Jason's Test Assessment and Grammar self-evaluation

Test on Prepositions

This is a pretty simplistic if not somewhat long multiple choice test on prepositions of time. From the standpoint of the 5 principles we discussed, my opinion is that:

1. From the standpoint of practicality, this test is very practical. The multiple choice makes it very quick and easy to grade and also pretty quick and easy for students to take.
2. From the standpoint of reliability, this type of test is one of the most reliable for the professor to grade. You will still need to make sure (as much as possible) that the students are well fed and well rested but in terms of grading, you should have no reliability issues because there is no room for your opinion or bias to enter into the choice of grading.
3. From the standpoint of Validity, the test seems like it would be a perfectly valid test, validly measuring what it aims to measure. However, inevitably you will have some students trying to guess at some of the answers and having the potential to get the right answer from just guessing while not super high is high enough to warrant a comment.
4. From the standpoint of authenticity, it offers a little in the way of real world authenticity because you are using the the prepositions in real, valid sentences. However, this language is not very relevant or meaning to anyone and does not offer very much authentic creativity and authentic use of language. Its a little stinted as well.
5. From the standpoint of Washback, there doesn't seem to much you could do in terms of giving good feedback other than reteaching the grammar lesson.

In terms of the grammar lesson that I gave on Tuesday, one of students made a suggestion about giving more examples using myself or other students and I think that this would be one great way to make the lesson more real-life and real world. Maybe I could tell a story and act out the story that I am telling while I tell it using prepositions to related myself to various objects in the story. I could also have the students act out something using prepositions. Maybe you are in a clothing store and your friend tells you that he or she saw the coolest/cutest whatever and it was over there to the left of such and such or something and so the students would have to go find the item based on the clues they were given. I think our treasure hunt was really communicative in this way but it could be polished.

Listening - Types of Performance, Techniques, Assessment

I. Types of Listening Performance (Brown 308-310)
a. Reactive – This is essentially rote memorization. It is not as valid for an interactive classroom but it may have a small role in correcting pronunciation.
b. Intensive – For stressing specific components of language such as phonemes and intonation or for “imprinting” a phrase.
c. Responsive – Teacher speaks and students respond immediately. It can help with checking comprehension, questions and commands, or clarification.
d. Selective – Finding specific meaning within a longer discourse such as speeches, broadcasts, stories. This is similar to teaching the strategy of picking out the key words in an utterance.
e. Extensive – More effective for lectures and note taking and uses a top down method of teaching.
f. Interactive – Requires integration with speaking and other skills and includes all of the above types of performance. Leads to true, real-world communication.
II. Listening Techniques (Brown 312-317)
a. Bottom-Up – This technique goes from small pieces like phonemes to grammar specifics.
b. Top-Down – More concerned with schemata, which is what the student brings to the classroom.
c. Interactive – An exchange of ideas between two or more people and the effect that they have on each other.
III. Assessment (Brown 318-319)
a. Intensive Listening Tasks – More about distinguishing pieces of language such as phonemic and morphological pairs, stress patterns, recognition and paraphrasing.
b. Responsive Listening Tasks – This is about questions and answers
c. Selective Listening Tasks – Fill in the blanks, verbal responses, chart completion and sentence repetition.
d. Extensive Listening Tasks – Focus is dictation, dialogue, lectures and stories.
e. Interaction – Includes full skills integration and all of the above points including speaking.


Critical Thinking Questions
1. What type of technique would you use for the intensive type of listening performance and why?
2. How would you go about assessing a student or students in an extensive listening performance environment? Give examples.
3. In an interactive teaching situation, which uses all five of the other types performance, which performance type do you feel you might use more and why?

Matt, Jason and Katie Part 2

Listening:
Include a focus on listening in an integrated-skills course
Encourage the development of listening strategies

When including a focus on listening in your integrated-skills course you must be careful to tailor the listening activities to the level of English that your students speak. Some activities you can do to help focus on listening are playing an audio recording and having students respond. Going around the room randomly selecting students and asking them questions about a particular topic and changing the topic as students share about this or that or whatever.

For encouraging students to develop listening strategies we discussed how they will help the students have a more successful learning experience. Listening strategies will help their understanding of English and increase their automaticity. Learning not to worry about whether you understand every word in an utterance but rather picking up the key words will help a student greatly in listening. Also, note taking will help a student to grasp the spoken language as it gives the student and opportunity to summarize what is being heard and to maintain focus.

Speaking:
Encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts

Using relevant, intrinsically motivating spoken language activities helps the student stay interested and take charge of his/her learning. Any grammar discussion should be condensed to a mini-lesson that addresses specific grammatical errors that are hampering a group of the students in class.

Theme-Based Instruction

Theme-Based Instruction...
This method is very centered on a theme or topic which is the driving force, while the grammar takes a back seat.

Eating Out Theme: Restaurant Style [not fast food]

Context: ESL
Level: Intermediate
Course Focus: Integrated course, General English skills
Students: Adults
Lesson: Unit Four, Lesson One
[Book we made up]
Class hour: 4 hours
Terminal Objective: Dining out at a casual restaurant.
Enabling Objective: How to read a menu, How to tip, How to pay, How to interact with hostess/host, waiter/waitress

Materials: Chili's menu, money, comment card, salt/pepper, sugar packets, ketchup, coaster, silverware, napkins, play food, Chili's check/receipt

Warm-Up: We will watch a Youtube clip of a couple dining at a restaurant. Students will then point out what they saw and discuss the clip. Finally, we will finish with a sequencing activity where students will put into practice the order the restaurant experience goes in. Skills: Listening, Speaking

Presentation:
1. Role Play
Hostess/Getting seated or waiting to be seated
The teachers will model this section, the students will then role play this section, and then we will discuss. Skills: Listening, Speaking
2. Role Play
Meeting waiter/waitress, Ordering drinks and then food
The teachers will model this section, the students will then role play this section, and then we will discuss. Skills: Reading, Listening, Speaking
3. Role Play
Getting the ticket, paying for the meal, to-go box if needed
The teachers will model this section, the students will then role play this section, and then we will discuss. Skills: Speaking, Listening

Closure:
We will examine the Chili's ticket/receipt and explain the "tip" process. The students will learn how to fill out the ticket and how to tip. We will then talk about our field trip to Chili's where we will experience the restaurant first hand. Skills: Writing, Reading

Interlanguage - Article Analysis for TESOL Professional

Nickel, Gerhard. 1998. The role of interlanguage in foreign language teaching. IRAL 36. 1-10.

This article was somewhat short and difficult to read for a non-graduate level (read normal) person but for the right person this article could be helpful for those seeking a better grasp on the effect that interlanguage is playing in a given classroom. The benefit a TESOL professional might gain from this article seems to be primarily in the realm of 'understanding' and is not that practical. A TESOL professional probably won't gain that much practical use from this article but they certainly will have a clearer understanding of what is going on in the students brain related to interlanguage and therefore will have the opportunity to compensate for the effect that interlanguage is playing in the students brains. Nickel gives a good example towards the middle of the text about the difficulty that those whose first language is german have in learning the difference between continuous and non-continuous verb tenses due to an interlanguage issue and offers some practical advice on how to compensate for that phenomenon. However, that seems to be the only practical bit of advice that is really offered. At any rate a good TESOL professional with a large vocabulary will be able to glean some useful tidbits from this article.

Interlanguage - How Understanding Interlanguage Can Help Us Teach

Cohen, Andrew D. 1995. In which language Do/Should multilinguals think? Language Culture and Curriculum 8. 99-113.

The common belief that second-language learners need to think as much as possible in the target language (TL) for successful learning to take place is examined in a survey of students in an English as a second language (ESL) teaching methods course & teachers of ESL (total N = 16). The Ss' patterns of planned & unplanned thinking are described. In verbal reports, Ss conveyed a belief that they benefited from thinking in the TL. Data from previous studies are presented that suggests that first language (L1) use may be beneficial to TL acquisition. The current data are judged insufficient to determine which method is best, & it is suggested that further research may produce guidelines on the advantages & disadvantages of thinking through the L1 while performing in the TL. 1 Appendix, 20 References. Adapted from the source document

Foster, Pauline. 1999. Task-based learning and pedagogy. ELT Journal 53. 69-70.

The advantage of task-based language teaching over the traditional presentation-practice-performance model is explained. Language learners acquire a second language according to their own internal agenda, regardless of how teachers organize the material; engaging in meaningful tasks allows the students' interlanguage to progress toward target-language norms. Emphasis on meaning should not be at the expense of form, however; frameworks combining both elements are noted. 7 References. E. Taylor

Martinez-Flor, Alicia, and Esther Uso-Juan. 2006. A comprehensive pedagogical framework to develop pragmatics in the foreign language classroom: The 6Rs approach. Applied Language Learning 16. 39-63.

To prepare learners for successful communication is nowadays one of the main goals of teaching practices of lecturers of English as a Second (ESL) or Foreign (EFL) language in the University setting. Consequently, language teaching needs to focus not only on linguistic or strategic aspects of the target language, but also on the development of the learner's pragmatic competence, which refers to the ability of employing target-language linguistic resources in an appropriate way for a particular context. Given this necessity, instruction in pragmatics has recently motivated a lot of research (Rose & Kasper, 2001; Bardovi-Harlig & Mahan-Taylor, 2003; Martinez-Flor, Uso-Juan & Fernandez-Guerra, 2003; Alcon & Martlnez-Flor 2005). Additionally, this need is stronger in the foreign language setting, since the opportunities to be in contact with authentic language use outside the classroom are very limited (Rose, 1999). In an attempt to contribute to this area of research, in this paper we present a comprehensive pedagogical framework, called the 6Rs Approach, aimed at providing EFL lecturers with a pedagogical tool that may help them to integrate pragmatics in their teaching syllabi. This guiding framework, which has been elaborated on previous approaches and techniques from the field of interlanguage pragmatics (ILP), focuses on requests and suggestions as two speech acts that may intrinsically threaten the hearer's face and, therefore, need to be performed in an appropriate way for their successful completion. Adapted from the source document

Nickel, Gerhard. 1998. The role of interlanguage in foreign language teaching. IRAL 36. 1-10.

Interlanguage is argued to be a valuable tool in foreign-language teaching. Previous studies of interlanguage & some attitudes toward it are reviewed, followed by discussion of interlanguage's role in foreign-language teaching. Teaching strategies are expected to benefit from insights into interlanguage, especially concerning simplifications, transfer phenomena, error evaluation, & fossilization. It is suggested that teachers focus more on the positive aspects of interlanguage than the errors in order to maintain students' motivation. Interlanguage also benefits language awareness for students; if introduced to the inevitability & functionality of errors, they will be more likely to sustain their motivation to learn. 29 References. Adapted from the source document

Ohta, Amy Snyder. 2005. Interlanguage pragmatics in the zone of proximal development. System 33. 503-17.

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD) has been fruitfully applied in L2 research that examines second & foreign language learning. This paper considers the applicability of the ZPD to interlanguage pragmatics instruction & research. First, the ZPD is defined [Vygotsky, L.S., 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA], & definitions are queried in light of differences between second language learning/development from the child development context for which the ZPD was developed [Ohta, A.S., 2001a. Second Language Acquisition Processes in the Classroom: Learning Japanese. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ; Ohta, A.S. The zone of proximal development & second language acquisition: Beyond social interaction. In N. Negishi, T. Umino, A. Yoshitomi, (Eds.), Readings in Second Language Acquisition & Second Language Pedagogy in a Japanese Context. John Benjamins, Amsterdam, in press]. Then, three interlanguage pragmatics research studies involving instructional intervention are considered through the framework the ZPD provides. These are [Takahashi, S., 2001. The role of input enhancement in developing pragmatic competence. In: Rose, K.R., Kasper, G. (Eds.), Pragmatics in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 171-199.], a study of explicit/implicit instruction of English biclausal requests; [Samuda, V., 2001. Guiding relationships between form & meaning during task performance: The role of the teacher. In: Bygate, M., Skehan, P., Swain, M. (Eds.), Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching & Testing. Longman, New York, pp. 119-140.], a study of the impact of teacher intervention on task-based instruction in English modals; & [Yoshimi, D.R., 2001. Explicit instruction & JFL learner's use of interactional discourse markers. In: Rose, K.R., Kasper, G. (Eds.), Pragmatics in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 223-244.], which examines the impact of instruction on Japanese conversational storytelling. Analysis suggests how the zone of proximal development impacted the development observed in the three studies & how instructional methods tested did nor did not tap into the potential of the ZPD. The paper concludes with recommendations for researchers & teachers, suggesting how the notion of the ZPD can be used both to better understand pragmatic development & to improve instruction in L2 pragmatics. 4 Tables, 40 References. [Copyright 2005 Elsevier Ltd.]

Spada, Nina, and Patsy M. Lightbown. 2008. Form-focused instruction: Isolated or integrated? TESOL Quarterly 42. 181-207.

There is increasing consensus that form-focused instruction helps learners in communicative or content-based instruction to learn features of the target language that they may not acquire without guidance. The subject of this article is the role of instruction that is provided in separate (isolated) activities or within the context of communicative activities (integrated). Research suggests that both types of instruction can be beneficial, depending on the language feature to be learned, as well as characteristics of the learner and the learning conditions. For example, isolated lessons may be necessary to help learners who share the same first language (L1) overcome problems related to L1 influence on their interlanguage, integrated instruction may be best for helping learners develop the kind of fluency and automaticity that are needed for communication outside the classroom. The evidence suggests that teachers and students see the benefits of both types of instruction. Explanations for the effectiveness of each type of instruction are drawn from theoretical work in second language acquisition and cognitive psychology as well as from empirical research. Adapted from the source document

Tono, Yukio. 2007. The roles of oral L2 learner corpora in language teaching: The case of the NICT JLE corpus. Linguistic Insights - Studies in Language and Communication 51. 163-79.

After surveying major learner corpus projects & studies devoted to corpus material use in language learning & teaching, the compilation of the NICT-JLE (National Institute of Information & Communications Technology - Japanese Learners of English) Corpus is related, describing its size, design criteria, digital representation, & auxiliary, accompanying tools. On-going research into a spoken learner language based on the NICT-JLE Corpus is reported, discussing studies aimed at identifying the characteristics of spoken interlanguages at different proficiency levels & natural language processing research devoted to automatic error detection & identification & automatic identification of speakers' proficiency levels. Tables, Figures, References. Z. Dubiel

Tseng, Yen-Chu, and Hsien-Chin Liou. 2006. The effects of online conjunction materials on college EFL students' writing. System 34. 270-83.

Misuse of English conjunction related to incoherent writing, according to the literature, comes from learners' first language interference, improper mechanical exercises, & misleading lists of connectors in textbooks demonstrated as if mutually interchangeable without contextual constraints. Form-focused instruction with explicit semantic, stylistic & syntactic properties can help learning of connectors. Additionally, computer learner corpus analysis which identifies systematic interlanguage patterns in Chinese learner data offers pedagogical insights for the current study. Four Web-based online conjunction units based on principles from related literature & learner corpus analyses were designed for 19 EFL college students to use for a month with sentence-beyond contexts concerning stylistic properties & overuse situations. Before & after the project, a gap-filling test on conjunctors & a writing task were used, followed by an evaluation questionnaire on students' perception. Results indicated that students generally held a positive attitude toward the online units & demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the use of connectors in both the test & free production contexts. The case study argues that pedagogically sound instructional design for online conjunction materials can help college EFL learners write more accurate & coherent essays. Tables, Figures, References. [Copyright 2006 Elsevier Ltd.]

Valette, Rebecca M. 1992. Proficiency and accuracy: Enemies or allies? Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics. 174-8.

It is argued that teachers of foreign languages must be concerned with accuracy & accurate language from the very beginning of instruction. It is argued that the "communication first" position, which urges students to communicate however they can, in interlanguages that may be limited, will result in problems for learners if accurate speech & grammar are not emphasized, as, it is claimed, continued used of fluent inaccurate speech can lead to fossilization. Several of claims made by "communication first" proponents in support of their approach are discussed & refuted. 8 References. B. Annesser Murray

Vidal, Rejane Teixeira. 2007. EFL learners' self-evaluation of learning processes after metatalk tasks. Revista Brasileira de Linguistica Aplicada 7. 117-48.

This investigation attempted to combine form-focused instruction with task-based learning in the context of autonomous learning in an English as a foreign language scenario with the aim of stretching learners' interlanguage as related to language accuracy. It intended to contribute to furthering the understanding concerning how producing the target language while reflecting on it may trigger cognitive processes that both consolidate existing knowledge & generate linguistic knowledge which is new to the learner (SWAIN, 1998), helping them understand & become more conscious of their learning process as a whole. The study has achieved the major aims it had set out to accomplish: it provided additional evidence for the claim that successful learners understand the process underling their own learning & that form-focused tasks which explore collaborative dialogue via meta-talk have the potential to shed light on the field of learner development (BENSON, 2001), besides pushing learners in their output. Adapted from the source document

Jason's Initial Web Pick

The website, Using English, seems to be a pretty solid resource for finding a medley of handouts, quizzes, lesson plans, exams, articles by teachers, english language references and even contains a forum where you can connect with other teachers and students for personal feedback on any questions or ideas you might have. Without registering you have access to most of the resources on the site but if you register you also gain access to more of everything that is already offered without registering plus some help with irregular verbs and online tests. The website even has a store where you can purchase text books for help with teaching and learning. The forums are really nice and well maintained and used. There are over 300000 posts in the "Ask a Teacher" section of the forums if you are trying to learn English. However, one negative point is that there doesn't seem to be that much on the forums for the teachers themselves for discussing the various aspects of teaching English. In fact, there is only one sub-forum for the teachers as opposed to the 12 or so sub-forums for learners.

The layout is pretty solid for this website and it is pretty easy to get around and find what you are looking for. One thing I find annoying is that instead of having the Teachers or Students button on the webpage menu bar as the first or second button, they have their members button in the way instead. There is also a special members forum but that is no use for those of us who don't want to put our information all over the internet by having to sign-up for stuff like this.

Finally, one last point is that there is a really great Language Resources section that gives you links to all kinds of other great language websites for teaching and learning English. One disadvantage to this website is that there doesn't seem to be any audio section for listening to the language being spoken. Pronunciation and general speaking of the language is a huge part of learning English. This website seems to focus a lot on the grammatical side of learning and less on the listening and speaking side of learning. Another point is that while all of these resources are great, if a person is not a great teacher or doesn't know how to use these resources in the best way, then you are really out of luck because none of this will help you. It also seems like these resources are geared more towards large classrooms of students learning the language rather than small groups or one on one lessons.

Just a quick critical analysis summary of the disadvantages:

You have to register to gain the most benefit

Limited help for teachers on the forums

No audio files

Geared primarily towards the grammatical style of teaching

A person has to know how to use the resource

And the advantages (Finish on a positive note):

Large database of FREE resources for professionals

A Forum where your students can get a lot of help if you are a terrible teacher for them

A store for buying books to assist you

Great page of links to other resources

Jason

My name is Jason and I grew up speaking english (believe it or not.) My major is French and my minor is linguistics. I am studying French because I love the language and I love learning languages in general. I have four formal semesters of French teaching but while growing up my parents were always trying to get me and my siblings to learn the french language. We have gone through 5 different versions of the Learn to Speak software and countless other pieces of computers software and audio files. At one point we even were taking French tutoring from a lady who could speak 15 different european languages. She was really old and terrifying but my sister picked up almost a perfect French accent by listening to her speak.

The reason my parents were so into french is because they have had a burden or desire to go to the French-speaking world as missionaries even before I was born. I personally didn't start applying myself to learning French until college. While growing up, I have tried learning by many of the different teaching methods we learned about on the first day of class in some way or another and I am not sure what is best. However, I know the way that I like the best is one on one interaction where I can get immediate feedback on my pronunciation and help with understanding. I really strongly believe that the only way to truly learn a language is by being immersed in the language and culture because learning a language is not simply a matter of understanding a string of words that make up a sentence but understanding the culture, context, history and the people that are speaking the language.

Eventually I chose French as my major because I was originally doing International Business with French as my language but discovered (rather abruptly) that I strongly disliked business. I also could see myself being a missionary to the French-speaking world and so I thought it was a good match.

I have had basically no experience teaching a language or really teaching anything. My mother is a science teacher for the 5th and 6th grade so maybe it is in my blood. I guess time will tell! Katie is my sister!

Just a quick edit: I just remembered that I was tutoring an American this past semester in French. I was really an awful teacher. Mainly I just tried to get him to speak the language and try to make the connections as far as putting sentences together with the vocabulary he had learned in our sessions. It didn't work out very well.