Dr. Ken Beatty
How can so much say so little? Quickly skim the following play, Emergency; it’s only a couple hundred words long. 
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Category: ESL
K is for Keyword
Dr. Ken Beatty
What do these words have in common?
|
a |
funny |
look |
see |
|
|
and |
go |
make |
the |
|
|
away |
help |
me |
three |
|
|
big |
here |
my |
to |
|
|
blue |
I |
not |
two |
|
|
can |
in |
one |
up |
|
|
come |
is |
play |
we |
|
|
down |
it |
red |
where |
|
|
find |
jump |
run |
yellow |
|
|
for |
little |
said |
you |
Tech-Based Feedback
Aaron Royer
Teachers are constantly searching for ways to build better rapport with students, individualize instruction, and give more effective and personalized feedback. The benefits of using one-to-one conferences to achieve these ends have been well documented. However, as beneficial as it may be, this type of feedback is not always logistically possible due to large class sizes and scheduling conflicts, among other issues.
One solution to this dilemma is a relatively straightforward application of video and audio technology to give feedback to students. In doing so, teachers can open up ongoing dialogues with each of his/her students, thus adding an element of individualization to their classes and boosting rapport. These tools and techniques harness many of the benefits of conferences, while at the same time providing a practical, logistically feasible alternative. In what follows, I will discuss two basic categories of tech tools along with their feedback applications and some specific software suggestions. Continue reading
Literature in ELT: Integrating Literature into Language Learning
Sybil Marcus
This content first appeared on the TESOL Blog. © TESOL International Association. Reprinted with permission.
We’re all wired to enjoy a good story with intriguing plot lines and an individual prose style. So, it’s a pity that many teachers either ignore or are unaware of the creative possibilities that literature offers for language learning.
In this post, I’ll talk about some of the ways I use stories to teach critical thinking; encourage animated discussion; and hone vocabulary, grammar, and writing practice. Continue reading
Preparing Intermediate and Advanced Learners for EAP Studies: More than a One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Robyn Brinks Lockwood, with Sara Davila
One challenge facing instructors in second language programs today is providing a course that will be challenging and rigorous enough to ensure that students are prepared quickly and appropriately for their content classes at English-speaking universities. Perhaps students will only have one session in an EAP course to work on improving reading and writing to keep up with content for their degrees. Or maybe students need to take two or three classes to achieve an appropriate level of English language mastery to even be admitted into a university. Regardless, the role of the English language teacher in this environment is critical to a learner’s success in a degree program. The most effective teachers will be prepared to provide content that is appropriate and authentic to get learners on the college track and prepare them to meet and exceed expectations in their content programs.
Teachers can only provide such content when there is a clear understanding of what learners need to learn at this level. Students at this level often demonstrate a high degree of oral proficiency and can maintain and extend discourse with native speakers fairly fluently, so teachers often feel that they are already advanced enough to succeed in an L1 setting.
Despite this high degree of proficiency in speaking, these students struggle with reading and writing, especially lengthy, textbook chapter-length readings and writing assignments beyond the five-paragraph essay. The challenges may look similar enough to what teachers already recognize as problems for L2 learners; in other words, it is tempting to say the learners are all high-intermediate or even advanced and design a program accordingly. To do this, though, ignores the difference in proficiency between learners at these more advanced levels and fails to take students to the level they need to successfully survive in an L1 setting where they interact with L1 speakers rather than as part of a classroom where everyone is an L2 learner. In order to develop the ideal program, it helps to first define the differences between our highly skilled learners. Continue reading
