Words .. Words.. Words..

One of the key elements in teaching ESOL is getting our students to increase their vocabulary .
They are expected to make connections among words thinking about their meaning and incorporating them into their active vocabulary . By getting our students to dig into the meaning of words, we are helping them better understand what they read and improve their ability to express themselves through the written and spoken word.
As a result of all the blog reading I have been doing lately, I have found these two great web sites. The first one ,recommended by Pat Hensley is called Vocab Ahead which provides very nice short videos and flash cards for more than 1000 words. It not only illustrates them , but gives nice examples of situations in which these words can be used. After sharing it with the students and letting them use it , I’m going to ask them to make their own little videos of words.
The other web I have been playing with and have found very interesting is Tagul. It is more than just a word cloud. Each word is a tag that is linked to an URL and when clicked on , it gives you the meaning of the word.How cool is that !!

Speaking of Literacy..

Ahh! A white morning!

 It was 5:00 o'clock when I woke up Saturday morning. I looked out through the sliding doors in the living room out into the back yard. A flashback placed me in Rochester N.Y. where I spent my childhood.
I could hear it loud and clear. The  voice on the radio said " The heavy snow storm that  fell over the city last night has left the roads impassable .. " Come on say it !  As all the kids in my neighborhood , I awaited impatiently to hear the magic words.." All the schools will be closed today" YES !
 But as the geese made their morning call, I cameback from memory land and realized that  it was Saturday and there was no school anyway,so half the fun was gone.
Although SC panics once a year when the snow covers the ground, I knew that it wouldn't be long before the sun would come out and the beautiful white carpet would start to melt. I was going to enjoy it while it lasted and with my eyes open, try to relive my bundled up days up in the north.

Snow in SC

Why don’t they speak English ?

  

  Although there are still many teachers who regret the fact that they have to teach the children of immigrants, I never thought I would have to face one, and think about how to respond to her comments.

I had one of these unpleasant encounters recently.A teacher came to me in the hallway and said some not very nice things about the   children who did not speak English well. Remaining calm and hiding my surprise, I thought for a while ..and then said : “ It is our duty to teach ALL children” I didn’t want to get into an argument trying to convince her of how wrong she was to think that we should not spend time helping them improve their English.

 Some mainstream teachers feel frustrated when assigned a LEP ( Limited English Proficient )student . They resent the fact that their average test scores will be affected by this particular group of  students’ performance. It doesn't seem obvious to them that the child can sense the teacher's disapproval ,and act accordingly by either isolating himself or becoming disruptive and defiant. Consequently,these students fail academically day after day.

 Those fortunate ESL students who are placed in a more friendly environment , show faster improvement. The anxiety caused by language barriers is lessen by a warm smile and personal care given by a well informed resourceful teacher who minds enough to spend time adapting and modifying his or her teaching so the ESL student’s affective filter is down, opening the door  to motivation. These students are more willing to make an effort to understand what is going on in the classroom and more eager to break that language barrier.

Some mainstream teacher express their frustration for not knowing what else to do to increase the level of performance of their students with limited English proficiency. They have not had any formal training in TESL ( Teaching English as a Second Language) and find it overwhelming.

Other teachers’ efficacy is very high.. They believed they are very effective as teachers and speak with great enthusiasm about the progress their students are making. What is the difference?

These teachers are taking classes to learn Spanish, learning about second language acquisition and working with the ESOL teacher on a regular basis. They meet and discuss the best way to teach each individual case .They take their time to expose the students to comprehensible input facilitating the process by repeating instructions, using visual aids, checking for comprehension and offering positive and immediate feedback.

The students’ motivation is a reflection of the teachers dedication.The students whose teachers are enthusiastic and show respect for their cultural background, demonstrate a more rapid improvement in their academic learning.

I hope all of us  teachers don’t let the daily demands of our jobs drive us away from one of the basic motivators that led us to choose our profession in the first place:

      Make a difference in our students lives .