ESL, EFL, ESOL, or ELL?

I've written a blog post before about the difference between the acronyms ESL, ELL, ESOL, etc. (It can be accessed here.) This particular post has proven to be one of my most popular posts, standing as one of my most-accessed posts found organically via internet searches. Having a background in linguistics, however, I'm not naive to the fact that with time, terminology trends change. So, I'm curious: Which acronym/s do you use most often to refer to your non-native English speaking students? Take my poll at the right to share your opinion! I'll post the results after I close the poll at the end of the month.

You Have an Education in TESOL. Now What?

Now that you have graduated (or are nearing graduation) in TESOL, now what?

TESOL professionals come from a variety of backgrounds and interests, ranging from desires to serve in the community, to desires to advance through academia at the post-graduate level. This blog post shares ways that seasoned TESOL professionals have used their TESOL education to contribute to their institutions and communities. These ideas can help generate ideas for novice TESOL professionals to assist them in channeling their interests as they embark on their careers. 

The following suggestions are ways for TESOL professionals (from the novice to the seasoned) to use their education and experience inside the classroom, outside the classroom, in the community, and on the Web. (You may notice that some of these ideas are specific to the Utah geographical area as the information has been adapted from a presentation delivered at the Intermountain-TESOL affiliate fall conference; however, the information can be generalized to other geographic locations.)

Using Needs Assessments in the ESL classroom

Here is another guest blog post from the English Skills Learning Center (ESLC) about using needs assessments in the ESL classroom. (Read another guest blog post from the ESLC about using repetition in the classroom here, or interactive activities here.)

When was the last time that you asked your students what they want to learn? Conducting a needs assessment, or asking students what they want to learn, is essential because adult students who feel they are not learning what they need to know in English class are more likely to stop attending class than to express their discontent. On the other hand, students who feel that they have a say in what they are learning are more likely to attend class regularly and to participate in class.

                There are a few ways you can effectively use a needs assessment::

• Students point to or circle the picture of the subject about which they most want to learn.
• Students circle more than one picture and then rank their preferences. If you are teaching a class, you could then share the results with the entire the class so that they understand that decisions about the curriculum are based on their feedback. 
•  Do a “vote with your feet” activity in which you post pictures of ESL topics or the four language skills on the walls of your classroom and then invite the students to stand by the topic or language skill that they most want to work on.

The ESL Center recommends that you conduct needs assessments on a regular basis. This could be when a new student joins the class, when you finish a unit or chapter in your lesson material, or when you receive new testing results. You will find that as you begin to make needs assessments a part of your classes that students will share their personal English-language goals with you. As you teach students the English they need to accomplish those goals, you will share in the students’ excitement as they succeed in accomplishing their goals!

For more information about Needs Assessments, please visit:

http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/Needas.html

http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/program_development/elltoolkit/Part2-5NeedsAssessment&LearnerSelf-Evaluation.pdf

Free Online Professional Development for Adult ESOL Educators

I was just introduced to a fantastic free online resource for ESOL professionals. ELL-U is a National Adult English Language Learning Professional Development Network that serves as a free professional development portal for Adult ESOL Educators. Below is an announcement that was distributed through a Listserv that I thought I would include since it provides a clear introduction to current courses, as well as instructions for joining. I just signed up for two study circles myself.

Repetition in the ESL Classroom

I was pleased to have received a series of guest blog posts authored by the English Skills Learning Center (ESLC) in Salt Lake City, Utah. (I've mentioned them in a blog post before here.) I have conducted literacy training for some of their volunteers and staff, and I have been consistently impressed with their efforts to make a difference in the lives of those they serve. To provide a little more background on the ESLC, I've included an introduction from their website:


The English Skills Learning Center provides individualized English instruction to adult refugees and immigrants. Our students speak little or no English, and often are not literate in any language. We train and supervise volunteer tutors who then teach our students twice a week. Instruction is provided at times and locations that are convenient for both the tutor and the student.


We currently tutor students from 34 different countries. We are currently working with over 175 volunteers to serve close to 400 students in the Salt Lake City area.  Our approach focuses on helping our students become better integrated members of American society.


We have operated continuously since 1988, and provide the only free and individualized ESL tutoring program in Salt Lake County, Utah.


The first blog post of this series is about using repetition in the ESL classroom.

Free Webinar on ELL Emerging Literacy

I wanted to announce a wonderful free resource for teachers of non-native English speakers with no prior literacy. Dr. Robin Schwarz will be presenting a webinar on best approaches for helping these students to acquire literacy. She will be conducting the webinar on Tuesday, November 15, 2011, from 1:00-2:00 PM MST.

Here is the abstract of the webinar:

One of the major challenges of ESL teachers is working with learners who have no prior literacy. How can you best teach these learners to read? Teaching non-literate or very low literate non-English speakers to read is NOT like teaching students who are literate in another language. Robin Lovrien Schwarz, PhD, will help you learn what research has discovered about the challenges these learners face and what the best approaches are for helping them begin to acquire literacy. Dr. Lovrien Schwarz will also direct you to sources that will support you in teaching reading to this population.

View the recorded webinar here.

For a list of other free webinars on literacy, click here.

(Read a follow-up post on the webinar here.)

ESL Pronunciation Tip: Syllable Stress and the Schwa

The following is an activity that can be used to teach students about syllable stress and the schwa. (More comprehensive information on word stress predictability can be accessed from a previous blog post here.)

Why:
• Stress is the volume and pitch a speaker gives to a sound, syllable, or word while speaking.
• Every multi-syllabic word (a word with more than one syllable) has one syllable that is emphasized more than the others.

• All English vowels in unstressed syllables can take the schwa sound. The schwa has the sound of short u (example: pencil) or short i (example: leverage). We show that a vowel has a schwa sound with an upside down e.

• Learning syllable stress will help you improve your pronunciation.

How:
• Following is a list of general rules for syllable stress. Even though there are many exceptions in English, it is helpful to use these general rules as guidelines when you come across a word you don’t know. Try to predict what the syllable stress will be for the new words you learn. If you need to, you can use a dictionary to check the syllable stress.
• There are no rules to help you decide if a vowel says the schwa sound. One helpful thing to remember is that the schwa sound is usually in an unstressed syllable (examples: open; human; pencil). Also, usually the vowel a at the beginning or end of a word says the schwa sound (examples: sofa; agenda; America; away).

Free Virtual Seminars at TESOL.org

I recently learned that TESOL.org has a series of virtual seminars that are free for TESOL members. You can register here, and more information can be accessed here. Topics include the following:

Teaching Large Heterogeneous Classes in ELT Contexts Worldwide
    with Penny Ur    May 5, 2011, 10:00 am–11:30 am ET
    Register
    

Effective Strategies for Collaboration Between ESL/ELP and K–12 Classroom Teachers
    with Margarita Calderón  June 2, 2011, 3:30 pm–5:00 pm ET
    Register
     

Tech Tools for Busy Teachers
    with Deborah Healey and Robert Elliott   May 26, 2011,10:30 am–12:00 pm ET
    Register

    

Developing Effective Family Literacy Programs That Serve the Needs of ELLs of All Ages
    with Catherine Porter and Laura Bercovitz   June 9, 2011, 3:30 pm–5:00 pm ET 
    Register

Why Phonics for ELLs Webinar Links

I would like to thank all of those who attended my webinar yesterday about teaching phonics to English Language Learners (ELLs). If you missed it and you're interested in the power point presentation slides and/or viewing the recorded session, you can access them here.

One of the attendees at the end of the presentation inquired about ideas for specific phonics strategies they could teach in their classroom. I recommended visiting the Online Workshop link available on the Reading Horizons website. You'll notice that the link to this free resource is included on the above link as well, in case others are also interested in practical ideas for teaching phonics strategies.

In response to another attendee's question, I mentioned a free online pronunciation tool that can be accessed here.

I thought I would share one attendee's reactions to the webinar:

I watched the Webinar this morning and found it very interesting.  It supported my belief system completely toward the subject of phonics.  I am 70 years old and this is year 43 for teaching in schools.   My age group was not taught phonics when we were in lower grades of school, and I am the world's worst speller.  We were taught to read by sight words. So I am a victim of one not learning phonics, and I know for a fact how important new reading techniques are for our children and now my grandchildren. Thanks very much. 

Did you learn anything new from the information presented? Was there something in particular that stood out to you? Your comments are welcome!

Free ESL Webinar - Why Phonics for ELLs?

Now that I'm back in town for awhile, I was asked by Reading Horizons to conduct a free ESL webinar on April 13th at 11:00am MST. I've chosen to talk about why phonics is relevant for English Language Learners (ELLs). Specifically, I will address the relevancy of teaching phonics to ELLs, specific English language skills that ELLs gain, and reasons for teaching phonics to ELLs of various levels. Since this topic addresses one of the objectives of my blog, I thought I would mention it here in this blog post.

If this is something of interest, you can register for the webinar here.

Also, for a list of other informative webinars, click here.

(In case you missed it, download the webinar here.)

Online ELL Pronunciation Tool

I was just made aware of a new link that was recently made available that offers a free ELL pronunciation resource. It shows an animated flash video of how to pronounce the sounds of English. It also shows a video of the front view of a human mouth pronouncing each sound. Students can record themselves saying the sound, and then compare their pronunciation to the native English speaker's. The link also includes an animation of correct letter formation for the alphabet letters. It's a great resource to use for focused practice of the segmentals (sounds) of English. This tool is especially helpful for English Language Learners. The pronunciation tool is available here on software format, or in mobile app form here. It's a great pronunciation resource that benefits both students and teachers.

ESL Lessons - Listening and Speaking Activities - Classwork and Homework

I was going through some old files and came across a handout I prepared for an ESL training I conducted in Hualien, Taiwan on Listening and Speaking activities. On the handout, I included different ESL lessons, activities and exercises that can be used both in class and for homework. I've included the table below:

Listening and Speaking Skills and Activities

Skill	Activity Types
	Classwork	Homework
Listening	Listen for: the main idea details vocabulary in cloze activity Classmates’ presentations: take notes selective listening Games: Activities on the chalkboard	Listen to English: TV programs, the news, movies radio, English songs internet (i.e. radio stations, NPR) Communicate in English: Talk to native speakers, other English-speakers, classmates
Speaking	Group work/Pair work: Generate interview questions; interview classmates Flashcards (vocabulary words, pictures of vocabulary words) Categorize Identify Pronunciation practice Games Student presentations in class	Talk to native speakers: Interview Survey Narrate/share experience
Vocabulary	Pictures: Picture prompts Internet Flashcards: Categorize by topic, parts of speech, etc. Worksheets: Identify words you know and don’t know	Worksheets: Cloze Categorize Matching Identify words you know and don’t know
Pronunciation	Pronunciation points taken from context of listening activities: Explicitly identify in listening samples Explicitly integrate into speaking practice Flashcards	Integrated into: Speaking activities Listening activities
Grammar	Grammar points taken from context of phrases learned: Explicitly identify in listening samples Explicitly integrate into speaking practice Phrasal verbs and idioms	Integrated into: Vocabulary worksheets Speaking activities Listening activities Phrasal verbs and idioms

In the presentation, I also presented a "process" or routine that could be followed in a listening/speaking lesson. The process in skeletal form is listed below:
1. Introduce the topic (such as "introducing yourself")
2. State the objectives
3. Provide listening practice (via sound/video recordings or in-class lecture/presentation)
4. Vocabulary/Phrases practice
5. Grammar review
6. Targeted pronunciation practice
7. Speaking practice (applying the skills just learned in a real-life context)
8. Listening review
9. Assign and discuss homework: vocabulary, speaking, and listening practice

Of course, this process can be adapted to meet the individual needs of students and teachers, but the process demonstrates the need to integrate the teaching of vocabulary and phrases, grammar, and pronunciation in an ESL listening/speaking lessons.

Improving ESOL Students' Pronunciation

There are quite a few ideas out there regarding how to improve ESOL students' pronunciation. I came across a few interesting resources in a discussion list I am a part of. One resource includes an article posted on the CAELA Network which discusses interesting points to consider when teaching English pronunciation. The article includes a couple of interesting tables, one of which provides a pronunciation checklist to identify ESOL students' areas of weakness which can then be used to help students set goals for improvement. (See Table 1 below.)

Another interesting resource is a document that lists core items of English pronunciation to teach as suggested by Tran Thi Lan, PhD, at Hanoi University of Foreign Studies. The information is specific to native Vietnamese speakers, but I would consider many of these aspects to be relevant and adaptable to teaching speakers of other languages, as well. The document can be found in full here.

The core items listed by Lan are as follows, with particular emphasis given to the first seven items:

1. The English alphabet. A focus should be put on the following letters which [Vietnamese] students confuse the sounds of: R, I, E, G , J, H, K, Q, W, X, Y

2. Familiarization with the English phonemic chart. Essential as it helps students to be able to know the pronunciation of words from dictionaries. Teachers should encourage students to use monolingual dictionaries made by reputable publishers.

3. Voiced and unvoiced sounds. Students should be taught this to help with the pronunciation of ‘s’ and ‘ed’ endings.

4. Long and short vowels. Students need to be able to confidently differentiate and produce these as they are both challenging and have an effect on meaning.

5. Word final consonants. Vietnamese students often neglect these and constant exercises on final endings should be done attentively during any course.

6. Consonant clusters. These are not a feature of Vietnamese and therefore are challenging. ‘sts’, ‘ts’, ‘str’, and ‘tr’ appear to be the most challenging for many students.

7. Suprasegmental level: Word stress, sentence stress, and intonation are essential items to address. Tonic intonation should be given special care as changes alters meaning. Sound linking is important, but not essential. When learners say the words correctly, they will link sounds naturally themselves.

8. English sounds not found in Vietnamese. For example, the interdentals /d/, /q/, can be mixed up with /f/ or Vietnamese /th/, though this may not influence comprehensibility.

9. /l/ and /n/ can be mixed up in the northern dialect (Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh etc.).

10. Initial /j/ like in yes, young, yellow may be heard as in zes, zoung, zeallow. This sound can be a bigger problem for learners from the south or central provinces of the country.

11. /r/ The Hanoi accent does not distinguish between /r/, /z/, or /gi/. Some people in the central part of Vietnam, such as Nghe An, Quang Binh, Hue, or Danang, can say /zed/ instead of /red/.

12. The difference between aspirated and non-aspirated ‘t’. Initial ‘t’ in English is aspirated as in ten and tea. After ‘s’ as in stop and steel, ‘t’ is not aspirated and is more similar to its Vietnamese counterpart. This is advisable to teach, but not in a short course.

Table 1: Pronunciation Checklist

Pronunciation	Always	Sometimes	Never
Mark “x” where applicable, according to frequency of error
Consonants
th (e.g., thin—not[t])
th (e.g., then—not[d])
s & z (e.g., sue vs. zoo)
r (e.g., rice vs. lice)
l (e.g., parrot vs. palate)
Final consonants
Voiceless, voiced (e.g.,nip . nib; seat vs. seed; lock vs. log; larch vs. large)
final l (e.g., final, little, sell)
final s (e.g., pupils, writes, schools)
-ed suffix to mark past tense
Vowel variation
hill vs. heel
cut vs. cart
cot vs. caught
pull vs. pool
pen vs. pan
Intonation
Use of rising intonation: yes/no questions (e.g., Are you coming?)
Use of falling intonation: statements (e.g., Yes, I am coming); wh questions (e.g., What are you doing?)
Voice
Mark “x” where applicable, according to frequency of error
Audibility level
Too loud
Too soft
Fading out at end of statements
Pitch and range
Monotonous
Other comments

Note: This checklist was designed by Nora Samosir & Low Ee Ling (2000) as a means to assess teachers’ oral English proficiency.

The Five Reasons Why English Language Learners Benefit from Systematic Phonics Instruction

In my last post, I mentioned that Dr. Neil J. Anderson, world-renowned second language reading expert, spoke at the Reading Horizons Distributor Seminar in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 15, 2010. Since I work for Reading Horizons, and since I know Dr. Anderson personally, he asked me before the seminar my opinion on what topic he should address. As we discussed possible topics, I was reminded of the perpetual need to establish and promote the important role that systematic phonics instruction plays in an English Language Learner's education. Thus, his presentation was entitled, "The Five Reasons Why English Language Learners Benefit from Systematic Phonics Instruction." The five reasons he discussed, each supported by research, include:

Reading Fluency: Optimal Silent and Oral Reading Rates

Neil J. Anderson, professor of Linguistics and English Language at Brigham Young University, recently presented at the Reading Horizons distributor seminar in Salt Lake City, Utah. He shared some interesting information about how English Language Learners (ELLs) benefit from systematic phonics instruction. Two of the reasons he cited include the following: 1) reading fluency increases as students learn to decode words; and 2) oral reading improves when students can decode words correctly.

Reading fluency, as defined by Neil Anderson, is "reading at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension" (Anderson, 2008, p. 3). This definition of reading fluency is important as teachers consider what an "appropriate reading rate" is for their students. Remember that reading at a quick pace (an "appropriate rate") without comprehending what is being read is not fluent reading. Additionally, reading super slowly and understanding everything being read ("adequate comprehension") likewise is not fluent reading. The balance between the two--reading rate and comprehension--is important to fluency.

So what constitutes an "appropriate rate"? During the presentation, Anderson referenced national averages for optimal silent and oral reading rates by grade level (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 2006). I wanted to share this information below: 

Silent Reading Rates

1^st grade: 80 wpm

2^nd grade: 115 wpm

3^rd grade: 138 wpm

4^th grade: 158 wpm

5^th grade: 173 wpm

6^th grade: 185 wpm

7^th grade: 195 wpm

8^th grade: 204 wpm

9^th grade: 214 wpm

10th grade: 224 wpm

11th grade: 237 wpm

12th grade: 250 wpm

College or University: 280 wpm

Oral Reading Rates

1^st grade: 53 wpm

2^nd grade: 89 wpm

3^rd grade: 107 wpm

4^th grade: 123 wpm

5^th grade: 139 wpm

6^th grade: 150 wpm

7^th grade: 150 wpm

8^th grade: 151 wpm

Notice that oral reading rates beyond the 8th grade level are not listed. This is due to the fact that when we read aloud, we generally do not read faster than what we can read at an 8th grade reading level.

These silent and oral reading rates can be used as a guideline when discerning appropriate reading rates for students. Adjustments to these reading rates could be made to accommodate English Language Learners and students with reading difficulties. 

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References:

Anderson, N. J. (2008). Practical English language teaching: Reading. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hasbrouck, J., & Tindal, G. A. (2006). Oral reading fluency norms: A valuable assessment tool for teaching teachers. The Reading Teacher, 59, 636-644.

See also my post about a free online speed reading tool here.

An ESL/EFL Lesson Plan - Class Project Idea Using Film

In my travels, I have met amazing people with amazing stories. (See my post entitled, "Lessons Learned from Life.") I have dreamed of putting a book together that documents individuals whose life stories have taught me powerful lessons. That dream is a project for the future that I sincerely hope to engage in at some point. In the interim, I enjoy learning life stories of individuals I have not met, but whose voices are made available to me through text and video. I wanted to share one of my favorite resources that provides an opportunity to access the testimonies of a myriad of individuals from around the world. It is called "6 Milliards d'Autres," or "6 Billion Others," which documents 5,000 interviews filmed in 75 different countries, in which individuals were asked the same questions about life. As the website states, this project is "a perspective on humanity" which reveals "what separates us and what unites us." The link can be accessed here. (Click on the "6bO Testimonies" button at the bottom left of the screen, and then click "Portraits" from the drop-down menu. You can then click on any picture tile in the mosaic to view that individual's portrait. You can also search by topic, location, etc.)

On a teaching application note, I think it would be an interesting class project for an ESL/EFL class to participate in a similar film project. After introducing the website to students, teachers could invite the students to share their "testimonies," as well. Teachers could film students in the class answering a variety of questions. Students could speak in English to practice the target language, or they could be given the option to speak in their native languages, and then given the opportunity to translate their speech into English to be used as subtitles. Perhaps the class could even post their testimonies on the "6 Billion Others" website to provide a "publishing" opportunity. This project could also be done in conjunction with other ESL/EFL classrooms, and, if possible, each class involved could showcase their films as they watch them together.

Teaching Adult English Language Learners with Emerging Literacy Skills

I am part of a discussion group that discusses issues involving adult English language acquisition hosted by the National Institute for Literacy. I have been particularly interested in discussions surrounding literacy for English Language Learners (ELLs). The discussion thread is moderated by Miriam Burt of the Center for Applied Linguistics. She recently posted the summary/transcripts for the discussion on "Teaching Adult English Language Learners with Emerging Literacy Skills," compiled by Inge Siggelkow of the Center for Applied Linguistics. Guest facilitators included Patsy Vinogradov and Martha Bigelow. The link to the summary can be found here. I participated in the discussion, commenting on the positive effects I've seen using an integrated approach of top-down and bottom-up strategies for reading.
The topics discussed include:

Topic 1: Promoting an integrated approach to top-down and bottom-up instruction

Topic 2: Integrating phonics and decoding into a meaningful curriculum

Topic 3: Placing learner’s lives and stories as central to lesson planning

Topic 4: Connecting the real with the abstract

Topic 5: How long does it take to learn English?

Topic 6: Policy and limited formal schooling (LFS)

Topic 7: Emerging Literacy, sharing experiences with different groups of LFS learners

Topic 8: Questions to Martha on her oracy and literacy skills research

Topic 9: Resources to teach learners with emergent literacy skills

Topic 10: Finding suitable reading materials for low-literacy adult

ESL Resources

I just received word that a reader of my blog compiled a list of the top 25 ESL blogs for teachers and students, and my blog made the list! To see her list of other ESL blogs, click here.

Phonics Research

Over the past couple of years, I have posted several blog posts that discuss what the research says about using phonics, including what the research says about phonics for adolescents and adults, what the research says about phonics for English Language Learners (ELLs) and ESOL students, and what the research says about struggling ELL readers. I wanted to pass along an additional online resource I recently came across that addresses phonics research as it relates to the general population and its role and efficacy in teaching students how to read. I've included the link to this phonics research summary here. The text also includes several hyperlinks to additional sources, including a comprehensive phonics research bibliography at the end of the document, which I have found to be likewise helpful.

What Works for Adult ESL Students

I came across a great online article that documents an interview with Heide Wrigley entitled "What Works for Adult ESL Students." Heide Wrigley was a principal researcher of a study funded by the US Department of Education in conjunction with American Institutes for Research and Aguirre International. In the documented interview, Heide discusses her findings and implications for curriculum development. The article can be accessed here, but I will highlight a few excerpts that illustrate some key points below. I think these are elements to keep in mind when creating reading and literacy curriculum for ESL students.