On The Last Day of Class...

1. Please click here for the test: http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/302.html

This test is a valid test for being able to use indefinite articles. There are several questions that are more difficult, as they are the exceptions to the rules. It is good because the questions start out easy, but then become increasingly difficult, though I wish that they also had some easy questions at the end. It seems to be targeted toward an intermediate level of understanding.

2. My grammar instruction was a bit too deductive to be "communicative." I believe that having some examples and going over them would have been more useful than going over the rules first. On the lesson plan I wrote, I actually covered the rules first and did the PowerPoint second, but in class I just did the PowerPoint. I do not think that this would necessarily be the best way to teach articles in an actual ESL class because of the limited amount of reading comprehension. I have learned much about my teaching style and that I, too, love grammar, but I also know that too much grammar instruction early on in my L2 learning has caused me to over-monitor my speech.

Principles of Writing and then some

Principles of Writing
1. Teach students helpful writing techniques...
a. Know your audience
b. Plan and prepare
c. Set realistic goals
d. Revise, get feedback, then edit
2. Keep the balance between the writing process and what you write (the product)
3. Know your audience, especially regarding their culture and literary schemata
4. Draw connections between the reading and writing processes
5. Use as many real-world writing tasks as humanly possible.
6. Emphasize the entire writing process
a. Brainstorming/Freewriting
b. Write a draft
c. Revise (then return to previous step)
d. Finalize after extensive editing, including peer-editing
7. Provide interactive writing opportunities
8. Be sensitive when correcting errors, but don’t shy from correction
9. Explain and model the proper writing process and conventions

Types of Writing Performance
1. Imitation: Dictation
2. Controlled: Change present tense to past
3. Guided: Write about a video clip
4. Self-writing: Journal
5. Display writing: short-answer, essay answers, research papers
6. “Real” Writing
a. Academic: collaboration
b. Vocational/Technical: memos
c. Personal: email

Evaluation and Assessment
1. Content: what the writing is about
2. Organization: how the writing is organized
3. Discourse: How the paper “flows”
4. Syntax: Using it correctly for the task
5. Vocabulary: Self-explanatory
6. Mechanics: Dot the Is, Cross the Ts

Critically Thinking
1. Where should the emphasis be placed on a student's writing task, product or process? Why?
2. How can you use authentic writing tasks in groups/pairs?
3. Defend your position on the role of the teacher being either a model or an editor.

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

Effort in Reading/Writing/Note-taking in L1 & L2

This research was primarily aimed at studying the attentional load entailed by reading, notetaking, and writing from an electronic document in L1 and in L2. Concerning cognitive effort, there was no significant difference between L1 and L2. On the other hand, reading and note-taking were significantly more costly than writing.

Participants abbreviated almost twice as many words noted in L2 than in L1. Again, the ways of abbreviating in L1 were apparently not transferred to L2, and the use of this process seems to entail the acquisition of language-specific conventions. Nonetheless, word abbreviation in note-taking is an effective strategy for saving time and transcribing as many words as possible without having to go back to the source document.

Compared to note-takers in L1, L2 participants did more verbatim copying of their notes during the writing process. In contrast, the L2 participants benefited from the word-processor condition, since they were able to copy and paste far more ideas than the L1 participants, as if they sensed the difficulty of selecting relevant information.

I think that this article is great in terms of the impact of note-taking in the L2 (English for our students). Realizing how difficult it is to write notes in a new language and how much concentration it takes to do so can help in our pacing of our speech.

Automaticity (and Fluency)

Record 1 of 10

Derwing, Tracey M; Munro, Murray J; Thomson, Ronald I; Rossiter, Marian J. 2009. The Relationship Between L1 Fluency And L2 Fluency Development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 31. 533-557.

A fundamental question in the study of second language (L2) fluency is the extent to which temporal characteristics of speakers' first language (L1) productions predict the same characteristics in the L2. A close relationship between a speaker's L1 and L2 temporal characteristics would suggest that fluency is governed by an underlying trait. This longitudinal investigation compared L1 and L2 English fluency at three times over 2 years in Russian- and Ukrainian- (which we will refer to here as Slavic) and Mandarin-speaking adult immigrants to Canada. Fluency ratings of narratives by trained judges indicated a relationship between the L1 and the L2 in the initial stages of L2 exposure, although this relationship was found to be stronger in the Slavic than in the Mandarin learners. Pauses per second, speech rate, and pruned syllables per second were all related to the listeners' judgments in both languages, although vowel durations were not. Between-group differences may reflect differential exposure to spoken English and a closer relationship between Slavic languages and English than between Mandarin and English. Suggestions for pedagogical interventions and further research are also proposed.

Record 2 of 10

Trenchs-Parera, Mireia. 2009. Effects of Formal Instruction and a Stay Abroad on the Acquisition of Native-Like Oral Fluency. The Canadian Modern Language Review 65. 365-393.

The study describes the effects of formal instruction (FI) and a stay

abroad (SA) on the fluency displayed by 19 bilingual EFL undergraduate

non-native speakers (NNSs). It includes data from 10 native speakers

(NSs). The relative frequencies of seven dysfluency phenomena at three

data-collection points are compared statistically, and a linear

regression analysis is performed between NS and NNS data. A strategic

change is revealed. After FI, learners adjust their speech to an NS

pattern, but disruptions -- especially self-repetitions, pauses, and

non-lexical fillers -- are still frequent. The SA serves to correct

this somewhat while maintaining the NS-like tendency. There is a

decrease in the number of phenomena that may be perceived as signs of

insecurity, producing the impression of more fluent speech. These

phenomena are replaced by increases in lexical fillers that may make

NNS speech appear lexically richer. Both FI and SA, therefore, are

shown to be positive contexts of acquisition.

Record 3 of 10

Rossiter, Marian J. 2009. Perceptions of L2 Fluency by Native and Non-native Speakers of English. The Canadian Modern Language Review 65. 395-412.

This article explores perceptions of the speaking fluency of 24 adult

ESL learners (11 men, 13 women) who narrated picture stories at Time 1

and again 10 weeks later at Time 2. One-minute excerpts from each

rendition were randomized and played to 15 novice and six expert

native speakers of English (undergraduate education students and

experienced ESL teachers holding graduate degrees, respectively).

Because of the increasingly frequent use of English among non-native

speakers (NNSs) throughout the world, 15 advanced NNSs of English were

also included in the study. All three groups of listeners rated and

recorded their impressions of the fluency of the stimuli. The ratings

of all three groups were highly inter-correlated at Times 1 and 2.

Fluency ratings correlated with the temporal measures of total pause

per second and pruned syllables per second. Pausing, self-repetition,

speech rate, and fillers accounted for three-quarters of the negative

temporal impressions recorded by listeners; salient non-temporal

impressions included pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

*Record 4 of 10* (This is my favorite)

Piolat, Annie; Barbier, Marie-Laure; Roussey, Jean-Yves. 2008. Fluency and Cognitive Effort During First- and Second-Language Notetaking and Writing by Undergraduate Students. European Psychologist 13. 114-125.

This study concerns the cognitive effort expended and the difficulties

experienced by undergraduate students as they took notes and wrote a

text based on a lecture given in French, their primary language (L1),

and in English (L2). The 21 participants had studied English (L2) for

7 years before attending the university and they had taken 3 years of

intensive courses at the university in order to obtain their first

diploma in English ("license"). Participants were first trained on a

secondary task that allowed us to measure their cognitive effort while

they reformed two other main tasks in both languages, namely (1)

listening and taking notes on the main ideas of the lecture, and (2)

writing a text based on their notes. Participants also answered a

questionnaire about their difficulties with comprehension, taking

notes, making use of their notes, and writing in both languages. The

results indicated that writing processes were more effortful than

notetaking. Students' performance on the writing task did not vary

across languages. In contrast, the cognitive effort associated with

taking notes was greater for L2 than for L1, and writing speed was

slower. More difficulty was also experienced for not taking,

especially in L2, than in writing.

Record 5 of 10

Derwing, Tracey M; Munro, Murray J; Thomson, Ron I. 2008. A Longitudinal Study of ESL Learners' Fluency and Comprehensibility Development. Applied Linguistics 29. 359-380.

This longitudinal mixed-methods study compared the oral fluency of

well-educated adult immigrants from Mandarin and Slavic language

backgrounds (16 per group) enrolled in introductory English as a

second language (ESL) classes. Speech Samples were collected over a

2-year period, together with estimates of weekly English use. We also

conducted interviews at the last data collection session. The

participants' fluency and comprehensibility at three points over 22

months were judged by 33 native speakers of English. We examine the

learners' progress in light of their exposure to English outside of

their ESL class. The Slavic language speakers showed a small but

significant improvement in both fluency and comprehensibility, whereas

the Mandarin speakers' performance did not change over 2 years,

although both groups started at the same level of oral proficiency.

These differences may be attributable in part to degree of exposure to

English outside the ESL courses. Neither group had extensive exposure

outside of their classes because of employment and familial

responsibilities (although the Slavic language speakers reported more

opportunities). Thus both groups may have been disadvantaged by a lack

of oral fluency instruction. The findings, both quantitative and

qualitative, are interpreted using the Willingness to Communicate

framework; we also discuss implications for the language classroom.

Record 6 of 10

Hashemian, Mahmood; Nezhad, Mohammad Reza Telebi. 2007. The Development of Conceptual Fluency and Metaphorical Competence in L2 Learners. Linguistik Online 30. [np].

Conceptual Fluency (CF) & Metaphorical Competence (MC) have piqued

the interest of a number of L2 researchers. Leading the front are

Danesi (1992; 1995; 2003) & Johnson & Rosano (1993) who

contend that metaphorical language cannot afford to be ignored by L2

curricula anymore. Their push is to instill in L2 learners a more

functional communicative competence over a traditional formal

competence. This article reports on a study carried out to scrutinize

the development of CF & MC in Persian students of English. First,

a group of language students (95 freshmen, 92 sophomores, 139 juniors,

& 90 seniors) were tested to see whether they were conceptually

& metaphorically competent, & the results showed they were

almost bereft of such a competence, & the analysis of their

written discourse uncovered a very low level of metaphorical density.

The findings were in line with what Danesi (1992) has averred: L2

learners do not necessarily develop CF & MC after several years of

study. Then, the juniors partook in the study for a six-month period

in which they were exposed to & taught about the metaphorical

language of English. The post-test results were indicative that they

had developed their CF & MC to a large extent & that their

written discourse was almost as metaphorically dense as that of native

speakers. That is, the findings revealed that it is possible to

develop CF & MC in a classroom setting. Finally, the data

indicated that there is a relationship between CF & MC.

Record 7 of 10

Derwing, Tracey M; Thomson, Ron I; Munro, Murray J. 2006. English Pronunciation and Fluency Development in Mandarin and Slavic Speakers. System 34. 183-193.

The development of accent & fluency are traced in the speech of 20

Mandarin & 20 Slavic adult immigrants to Canada over a period of

10 months. The participants were enrolled in an ESL program but had no

special instruction in either pronunciation or fluency. The

immigrants' self-reported exposure to English outside of class was

used to determine whether there was a relationship between accent,

fluency, & voluntary contact with English. Judgment tasks were

carried out in which native English listeners assessed L2 speech

samples recorded at the outset of their studies, 2 months later, &

again 10 months after the first recording. The listeners' scalar

judgments of accentedness & fluency indicated that there was a

small improvement in accent over time, & that the Slavic learners

made significant progress in fluency, whereas the Mandarin

participants showed no improvement. The Slavic participants reported

significantly more contact with English speakers than did the Mandarin

speakers. Suggestions are made for ESL instruction & further

research.

Record 8 of 10

Derwing, Tracey M; Rossiter, Marian J; Munro, Murray J; Thomson, Ron I. 2004. Second Language Fluency: Judgments on Different Tasks. Language Learning 54. 655-679.

In this study, we determined whether untrained raters' assessments of

fluency in low-proficiency second language speech were related to

temporal measures & whether they varied across tasks. We collected

speech samples from 20 beginner Mandarin learners of English on

picture description, monologue, & dialogue tasks. Temporal

measures were made on each sample. Twenty-eight untrained judges rated

fluency, comprehensibility, & accentedness. Three trained raters

also judged samples for "goodness of prosody." The rating

data paralleled the speech measurements: speakers' performance on the

monologue & dialogue tasks was significantly better than on the

narratives; however, listeners' judgments of goodness of prosody did

not vary across tasks. Comprehensibility & fluency ratings were

highly correlated; fluency was more strongly related to

comprehensibility than to accentedness.

Record 9 of 10

Chandler, Jean. 2003. The Efficacy of Various Kinds of Error Feedback for Improvement in the Accuracy and Fluency of L2 Student Writing. Journal of Second Language Writing 12. 267-296.

This research uses experimental & control group data to show that

students' correction of grammatical & lexical errors between

assignments reduces such errors in subsequent writing over one

semester without reducing fluency or quality. A second study further

examines how error correction should be done. Should a teacher correct

errors or mark errors for student self-correction? If so, should the

teacher indicate location or type of error or both? Measures include

change in the accuracy of both revisions & of subsequent writing,

change in fluency, change in holistic ratings, student attitudes

toward the four different kinds of teacher response, & time

required by student & teacher for each kind of response. Findings

are that both direct correction & simple underlining of errors are

significantly superior to describing the type of error, even with

underlining, for reducing long-term error. Direct correction is best

for producing accurate revisions, & students prefer it because it

is the fastest & easiest way for them as well as the fastest way

for teachers over several drafts. However, students feel that they

learn more from self-correction, & simple underlining of errors

takes less teacher time on the first draft. Both are viable methods

depending on other goals.

Record 10 of 10

Iwahori, Yurika. 2008. Developing Reading Fluency: A Study of Extensive Reading in EFL. Reading in a Foreign Language 20. 70-91.

Due to the great interest of practitioners on reading fluency in first

language (L1) and second language (L2) English classroom settings,

fluency has become a hot topic. A number of studies have suggested

that an extensive reading (ER) program can lead to improvement of L2

learners' reading rate; however, studies about high school students

are scarce. Inspired by current issues in reading and previous ER

investigations, this study examined the effectiveness of ER on reading

rates of high school students in Japan. In this study, students were

provided with graded readers and comic books as reading material they

would find enjoyable. Pretests and posttests of reading rate and

language proficiency were administered and a t test was used to

compare means of the rates and language proficiency within groups.

Results indicate that ER is an effective approach to improve students'

rate and general language proficiency.

Fat, Ugly, and Snobby

"Describing Appearances & Characteristics of People"
Click here to go to the page and find the activity titled above.


A student describes a photograph of a person provided by the teacher.

The activity is appropriate for various age levels.

In the beginner proficiency level, covered areas include physical descriptions such as sex (male/female), major body parts (head, arm, etc.), colors (of hair, clothing, etc.).

In the intermediate level, descriptions become more specific. Examples would include more detailed descriptions (height, body type, etc.).

In the advanced level, descriptions become even more descriptive, including concepts like such as facial expressions, advanced vocabulary (types of clothing, less common adjectives, etc.), and inferences personality, education, profession, and economic status.

In the context of ESL, vocabulary will be centered more on the immediate community, especially community leaders and civil servants.

In the context of EFL, vocabulary will be more general.

Matt's Initial Web Pick

I am recommending a terrific website that allows you to click on an IPA symbol and hear its pronunciation. It is an interactive chart of the International Phonetic Alphabet. For those that are less familiar with IPA, it is basically a set of symbols that have a one-to-one correspondence between sound and symbol. This will allow you to see the place, manner, and voicing of each sound and how that sound is realized. It will make the sound followed by the sound between two vowels for the pulmonic (made with air from the lungs) consonants. To be fair, this site will be less useful without knowledge of the IPA system. This is a minor obstacle, however, because it will probably be required information at some point in your TESOL career. The chart includes most IPA symbols, not just English, so be warned if many symbols are unfamiliar. Remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Matt J

As far as being a language learner, I have spent years attempting to learn Spanish and still feel like I have a long way to go. I would not say that I have tried to learn any other languages, but am constantly fascinated by them.
I would have to say that I have been a language teacher since I learned English grammar. To be fair, I have unwittingly ascribed to the Prescriptive Linguist school of thought from the beginning. When I began taking linguistic classes, however, I have tried to reduce my inappropriate interruptions. In more recent history, I assisted in teaching adults English during my internship (LING 4395) last semester. This was my first experience of teaching a group of with which I do not share a common language.