ENTREVISTA A JIM MARTIN

ENTREVISTA A JIM MARTIN


Realizada durante la 39 Conferencia internacional de LSF que tuvo lugar en el mes de julio 
en Sydney

UN ENFOQUE DEL LENGUAJE QUE PERMITE PENSAR 
SOBRE LAS PRÁCTICAS SOCIALES PARA MEJORARLAS

Writing

Although we have advanced on this topic, I would like you to ponder over these questions and answer them intuitively, without using any resource. 

1. What is writing?
2. What do people write for?
3. Who do we write for?
4. Has writing changed over time? If yes, how and why?
5. What are the main differences between spoken and written English?

We will discuss the answers to these questions in class, yet I want everyone to provide the answers in the  comment section of this blog. 

Due date: Monday, October 8th

Resources that can be used in an ESL classroom

This is Mariel's presentation on teaching resources. After making a detailed  presentation on resources in general, Mariel concentrates on Big Books. I advice you to pay close attention to the definitions provided and the discrimination she makes between resources and strategies. Well done!!

http://es.scribd.com/doc/108645963/Resources-Used-in-an-ESL-Classroom-Mariel-Dominguez

READING COMPREHENSION

Universidad del Aconcagua- 2012

School of Foreign Languages

Reading comprehension

·     What is literacy?

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read and write. It is a concept claimed and defined by a range of different theoretical fields. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines literacy as “a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development. Educational opportunities depend on literacy.”

Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. There are good reasons why literacy is at the core of Education for All (EFA).

A good quality basic education equips pupils with literacy skills for life and further learning; literate parents are more likely to send their children to school; literate people are better able to access continuing educational opportunities; and literate societies are better geared to meet pressing development 

http://www.unesco.org/en/literacy/literacy-important/

·         Macroskills

	Active
Receptive	Listening	Reading
Productive	Speaking	Writing

Language may be subdivided in many different ways. One of the most obvious and helpful is into the four major skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing.

·         Reading comprehension should not be separated from the other skills.

Give examples of the following interaction:

Reading and writing: summarizing, note-taking, dictating.

Reading and listening: matching opinions and text, checking information as others read.

Reading and speaking: debates, oral presentations, lecturing.

·         The interactive nature of the reading comprehension process

Psycholinguistics and cognitive approaches sustain that meaning is construed by the interaction between the reader and the text. Based on the signs on the page, readers construct a mental model or knowledge representation of the text. Also known as schema or cognitive structure.

Schemata is  viewed as prior knowledge (content schema)and macro/ rhetorical/ discourse structures (formal schemata) in the form of genres , registers and or writing conventions are revised, rejected or replaced  as further reading confirms or invalidates readers hypothesis.

·         Participants in the reading process.

There are at least three participants in the reading process: the writer, the text and the reader.

The reader

 

The text                                  The author

Understanding reading means understanding how the reader works, what knowledge the reader brings to the text, which strategies the reader uses, what assumptions the reader has about the reading process and how reading texts can vary due to language and information organization.

1.       The reader is unique

2.       The text is static

3.       Interaction between reader and text is constantly evolving

Reading models

Top down approach proceeds from prediction  about meaning to attention to progressively smaller units.  It argues that readers bring a great deal of knowledge, expectations, assumptions and questions to the text and given a basic understanding of the vocabulary, they continue to read as long as they confirm those expectations. (Goodman, 1988)

Bottom up approach is text bound and relies heavily on linguistic information, both syntactical and semantic in nature, from the text. It states that the reader constructs the text from the smallest units, letters, to sounds, sounds o words, to phrases to sentences, to comprehension. This approach was typically associated to behaviorism.  In the 1940’s, 1950’s, readers were considered passive decoders of  graphic-phonemic-syntactic semantic systems. 

The reading cycle

1.       Pre-reading. At this important stage the teacher should make sure that students have the relevant schema for understanding the text. This is achieved by having students think, write, and discuss everything they know about the topic, employing techniques such as prediction, semantic mapping, and reconciled reading.

2.       During-reading. This stage requires the teacher to guide and monitor the interaction between the reader and the text. One important skill teachers can impart at this stage is note-taking, which allows students to compile new vocabulary and important information and details, and to summarize information and record their reactions and opinions.

3.       Post-reading. The post-reading stage offers the chance to evaluate students' adequacy of interpretation, while bearing in mind that accuracy is relative and that "readership" must be respected as long as the writer's intentions are addressed (Tierney and Pearson 1994). Post-reading activities focus on a wide range of questions that allow for different interpretations. Bloom's taxonomy provides an excellent range of simple to complex questions and activities that are perfect for this stage (Anderson and Krathwohl 2001)

Example

Birds

Pre-reading

Activate students’ previous knowledge.

Ø  Use graphic organizers

Ø  Discuss what makes different from one another

Ø  Have them predict what the book will be about

Prediction is the core of reading. All of our schemes, scripts and scenarios--our prior knowledge of places and situations, of written discourse, genres, and stories--enable us to predict when we read and thus to comprehend, experience, and enjoy what we read. Prediction brings potential meaning to texts, reducing ambiguity and eliminating in advance irrelevant alternatives. Thus, we are able to generate comprehensible experience from inert pages of print (Smith 1994, 18).

Ø  Have them draw a bird they like

Ø  Make a field trip to the zoo. Generate a discussion on the differences among different birds.

Raise rhetorical awareness

• What is the book about? (field)
• What will the book discuss and from what perspective?
• What is the purpose of the text?

Introduce the book or the text

Ø  Show students the book, the front and back cover.

Ø  Show them the images

Ø  Introduce the author

Introduce the reading strategy

Ø  Explain to students that asking questions about the text, and then looking for the answers while reading help them to understand and remember what they read.

Ø  Write students’ questions on the KWL chart under what I would like to know.

Introduce the comprehension skill: compare and contrast

Ø  Use a compare and contrast chart to organize new information in the book.

Preview vocabulary

Ø  Pre- teach vocabulary such as beak, feathers, sharp, hooked and others

While reading

Active reading tasks, on the other hand, require students to go beyond a superficial reading of the text to read “between the lines.” The tasks typically involve students working together in pairs or groups, with or without guidance from the teacher, in order to negotiate answers

to questions. Tasks considered active may include creating diagrams and filling in tables.Grabe (1997, 6) presents strong evidence that by making use of diagrams and tables when reading texts, students can better understand the coherence and logic of the information being presented, and as a consequence, “will be able to locate the main ideas and distinguish them from less important information.” The effort to teach students how to make graphic representations of texts can be time-consuming, but it can help them become more efficient readers.

Ø  Make students scan the text and find familiar words.

Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what you're looking for, so you're concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to determine whether it will answer your questions. Once you've scanned the document, you might go back and skim it.

Ø  Make students skim the content and find sentences in which the verb is/are appear, make students find sentences with the verb “have”

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be of interest in your research.

Ø  Read each sentence out loud and discuss its grammar. Since it is a description, most sentences will describe birds in terms of “what they are..” and “what they have..”

Ø  Have students find two sentences and write them down on the board, explain that both verbs are used to identify and describe people, objects or things.  However, the verb have/has is used to indicate possession.

Ø  Draw student’s attention to the word (its) and explain its meaning.

Ø  Read some descriptions together with the students and help them with difficult vocabulary.

Ø  Make them complete a diagram to establish similarities and differences.

Ø  Post-reading activities

Why?

To bring students to a sense of closure

To support students’ integration of information in the text with their own background knowledge

To contribute to long-term retention of information

To lead students to appraise text critically

To provide opportunities for application of new knowledge

To provide opportunities for students to restructure the author’s meaning

Cognitive strategies

Answer a questionnaire

See material attached

Have them make a collage

Create an individual or class collage around themes or characters in the book

Have students write a haiku

Metacognitive strategies

How?

Direct student to re-examine their reading/writing/class work by keeping a log in which they are to record what has occurred that lesson (teachers may record the responses of very young readers). To help focus the responses, ask questions such as:

1.       What did I read/write/learn today?
2.       What puzzled or confused me?
3.       What would help to clarify things for me?
4.       What did I enjoy, hate, accomplish in reading/writing/class today?
5.       How did I learn from reading/writing/class today?
6.       How was my performance?

Bibliography

Bulleraich G. (2009) Strategies in Reading Comprehension, Buenos Aires: Eudeba

Brown, H. D. 1994. Teaching by principles: A interactive approach to language pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.

Correia, R. (2006) Encouraging Critical Reading in the EFL. English Teaching Forum.   Number 1, Volume 44

Villanueva de Debat,E. (2006) Applying Current Approaches to the Teaching of Reading.  English Teaching Forum  Nº I,  Vol 44 Retrieved from http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/2006.html

RESOURCES IN THE ESL CLASSROOM

Candice sent her presentation for you to have. I advice you to either send your presentation to me so that I upload it or to create your own account in Scribd and upload it yourself. Either way will work for me. The important thing to mention is that you have done a terrific job on this topic and it is worth sharing.

Congrats!!!


http://es.scribd.com/doc/108516288/Resources-in-an-Esl-Classroom

Things to do while I am gone....

Dear students,

Since I will be gone for two weeks, I will ask you to keep the pace of the class by doing some activities. This time I want you to do some research on “resources” that are commonly used in class but only a few people know how to use them appropriately.  Therefore, I have assigned each of you a different resource and this is what you have to do:

1.  Present an overview of all the resources that can be used in an ESL classroom.
2. Choose a resource and describe it in depth. Use appropriate bibliography
3. Create a class where you can show how the resource chosen can be used and exploited to the fullest
4.  Be ready to share this experience with rest of the class when resume activities on September 16^th.

Good luck and have fun with this activity! Remember that I will also be studying a lot!!!

Resources you can explore:

·         Video (it can be embedded in youtube)

·         Big books

·         Audio files

·         Podcasts

·         Internet (to conduct research) forum, emails, FB (for teaching purposes), glossaries

·         Others

Questionnaire pre-mid term test.

Escuela Superior de Lenguas Extranjeras

Didáctica de la Lengua Extranjera I

These exercises and questions are meant to bring into the light what you know and what you

still need to study in your preparation for the midterm-test. It does not mean you will encounter the same questions on the mid term.

Feel free to send me a message if there is something you feel you do not know  

A.      Choose the right answer

1)  How do you think children learn their first language?

a)      By imitating adults
b)      By experimenting and trying out hypotheses about how language works
c)       Both of the above

2)      Do children with a high intelligent quotient (IQ) score learn to speak foreign languages quicker and better than others?

a)      IQ is a crucial factor
b)      IQ is not a crucial factor
c)       Setting and context are more important

3)      How important is high motivation in successful language learning?

a)      Not really important
b)      The most important factor
c)       An important factor but not the only one

4)      Is it better for pupils to learn a foreign language when they are below the age of puberty?

a)      Definitely yes.
b)      Probably yes
c)       It depends on all sorts of factors

5)      The younger the learner, the more physical activity they tend to need and the more they need to make us of all the senses

a)      Definitely yes.
b)      Probably yes
c)       It depends on all sorts of factors



6)      6 to 9 year –old children share some common characteristics. Select the one that applies to this age group.

1.       Their thought is subjective and egocentric
2.       They cannot conserve operations
3.       They open up to the outside world

7)      5 to 7 year –old children share some common characteristics. Select the one that applies to this age group.
1.       They are accepting and tend not to analyze
2.       They learn thorough hands on experience
3.       All of the above

B.      These concepts relate to different teaching methods or approaches seen  in class. State the name of the approaches or methods on the line below the concepts.

1.       In this method, the teacher serves as knower/ counselor and the and the students as regarded as clients.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2.       The atmosphere in this method emphasizes, students’ relaxation through the use of soft lights, baroque music, comfortable seating and dramatic techniques.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3.       The goal is that members of the group become genuinely interested in each others’ opinions, feelings, interests, and feel comfortable expressing  themselves on the topic of discussion.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4.       Its primary purpose was to enable students to access and appreciate great literature, , through extensive analysis  of the grammar  of the TL and translation.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5.       Students learn language through a stimulus-response technique. Pattern drills are to be taught initially without explanation.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6.       Understanding and retention is best achieved through the movement of students’ bodies  in response to commands.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

C.      Match the concepts on the right-hand column with the definitions on the right.

Language		It is an overall plan for learning a second language. It involves the design of a syllabus for the course, which in turn consists of learning objectives.
Approach		It is an explicit procedure or stratagem used to accomplish a particular learning objective or set of objectives.
Method		It refers to theories about the nature of language and language learning that serve as the source of practices and principles in language teaching
Technique		It is a meaning making resource.

1. D.      Answer these questions
2. 1)      What are the stages in the TBL cycle?
3. 2)      What is the goal of each step in the cycle?
4. 3)      What affective factors might hinder language learning?
5. 4)      Which age group is more like to suffer from inhibition and anxiety? Why?
6. 5)      What can teachers do to lower the affective filter?
7. 6)      What is the affective filter?
8. 7)      What does i+1 stand for?
9. 8)      What are the consequences of providing input that can be described as “i+3”?
10. 9)      Choose a role teachers perform and describe it. Relate it to a particular moment in the class or a particular activity.
11. 10)    What is the difference between learning styles and multiple intelligences?

E.       What are the main tenets of the communicative approach. Mention at least five.

F.       What are the implications of Krashen’s i+1 hypothesis.

G.     What would be considered good ESL teaching practice nowadays?

H.     What is the cycle suggested by Nation for the teaching of vocabulary?

I.        What activities would be considered more appropriate for each stage in the cycle?

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER

Watch the following vide segment from the Mirror has to face and compare teachers' performace taking into acoount the following questions. Then draw a personal conclusion on what it means to be a good teacher. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj6Ny5OMzjg 

1)      How did the teacher start her class?

2)      How did the personal narration, in the case odf the female teacher, contribute to the successful development of her class?

3)      What did you notice in relation to body language?

·         Gestures

·         Movement

·         Eye contact

·         Voice (tone,  loudness).

4)      What kind of questions did the teacher ask? Be as explicit as possible.

5)      How did the students respond to the teacher’s questions?

6)      How did the teacher make sure she gave each student individual attention?  How do you call this technique?

7)      How did the teacher react to students’ answers?

8)      How did she show she/he was knowledgeable? Give concrete examples.

9)      How would you rate each class from 1 to 10?  Provide the rationale for your answer.

Learning styles

http://es.scribd.com/doc/96969067/Learning-Styles-Ppp

Young language learners

http://es.scribd.com/doc/96968715/Characteristics-of-the-Young-Language-Learner

Young learners: Early Years Band: Age 3-Age 5

Early Years Band: Age 3-Age 5

Focus and features of the phase

… our image of the child is rich in potential, strong, powerful, competent and, most of all connected to adults and other children.

Loris Malaguzzi in Dahlberg, Moss and Pence 1999 page 48

It is in this light that consideration is given to the complexity of childhoods and children in the 

Age 3-Age 5 phase.

Children in this phase enter early childhood settings with a diverse range of knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and dispositions, reflecting the diversity of their backgrounds and experiences. The role of early childhood education and care is to connect with and build upon children’s home and community learnings as well as opening up new and multiple possibilities. Children of this age learn most effectively when their physical and emotional needs are met and they are able to feel safe and secure in a climate of consistency, stability, support and high expectations. They develop at different rates and in different ways: emotionally, intellectually, morally, socially, physically and spiritually. All aspects are important and interrelated. When these differences are respected and honoured children build a sense of trust and confidence, a willingness to take risks and thus make new discoveries and connections.

Children’s potential to be active, curious, imaginative, creative and increasingly responsible learners with an expanding capability for language and communication is fostered through a responsive early childhood curriculum. By viewing children as active and competent with ideas and theories that are worthy, the way is open for the co-construction of knowledge, identity and culture. Through their broadening interactions, children refine and develop social, cultural and linguistic skills for establishing and maintaining relationships and friendships and for exploring and influencing their worlds.

This is a time of considerable change, encompassing a broad developmental range and significant learning capacity. Physical capabilities are extended as children refine and strengthen muscle tone and increase coordination. Intellectual growth is demonstrated as children’s language, curiosity, sense of wonder and enthusiasm for exploration leads them to new understandings and further questioning, reflection and discovery. They develop a growing competence in using symbolic languages such as music, dance, drama, storytelling, image making and movement to discover people’s meanings and to share their own. Children are great imitators, as can be seen in aspects of their language such as speech, accent and gesture. Humour is evident as children experiment and explore rhyme, language patterns and thoughts. Each child’s experience of things, events and happenings in their environment is multifaceted and important in their learning. Development and learning are continuous processes influenced by social and cultural contexts. These progress when children have the opportunity to respond to meaningful learning challenges that extend them beyond their current level of development and understanding.

Through children’s social and cultural interactions and relationships with adults and other children, they strengthen their awareness and understanding of personal and group identity as well as increasing their knowledge of themselves as learners in both individual and social contexts. Listening to, and participating in, the narratives of others and engaging with multimedia introduces them to different places, people, relationships and ideas. Their sense of event and occasion is developing and they enjoy ceremonies and celebrations.

Children of this age can be supported to display a strong sense of social justice and empathy, demonstrating the ability to question a range of unfair behaviours and practices and to take action to positively influence and affect their environments. By building and extending skills such as creativity, imagination and communication, children build and strengthen their capacities for transforming futures.

Play

The most powerful way young children learn is through play. Play is active and interactive, and within it children develop relationships, experiment, imagine, create, practise, problem-solve, escape, role-play and learn together in their exploration of new and familiar things around them. Through play children, alone and with others, have opportunities for rich sensory experiences. Movement is essential for children’s ongoing development. Physical play is enhanced with children consolidating, refining and demonstrating increasing physical skill, both gross and fine motor activity. In this phase there is significant growth in children’s imaginative thought, showing an increasing interest in fantasy and pretend play. The social dimension of dramatic play becomes evident with children developing props and scripts for their play and taking on diverse roles in a climate that supports flexibility and inventiveness. It is through this increased ability to engage in role and dramatic play that children have opportunities to explore roles and identities, feelings and perspectives and to express them in an increasingly considered manner. Children’s creativity and resourcefulness in their play provides challenges as they move towards self-regulation.

Partnerships with families and communities

Supporting and extending partnerships with parents, families and communities provide a basis for well-informed curriculum planning and decision-making for children’s learning. Maintaining strong home links and building on them in the curriculum strengthens children’s identity, and introduces diversity of cultures in meaningful and positive ways.

Opportunities for children to experience continuity in their learning through building on their experiences, skills and knowledge are important as they move between settings. Children will be involved in many transitions, including those throughout the day. The daily transitions from home to early childhood settings, the routines of the day, moving between settings and beginning school are examples of transitions that children are regularly called to make. With each transition they may encounter different adults, children and environments, all of which may present discontinuities. Successful transitions, and the confidence this brings, provide a foundation for managing change effectively.

Learning environments

The child’s care and education takes place in settings that may include home, childcare programs, child-parent centre/preschool. These early childhood environments contribute to how children feel, think and act. Their environments are more than the physical setting-they include all the human interactions, structuring of time and resources, aesthetics, support and high expectations for all children.

Early childhood educators establish flexible learning environments, encourage children to make choices and involve them in planning and curriculum decision-making. Children learn when they are involved in initiating and negotiating their own learning, which is enhanced and supported by positive and challenging interactions. A relevant curriculum for each child and group of children is planned as educators observe and monitor children’s interests and development, and critically reflect on these observations and their pedagogical understandings and practices over time.

By building a community of learners that includes children, families and educators, opportunities exist for developing a lifelong interest in, and enjoyment of, learning. Learning involves the co-construction of knowledge, where children and those who work with them, discover, experiment, hypothesise, observe, make connections, ask questions, predict, imitate and practise. Experiences that are based on children’s interests and initiatives provide motivation for learning which, in turn, fosters a spirit of inquiry, curiosity, wonder and self-direction. Children make sense of their world, shape their environments and seek to communicate their experiences through multiple forms of expression. Through individual and group projects and experiences that build on and extend their interests, children show considerable capacity for discovery and contribution.

Organisation of the phase

The SACSA Framework has a number of aspects, each of which provides a focus for curriculum development. The Age 3-Age 5 phase of the Framework is built around seven Learning Areas:

• self and social development
• arts and creativity
• communication and language
• design and technology
• diversity
• health and physical development
• understanding our world.
• Continuity and coherence across the Learning Areas and the Early Years Band as a whole are provided by the Essential Learnings:
• Futures
• Identity
• Interdependence
• Thinking
• Communication.
• Development in children’s learning is described through eight broad Developmental Learning Outcomes for this phase. They are:
• trust and confidence
• a positive sense of self and a confident personal and group identity
• a sense of being connected with others and their worlds
• intellectual inquisitiveness
• a range of thinking skills
• effective communication
• a sense of physical wellbeing
• a range of physical competencies.

These Developmental Learning Outcomes are deliberately broad to give educators the freedom to make local curriculum decisions in partnerships with families and communities. They allow for multiple entry points, different developmental pathways, and the wide range of development, capabilities, needs, personalities and sociocultural diversity of children.

Outcomes in this phase are not contingent on pre-determined, aged-related patterns of development. They are open-ended to encourage educators to observe all that children know, understand and can do, using multiple sources of information, including home and community information, to create a meaningful picture of each child’s development.

Acknowledgment of the holistic and integrated nature of children’s learning and development is reflected in the constructivist approach to teaching, learning and development that underpins the whole Framework. This approach recognises that experiences have a profound effect on learning and development; that learning and development occur in shared contexts; that knowledge is socially constructed; that learners construct their own understandings and educators construct programs based on children’s needs, interests and insights.