Resource Center. Now…I hope you’ll visit the next site on the blog chain sponsored by the National Writing for Children Center. That site is: http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com/. For a list of all the links on the chain, go to www.writingforchildrencenter.com

The What, How and Why Behind Strategic Reading in the ESL Classroom

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:02:02 +0000

In the ESL and general education classroom, what and how to read go hand in hand. Strategic Reading is helping the student to comprehend what he or she is about to read by offering a plethora of pre-while-post reading strategies to the student.

Why Strategic Reading?
Reading is an extremely complex activity and one of the most important skills in language learning. There are different levels to reading and so many different factors are involved facilitating actual comprehension. Authentic reading comprehension implies deep understanding, ability to infer, analyze, apply and evaluate. It is important for ESL pupils therefore to know how to read and to be able to deal with a text independently.

What makes teaching strategic reading challenging to teach?

Many of the skills teachers have to teach the kids in English as a Second Language are skills they have not acquired in their own language in terms of paragraphing, summarizing, paraphrasing, finding the main idea, supporting details, the list goes on. Yet, teachers are required to do this in a second language even to kids who are struggling. Many of the skills require a deep cognitive awareness which some students don’t have.

Many times some of the questions which are asked in exams test higher cognitive ability and not English ability. This leads to frustration both on the part of the teacher and the pupils. So here are some tips to help you with that problem:

1.When planning, take into account the learner.The more the learner struggles, the more the teacher must break down the reading process into “digestible” pieces. The biggest challenge is to train our pupils to read critically especially during reading. Even my strong pupils find this difficult.

2.Reading should be purposeful. Pupils should have a clear purpose in reading, whether it is to find a relationship between a paragraph, to find a connector, to find the big picture of the text, to complete an authentic, meaningful task, etc. Purposeful reading, while reading is what teachers should be getting at.

3.Students have to know why they read-first, in a structured and guided way.Example: read together short chunks of the text-paragraphs. Also, while stating the purpose for reading, it is important to ask questions which “hit” the text meanings. Another advantage of reading short chunks of the text together is that it can turn into some sort of interaction, allowing a teacher to model thinking alouds and corresponding reading strategies so even struggling students can follow and participate in the class interaction. Even better if the text relates to them and they are genuinely interested in reading it.

Final Tips
1.Remember, not every strategy is suited for everyone. Teachers can’t possibly use everything that’s suitable in one class / week / month / term / year.

2.Practice one strategy at once applicable to very simple texts, then, it will work out.

3.Spend an appropriate and reasonable amount of time.

4.Review, Repeat and review again! Don’t assume that because you have taught it once, that the students remember them. They need tons of recycled deliberate practice that is not all at one go.

I’ll be giving away a FREE teaching report on how to improve fluency in English language learners to those who leave a comment at the New Teacher Resource Center. Now…I hope you’ll visit the next site on the blog chain sponsored by the National Writing for Children Center. That site is; http://www.griercooper.com/. For a list of all the links on the chain, go to www.writingforchildrencenter.com

New Teacher Tips: How to Improve Speaking Skills in the ESL Classroom

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:18:48 +0000

What do you do when students don’t want to put that extra mile to do a speaking presentation, so they get cold feet and read from their notes just to get by. Improving speaking skills takes a lot of classroom practice, motivation to speak, and skill. Sometimes it is necessary to think
beyond the box, adding creative elements wherever possible depending of course, on the skills of your students and how open they are to creative thinking.

Improving the speaking skills of your students may be difficult, but the added benefit is building confidence in students for speaking skills and strategies in a foreign or second language. Even though the professional years are still way in the future, help your students by starting small.

Speaking Activities
1.Use picture prompts. Depending on the variety of visual resources and class level and ability, a teacher can brainstorm with the class a variety of sentences, (key) words, and phrases around a particular category or situational context that is the building block for a presentation.

2.Follow-up with a memory game or exercise. Students then work in pairs writing down or translating the words they remember.

Effective Teaching Continues
1.Another teaching activity involves asking questions or presenting statements that are not true about themselves, and then asking their friends to decide whether they are true or false. Students have a lot of fun with this one.

2.Play Adjectives All Around! Students have one minute to present all the adjectives they can in a sentence.

3.This person is _______________________________________________.

4.The other student then tries and guess who the person is. Make sure they include a minimum of five adjectives and no more than seven or eight. A teacher can use this activity to draw the students’ attention to the different categories that make up an adjective.

Additional Tips for Improving Speaking Skills
*Allot a time limit for each and every speaking activity. Take into consideration those activities that involve either group or pair work.
*Keep the activity fun and simple. Make sure the instructions are also crystal clear.

*Don’t overdo speaking activities in one lesson.
*Make sure you aim for a balance between speaking and listening.
*Have a back-up plan for the entire class and for individual students who are withdrawn.
*Always reflect on what can you do as a teacher to help students improve their speaking skills.

Remember, the more diverse and creative your speaking activities become, the easier it will be to train your students to improve their speaking skills and speaking exercises will become much more automatic.

I’ll be giving away a FREE teaching report on how to improve fluency in English language learners to those who leave a comment at the New Teacher Resource Center. Now…I hope you’ll visit the next site on the blog chain sponsored by the National Writing for Children Center. That site is; http://ireneroth.wordpress.com/. For a list of all the links on the chain, go to www.writingforchildrencenter.com

Next Stop on the Blog Chain is….Kristi Bernard

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:49:49 +0000

I just stopped over to say “hi” at Kristi Bernard’s site as part of the blog chain. She offers a fun daily parenting tip for encouraging literacy.

You might like to check her out by clicking here.

By the way I’d like to thank those recent visitors who left warm comments and offer you all a special free teaching report. Sorry, writers, I don’t have yet a free writing ebook to offer you. Perhaps in the near future!

Listen to Tuesday Energizers with Gini!

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:35:32 +0000

If you’re already feeling the mid-week crunch, you’ll want to listen to Tuesday Energizers with Gini Cunningham, a veteran educator and author of the New Teacher Companion: Practical Wisdom for Succeeding in the Classroom.

Gini’s site, Energized Learning (love the name!) has so many refreshing and wonderful ideas to offer educators on how to invigorate their teaching.

You may also recall that I hosted Gini on January 20th on stress-free teaching. It was a great call with some wonderful questions.

I know I’m going to listen to one of upcoming Tuesday Energizers with Gini and I hope you’ll join me too!

To listen to the January 20th teleseminar on stress-free teaching:

Dial - (641) 715-3494
Enter Access Code - 638552

To access Tuesday Energizers with Gini click here

Enjoy!

A Great Online Classroom Management Resource

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:29:52 +0000

Smartclassroommanagement.com has checklists, tips and resources on how to create an effective classroom management plan to teach successfully.

Michael Linsin, author of Dream Class and the creator of the site, has years of experience in successfully managing a classroom and writes in a clear and very practical way that is often hard to find especially in the area of classroom management.

I especially liked his last post, “Your Daily Checklist for Effective Classroom Management.” Since teaching is a process of ups and downs, we constantly need to be reminded of how we can be more mentally prepared to tackle the day.

Check it out!

The Teacher Writer’s Life: Giving Teachers Tools for Success

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:21:14 +0000

After a few straight days of subfreezing temperatures in New York City, (minus 18 below to be exact) I’m glad to be back home in Pittsburgh or “‘da Burgh” as locals say. Surprisingly, it’s so much warmer here!

Even though the trip from New York City to Atlantic City was only two and a half hours, it seemed to take forever. Maybe it was because we stopped several times because of the snowstorm or maybe because I barely got enough sleep the night before.

I was happy to see how teachers at the Atlantic Cape Community College wanted to diversify their teaching. In my keynote I discussed how we can vary our instruction to meet all types of learners. In fact, research has shown that varied instruction can be much more beneficial than simply making sure our instruction fits every learning style in the classroom!

One teacher for example, wanted to know if he should give a midterm since he wasn’t required to do so. I thought for a moment and then said, “You could ask your students to come up with some study questions based on the material you taught which they can then answer in groups . They can also exchange their questions with another group or pair.”

That’s just one out of the many ways we can diversify our teaching with content so we can suit various learning styles!

I came home happy and satisfied from my cold trip knowing that I had given teachers the tools they needed for their students’ success and for their teaching. I also videotaped the in-service so you’ll soon be able to view snippets of this keynote which I’ll soon upload to the New Teacher Resource Center.

Stay tuned for the “Power Learning Series” consisting of two powerpoint presentations on “What Motivates Adults” and “How Adults Learn” which I’ll be doing for a community college in Pittsburgh in two weeks. This time, I’ll be local!

If you have any questions on diversifying teaching styles or on any aspect of teaching or classroom management, you can always email me privately: sassondorit@gmail.com and I’ll answer them.

Follow Our Blog Chain and Win Prizes!

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:13:46 +0000

Suzanne Lieurance, www.suzannelieurance.com, Children’s Author, Freelance Writer, and the Working Writer’s Coach, has organized a blog chain with some very exciting authors from February 1st through February 8th. Have some fun, learn some great tips, and possibly win some prizes.

Suzanne Lieurance is the author of over a dozen published books for children. Find out what she’s up to every day by visiting her author site. You’ll find information about all her books, upcoming writer’s conferences and other events where you’ll find Suzanne, as well as tips for both aspiring and established children’s book authors. Suzanne hosts Book Bites for Kids, a talk show about children’s books, every weekday afternoon on blogtalkradio. Find out who her guests will be each day by reading her blog. Sign up for her mailing list at the site and receive a FREE ebook.

Grier Cooper

Terri

Mayra
www.mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com

Karen
http://karenandrobyn.blogspot.com

Nancy Sanders

Kristi Bernard
Kathy Stemke

Now…I hope you’ll visit the next site on the blog chain sponsored by the National Writing for Children Center. For a list of all the links on the chain, go here.

Teaching Tips on How to Integrate a Powerpoint Presentation into the Instructional Process and Curriculum

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:00:30 +0000

Students of today’s generation are much more technologically savvy and as a result, they can process information at a much higher rate than their counterparts of just a few years ago. For teachers, this means a lot more work in adapting user-friendly materials, but in a structured way
that is also motivating and communicative.

Plan a Powerpoint Just Like A Regular Lesson

Information technology works very much like the components of a lesson plan: pre-while-post (beginning, middle and end) and should supplement goals and skills, which the teacher should identify before the onset of instruction. Like any technological skills, presenting information may be user-friendly for students, but it does require both student practice and preparation on part of the teacher. Goals and skills should be meet the requirements the teacher wants to teach, (i.e. summarizing information, presenting information effectively), and teachers should spend quality time modeling the activities and practicing the skills needed to effectively carry out the task.

If students are expected to research a given subject and present their findings and insights to the class, the teacher should recommend appropriate site for conducting research and practice sessions on summarization.

Match Content Based Skills to Student Needs

A power point presentation works much differently than a simple verbal presentation because it combines all four skills. Students need to be instructed on the best way to communicate the targeted information. For example, they will need to succinctly incorporate the slide’s content to effectively communicate the targeted skills of the research project. If students set out to research endangered animals, they should present the targeted facts in an interesting and lively way that does not resemble a scientific identification card or something one would find on the Internet.

Appealing to the Visual Elements

Also, teachers should consider the importance of subheadings and fonts when preparing their presentation in terms of creating a visually appealing layout. The visual elements such as subheadings and fonts should appeal to their student peers.

Assessment and the Learning Process

Assessment is another important accountability feature of any technological component of a lesson plan. Teachers should also familiarize their students with the grading rubric, which is divided into categories based on the skills the teacher already taught. In research projects for
example, a power point presentation is effective for presenting information students have already read.

Integrating a powerpoint presentation combines a number of different skills mainly knowing how to work its visual element in order to appeal to the instructional needs of your students.