I recently became aware of some things that you may find interesting:
First, here's an interesting job posting in San Antonio.
Second, the Tarrant Literacy Coalition is sponsoring a workshop on Feb 18 about informal assessments for English language learners. RSVP's are required, and information is below:
How Do You Know What They Know?
Informal Assessments for English Language Learners
Speaker: Dr. Nancy Montgomery
Date: Friday, February 18, 2011
Time: 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
Location: Catholic Charities
249 W Thornhill Dr, Fort Worth, TX 76115
About the Presenter
Dr. Nancy Montgomery will bring her wealth of expertise and years of experience from her work with teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL), as well as her hands-on approach to working directly with students in the classroom to this workshop! She currently lectures at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and has been a presenter at national and international conferences on topics related to ESL in the area of literacy, as well as authoring textbook resources for ESL.
What makes this workshop especially relevant is her ability to share her knowledge in a way that will allow you to use it in your classroom on a day-to-day basis. Her common sense approach to assessment and instruction will give you some great tools to put to immediate use in your classroom!
Overview of the Workshop
Participants will learn about the impact of formal and informal assessments with adult learners. Examples of each type of assessment will be shared and discussed. This session is appropriate for administrators, teachers, volunteers and tutors who work with adult students in all levels of ESL and adult basic education.
Sponsored by:
Tarrant Literacy Coalition
The Learning Center of North Texas
Catholic Charities
Space is limited to 25 participants. Advance reservations are required by Friday, February 11, 2011 (late reservations will not be accepted).
To make your reservations, email Angela at ahines@tarrantlit.org
In case of bad weather, the workshop will be held on Friday, February 25, 2011 at Southcliff Baptist Church, 4100 SW Loop 820, Fort Worth, TX 76109. Please make a note of this date on your calendar and we'll keep you posted if we need to make this change.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
First Reflections due tomorrow!
As you know, your first reflection is due tomorrow (Friday, Jan 28), by midnight. These should be sent to me by email, preferably as a pdf. If you have not yet started your service learning, make sure you send me an email (also by midnight tomorrow) to remind me of that in place of sending a reflection so that you are not penalized for a late reflection!!
In terms of writing, because everyone is volunteering in different places, I like to allow you the freedom to discuss the aspects of your teaching, your knowledge, and your students that you want to. However, I know that it's sometimes hard to come up with what to write, especially the first time. Therefore, I am going to give you a prompt that you can focus on for your writing, if you choose to. Please do not simply answer the questions! The point is for you to use the prompt to guide possible things to write about, and the important thing is that you are discussing what YOU are learning from your volunteer teaching experience.
A possible first prompt: Think about your expectations before your first meeting. How did you feel? Were you nervous or confident? Prepared or worried about what to do? Then think about how the class/session felt to you. Were your expectations met? In what ways? What did you learn about yourself in terms of interacting with students in similar situations or on the first day of class? Were you comfortable with it once you were there? Why or why not? What would you do differently if you could go back and teach that class/session again?
Also, if you have yet to start with a conversation partner, and you want some guidance and possible conversation prompts, here are some of my go-to sites for finding things like that. Feel free to add to them if you have particular favorites of your own!
http://www.eslgold.com/speaking/topics_conversation.html
http://iteslj.org/questions/
http://www.esljunction.com/conversation_questions/
http://www.eslgenius.com/Conversation_Questions.html
http://www.eslpartyland.com/teachers/nov/conv.htm
In terms of writing, because everyone is volunteering in different places, I like to allow you the freedom to discuss the aspects of your teaching, your knowledge, and your students that you want to. However, I know that it's sometimes hard to come up with what to write, especially the first time. Therefore, I am going to give you a prompt that you can focus on for your writing, if you choose to. Please do not simply answer the questions! The point is for you to use the prompt to guide possible things to write about, and the important thing is that you are discussing what YOU are learning from your volunteer teaching experience.
A possible first prompt: Think about your expectations before your first meeting. How did you feel? Were you nervous or confident? Prepared or worried about what to do? Then think about how the class/session felt to you. Were your expectations met? In what ways? What did you learn about yourself in terms of interacting with students in similar situations or on the first day of class? Were you comfortable with it once you were there? Why or why not? What would you do differently if you could go back and teach that class/session again?
Also, if you have yet to start with a conversation partner, and you want some guidance and possible conversation prompts, here are some of my go-to sites for finding things like that. Feel free to add to them if you have particular favorites of your own!
http://www.eslgold.com/speaking/topics_conversation.html
http://iteslj.org/questions/
http://www.esljunction.com/conversation_questions/
http://www.eslgenius.com/Conversation_Questions.html
http://www.eslpartyland.com/teachers/nov/conv.htm
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Experiences learning with different methodologies (4353)
Blog Post #1 – for 4353 students
As discussed in class, there are many different methods that have been popular at different times and with different instructors of language classes. Your goal for this blog post is to offer an example of a teacher (no names please) you have had who was clearly a fan of one particular method, and discuss how this affected your language learning.
Think back on a language course you have taken. Pinpoint in your mind one specific method discussed in class that your teacher(s) used. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of this method for your own personal language learning experience.
On the blog, discuss the use of that particular method and how its application affected your learning outcomes. Specifically, do you feel that the use of this method helped or hindered your language learning? Explain as thoroughly as possible, with clear examples, and support for your claims. You should write 2-3 paragraphs about your thoughts, and they should be posted by classtime on Monday, as a comment to this post.
As discussed in class, there are many different methods that have been popular at different times and with different instructors of language classes. Your goal for this blog post is to offer an example of a teacher (no names please) you have had who was clearly a fan of one particular method, and discuss how this affected your language learning.
Think back on a language course you have taken. Pinpoint in your mind one specific method discussed in class that your teacher(s) used. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of this method for your own personal language learning experience.
On the blog, discuss the use of that particular method and how its application affected your learning outcomes. Specifically, do you feel that the use of this method helped or hindered your language learning? Explain as thoroughly as possible, with clear examples, and support for your claims. You should write 2-3 paragraphs about your thoughts, and they should be posted by classtime on Monday, as a comment to this post.
Functional vs. Structural Syllabus (5301)
Blog Post #1 – for 5301 students
As discussed in class, a functional syllabus is a way of organizing a language learning curriculum which focuses on communicative functions of language rather than sequenced grammar items (a structural syllabus). Your goal for this blog post is to find an example of a syllabus and determine whether it is functional or structural.
Google around and find a language course syllabus, a textbook table of contents, or some other course schedule information. Look it over and determine if you think the curriculum is organized more functionally or more structurally. Is it a combination of both? Note that if you are not sure which it is, you are probably better off finding a different syllabus!
On the blog, post a link to your selected resource, and then explain your reasoning as to whether this resource is more functional or structural. Be specific, as clear as possible, and plan to write 2-3 paragraphs about your thoughts. Please make sure to post by classtime on Monday, as a comment to this post.
As discussed in class, a functional syllabus is a way of organizing a language learning curriculum which focuses on communicative functions of language rather than sequenced grammar items (a structural syllabus). Your goal for this blog post is to find an example of a syllabus and determine whether it is functional or structural.
Google around and find a language course syllabus, a textbook table of contents, or some other course schedule information. Look it over and determine if you think the curriculum is organized more functionally or more structurally. Is it a combination of both? Note that if you are not sure which it is, you are probably better off finding a different syllabus!
On the blog, post a link to your selected resource, and then explain your reasoning as to whether this resource is more functional or structural. Be specific, as clear as possible, and plan to write 2-3 paragraphs about your thoughts. Please make sure to post by classtime on Monday, as a comment to this post.
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