Pax all!
 
Janet Isserlis has mentioned something that I am becoming more
interested in when asking my peers about teaching issues with my
students: case histories.
 
Has anyone here used them in an "official" capacity to network with your
fellow ESL teachers? I am working on an on-line course using them, and I
thought it might be a good way to give my fellow teachers enough info to
help me when I need advice. I belong to an officially-sanctioned
peer-ESL teacher group in NW PA, and we often turn to each other for
advice. What "fields" would we need to get a good feel for a student?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
Martin E. Senger
Adult ESL / Civics Teacher,
G.E.C.A.C. / The R. Banjamin Wiley Learning Center
Erie, Pa.
ESL Co-Director,
Pa. Assoc. for Adult Continuing Education (PAACE)
-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Janet Isserlis
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 12:29 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3203] Re: ESL Teacher Training
 
MaryAnn and all

Thanks for this - and for the specific mention of case studies as a way
of bringing ancillary (or 'soft') skills to the foreground.  It is
difficult to measure what a 'good' practitioner does, but easier, maybe,
to look at behaviors, and the knowledge and attitudes that inform those
behaviors.

So, for example, if I know that a Chinese speaker might repeat an
adjective for emphasis in Cantonese, that might help me understand how
she constructs language in her head; if I've spent time with her and her
family and hear that use of language in Cantonese (which i don't speak,
but do ask her about), then that gives me some small understanding of
her use of language.  If I spend break and other out-of-class time with
learners and see what matters to them, or have lived in any other
culture/country/setting outside my comfort zone and see that there are
ways of doing things that may differ from my own; if I sit in on another
teacher's class - all of these things remind me that we each frame
things in our own ways.  I don't need to know, necessarily, in advance,
what each situation will look like, but I do need to understand that
I'll need to be aware of things like personal space, eye contact, tone
of voice, which fork to use, or when chopsticks can be used in a
communal bowl and when they can't.  All of which to say that I DON'T
need to know everything about everything, but do need to know that there
are frameworks and assumptions/expectations in each setting.  This
knowledge does have a bearing on how I work as a teacher or teacher
trainer, and teaches me to (TRY) to remember to listen and observe
closely.  

Teaching (direct ESOL teaching as well as facilitating professional
development) has to be informed by what we know as educators - and that
has to include ways of developing ongoing assessment of what our
learners know and want to know, and a sensitivity to how they best come
to know those things.

So, examination of case studies, viewing of videos. etc can all provide
concrete examples through which to observe, discuss and understand the
complicated processes that contribute to good teaching.

Janet Isserlis
________________________________

From: MaryAnn Florez <mflorez at dclearns.org>
Reply-To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 11:48:22 -0500
To: 'The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List'
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3202] Re: ESL Teacher Training

Hello Lynda and all:
 
As I often find on this discussion list, I'm fascinated with the many
perspectives and points that are being laid on the table in response to
Lynda's original question.  Once again, I am reminded of things that I
have forgotten or tucked away, validated in some of the things that I
believe and practice, and challenged by points that are poking at my
particular paradigm.  Oh, if every conversation or exchange could do all
those things, I'd be such a better teacher---and person!
 
One of the things that keeps coming to the forefront for me in many of
the comments that have been posted is what I'll call-for lack of a
better term--the "soft skills" that teachers need to have and be able to
use.  I have been working with teacher preparation and professional
development for some time, and while we're always incorporating and
refining the language learning and best practices skills and knowledge
that teachers need to better support their learners, I also can't help
but constantly think about where and how the nurturing of soft skills
fits in. I'm talking about things like interpersonal skills, not only
intercultural skills, but general facility in interacting one-to-one and
in groups, and general behaviors like curiosity, openness, empathy,
engagement, and personal and professional flexibility that are very
important in an instructional situation.  I think a number of people
touched on such issues, for example in discussing the many benefits of
the experience of living and functioning in another culture and
language, as well as learners' responses to teacher enthusiasm and
openness.  I have no doubt that everyone sees the value of such skills.
But it is a tricky area, so how do we approach it (and I realize some
people may even say we can't really, as it's beyond our purview)?  I try
to do it by being mindful when I select case studies or examples to use
in trainings.  I include prompts around such aspects in analysis of
video samples viewed.  I laud such behaviors in teacher observation
debriefings or incorporate them in suggestions for ways to approach
teaching challenges. In preparation courses, I have asked participants
to make connections between teacher behaviors and language learning
theories and methods.
 
Does anyone else have any comments or examples of how they approach soft
skills?
 
Thanks.
 
MaryAnn 
 
 
 

MaryAnn Florez
Project Director
Adult Education Professional Development Center
D.C. LEARNs
Washington, DC 20006
________________________________

From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov]
<mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov%5d>  On Behalf Of Joyce Bogdan
Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2008 1:48 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3164] Re: ESL Teacher Training


Lynda,
Yes, I think that the ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages
programs do adequately prepare teachers.  Mine is a MA in education from
UConn, Univ. of Connecticut-the certification is bilingual/bicultural
ESOL N, K-12, adults.  It is a master program which includes teaching
ESOL students, methods, strategies, materials, practical application,
validating cultures, learning about cultural expectations, linguistics,
statistics, brain studies that relate to language acquisition,
additional language acquistion in the theories and methods.  I also have
completed a 6th year in additional coursework with reading,
differentiated instruction,etc. 

My students usually are from about 14 different language groups during
one year.  Even between Spanish speaking students there is a range of
cultural similarities and differences.  I have taught all levels (grade
and ESOL levels).  I presently teach middle school, adult beginners and
am a university instructor to mainstream teachers. This year many of my
students are from Nepal and Tibet. 

If you are interested in a 3 credit Independent Studies graduate course
"Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (TELLs") that you can
complete at home, e-mail me directly.  It is from Chapman University in
CA.  
Joyce Bogdan
ESOL teacher


________________________________

From: LYNDA OSBORNE <lyndaosborne at att.net>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2008 9:49:55 AM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3161] Re: ESL Teacher Training

Greetings, everyone.



Quick query. I'm an elementary school teacher and have wondered, "Are
ESL teachers required to learn the linguistic frameworks of their
students' primary languages?"  My current school does not have an ESL
program, but I did work at a school several years ago that had one. I
had about 33% Mexican-American Spanish-speaking students and found that
their learning and use of English improved during my time with them.
This may be because I speak Spanish and know the basics of the
language's grammatical/conversational structure. I feel this knowledge
helped me to better support English learning and conceptual
understandings with these students. I know that there are some ESL
courses that prepare teachers in this field over a 6-week summer course,
which I'm not certain would be quite enough time to expose teachers to a
variety of linguistic constucts [languages] if they didn't already have
such knowledge. 



My success with those students may also be attributed to their level of
comfort with me knowing that I respected them [and their language enough
to learn and practice, etc.]. Since language is so intricately tied to
the thinking process, a teacher's ability to "understand where a student
is coming from" in terms of how they think and speak [and culture] can
serve to motivate student learning and help the teacher to access gaps,
needs, strengths, etc. I suppose that my final question rounds out to
be, "What is the general focus for ESL training and do you think that
ESL teachers are prepared adequately in these training programs?



Thanks for your input!



Lynda Lee



Lynda Lee Osborne

Teacher of the Year 2008-9 

FLL Robotics Coach

Global Economics Project Coordinator

A. Philip Randolph Elementary 

Fulton County Schools

lyndaosborne at att.net <mailto:lyndaosborne at att.net>
<mailto:lyndaosborne at att.net>  


 


________________________________

From: "Liden, Astrid" <Astrid.Liden at state.mn.us>
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 12:17:02 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 3158] ESL Learners with Low Levels of Literacy

Special Topic: Research and Best Practice Concerning the Instruction of
ESL Learners with Low Levels of Literacy
We are pleased to announce that the 25th anniversary volume of the
MinneWITESOL Journal is now available online at
www.minnewitesoljournal.org <http://www.minnewitesoljournal.org/>
<http://www.minnewitesoljournal.org/>  . The first section of this
volume includes articles that concentrate on our special topic: research
and best practice concerning the instruction of ESL learners with low
levels of literacy.  Articles include an overview of research-based
methods for teaching ESL students with low levels of literacy, a report
on a year-long research study on teaching learning strategies to
students with low levels of literacy, and several reviews of materials
for low-literacy students.
Astrid Liden 
ABE Professional Development Coordinator 
Minnesota Department of Education 
Adult Basic Education (ABE) 
1500 Highway 36 West 
Roseville, MN 55113-4266 
Phone: 651-582-8424 
Fax: 651-634-5154 
Email: astrid.liden at state.mn.us 


 
________________________________

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