ESL Teacher

Resources

2009-12-10T05:11:00.000-08:00

In many schools, private, public or otherwise, books are often used and the teacher simply has to flip from page to page without much worry as to what the next day will bring. Books, however, should be seen more as glorified outlines than a strict play by play manual to be followed to the letter. Publishers make books to make money. The writers have no idea as to your particular learning environment. Some schools may be strict in the sense that all the material be covered but will rarely ever complain if you supplement exercises with activities that engage the students. This is where your personal style will show.

In larger groups, the class can be personalized only so far, but often times, as freelance ESL teachers, we will have many private or individual student classes that we can, and we should, fashion according to the student's personal interests and needs as a learner. There are a multitude of sites online where one can find mountains of resources. You can find complete lesson plans, handouts, boardgames, articles of interest, activity ideas, etc. With so many teachers in cyberspace sharing their hard work, it would be foolish not to accept these gifts. Many sites today are asking for registration fees and offer pay-per-print resources, but there are a good many still which ask for nothing in return and allow you to print and use what you like without restriction or condition. Once you begin using these free resources and familiarize yourself and become comfortable with them, you might just start making your own and share them with other new teachers out there in the world.

The ESL teacher often makes the mistake of assuming that resources all share the same form: Paper. However, many good resources come in different forms. Some experienced and dynamic teachers might have boxes of material resources. Take a look and you might find dice, playing cards, coins, macaroni, string, tape, markers, glue, toys and whatever you can imagine that could play a role in the second language classroom; a teacher's bag of tricks. Resources abound. We need only to stretch our imaginations. Instead of only looking for resources to fit our plan, try and look at our surroundings and see how my plan can fit these things. This practiced, you will have a large collection of material resources in no time. This is not to say that we should neglect all those printables we love to use but we should be wary of over-use. Before printing off another worksheet and simply handing it to a student to silently complete, ask yourself what you could do with it. Ask yourself if there is not another way to deliver this, another way for students to do the work without boring them and yourself, and at the same time, reach your objectives.

Many ESL teachers travel from place to place to give language instruction in-home or in-company and plan and prepare their classes on buses, in cafes or in their heads while walking from one class to another. In this situation, it wouldn't be practical to hike your 'bag of tricks' with you all over town. Resources can always change shape, size and weight. You need to adapt your resources to your environment and personal situation. The teacher can deliver just as effective a class with little paper cut-ups with words scribbled on them and a pair of dice as the the one with chicken wire, bubble wrap and a hard boiled egg.

Planning and Preparation

2009-12-10T05:08:00.000-08:00

Planning

Even the most experienced teacher faces daily planning pitfalls. Not only is it time consuming, it also requires a lot of imagination and creativity to plan a dynamic and engaging class day to day. You may have had or known teachers who could 'wing' a class and pull it off. This is, however, the exception to the rule. Most of us need to know what we are doing and how we are going to do it beforehand. Planning helps us keep in mind all those theoretical issues of methodologies and learning and teaching styles in addition to the course content. Planning helps us walk into a class confident and certain of our objectives. When we know exactly what we are going to do we can focus our attention on the task: Teaching!

Planning is and will continue to be a burden as long as you see it as this. If you take on the task of planning as a creative venture, a challenge to come up with something new, you will find that planning can be something you do in your head while you are walking down the street or enjoying a cup of coffee. It will nurture the creative spark in the brain and you will see that reflected in your students' involvement in the class. Don't worry if something doesn't work. You've just taken another step toward your own development. Just don't forget to have a back-up plan...always!!

Preparation

Once we've planned our lesson there is the unavoidable task of preparation. Photocopied handouts have always been the teacher's secret weapon. Worksheets still have their place in the second language classroom but should be seen more as extra practice or a homework assignment.

You will undoubtedly spend a good deal of time preparing your first classes. You will be both discouraged and frustrated at times when one activity that had taken you an hour to prepare was either ineffective or took but five minutes to complete. Teachers are regularly looking for ways in order to reduce the amount of their own free time just getting ready. In some cases, short cuts are a teacher's way to keep from burning out. For others, it is simply a way to make the job easier. For others still, these short cuts can become a handy tool in order to invest more time in teaching. Whichever way you look at them, short cuts are a teacher's friend. A simple example is flashcards. You can take the time to draw them yourself, color or laminate them. On the other hand, the students can create their own flash cards, use them in a game of memory in pairs, or take them home and practice with their parents.

There is no need to invest too much time in preparation. Once we have our plan there are many ways to make the preparation a smoother and less stressful task. There are numerous sites dedicated to making the planning and preparation of classes a little lighter, places where you will find ready-made flash cards, board games, activity ideas, and of course worksheets. But why stop there? In the next entry we will talk about materials and resources.

V A K

2009-12-10T03:38:00.000-08:00

Another approach to learning is the Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic approach. This is a little different to the Multiple Intelligences 'theory' in that it looks more at students' preference to learning as opposed to style. A brief look at these preferences may tell us something about our students and how we can better facilitate learning in the classroom.

Auditory learners may have difficultly reading and usually like to do so out loud. They prefer to talk to colleagues and listen to explanations.

Explain what they will learn, teach and then tell them what they have learned.
Use lecture style teaching.
Include auditory activities, brainstorming, Student A/Student B back to back.
Leave plenty of time to explain and then later summarize activities. This allows them to make connections to what they have learned and how it applies to them.
Use music and sound.

Visual learners like to learn through written language, such as reading and writing tasks. They remember what has been written down, even if they do not read it more than once. These learners usually do better with charts, demonstrations, videos, and other visual materials.

Use graphs, charts, pictures, or video.
Include plenty of content in handouts to reread after the learning session.
Permit time for note-taking.
Eliminate potential distractions.
Supplement textual information with pictures whenever possible.

Kinesthetic learners do best while touching and moving. They tend to lose concentration. They typically take notes by drawing pictures, diagrams, or doodling. They learn more when out of their chairs and are usually more distracting while sitting in them.

Use activities that get the learners up and moving.
Play music, when appropriate, during activities.
Give frequent stretch breaks.
Find reasons for board races.
Act out the story or dialogue.

However we choose to give a glass or do a particular activity will ultimately be decided by you for your particular learners and learning environment. It is only by being aware of what to look for, that we can better make these choices and subsequently better facilitate learning.

Multiple Intelligences

2009-12-10T03:15:00.000-08:00

We talked in an earlier entry about teachers' personal learning styles. Students also have their own personal learning styles. Way back in 1983 there was the startling discovery that the I.Q. test was a poor measure of a student's intelligence. In fact, the discovery was that there were several different types of intelligences and all the unfortunate failures of the I.Q. might have actually been smart. The count of the number of intelligences today is eight. A quick look at this 'theory', will remind us that a classroom is filled with people, different people with very different approaches to learning. The more we understand these differences, the more we may cultivate the learning capacity of each individual.

Verbal-Linguistic: (word smart) These learners are good with languages and words. They learn best by reading and writing, listening to lectures and debate. They are often good speakers.

Logical-Mathematical: (number/reasoning smart) These learners are good with abstractions, logic and reasoning. They are good with calculations and scientific process.

Visual-Spacial: (picture smart) These learners are often artistic and good with manipulation of objects. They are good at solving puzzles and have a good sense of direction with good hand-eye coordination.

Bodily-Kinesthetic: (body smart) These learners learn best through movement. They would rather do than read or hear about it. They are often good at dance, sports, or building and making things.

Musical: (music smart) These learners have a strong auditory component in their learning strategies. They possess rhythm and pitch. They may sing, compose music or play an instrument. They often learn best through lectures.

Interpersonal: (people smart) These learners work best in groups. They often like debate or discussion. They are usually characterized as extroverts and are often sensitive to others' feelings or moods.

Intrapersonal: (self smart) These learners have a strong sense of self and are aware of their own feelings or thoughts. They are often introspective and can predict their own reactions. They work best alone.

Naturalistic: (nature smart) These newly recognized learners are good with animals. They have a tendency toward nurturing and growing things. They learn best while in a natural setting.

`Are we or our students one of the above, independent from all the others? Or are we by degrees a mixture of the eight intelligences? How can we teach one without excluding another? It is simply with awareness that we can better prepare for the multiple intelligences we will see in our own classrooms.

Style

2009-12-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

What is style? Methodologies have been categorized, cataloged and chronicled. But what is to be said of style? Does a personal identity have a place in the classroom? Absolutely. But what of it? This is again where we look upon our own past and try to emulate that great teacher we had once upon a time. Some of us lack the confidence to incorporate that person that is 'I' in the classroom while others are so sure of themselves yet suffer miserably. What is our style and how is it fashioned? What kind of teacher are we going to be? Formal Authoritative? Demonstrator? Facilitator? Delegator? Once again, there is a whole lot of theory out there and this is something that is best reviewed from time to time during our development as teachers.
There are many ways to come to an understanding of what teaching style we have. One of the best practices is observation of other teachers. The information that one can learn by observing another teacher in action is invaluable. Not only do we have the opportunity to gain knowledge through vicarious experience, as observers we will also begin to evaluate our own teaching practices as compared to others. This reflection is the first step toward development. Other ways to discover our own style and its place in our class within a given methodology is simply experimentation. The old saying, 'you won't know unless you try', is never more true than in teaching. Students can be the most forgiving people on the planet as long as they know you are making that true effort to educate them and that they are important. Never hesitate to try something new in class. However, be forewarned. Look for the signs and if something is failing, don't force it upon them. You can wrap up any activity at any time because you will always have a back-up. Don't hesitate to ask your coordinator or director for their input on any activity ideas you have. They are usually very collaborative when asked for their opinion. Again, asking questions and looking for guidance is just another step toward developing as an educator. Once we realize that we are forever students, we are that more apt to educate others.
A style is what sets one teacher apart from another. Generally speaking, we enter the classroom with the same agenda. We have the same goals. We want our students to learn English. Yet walk into any two classrooms and we will be surprised that no two are alike, and if they are, then we can argue that the two classes are desperately in need of some style. Some teachers like to use music while others shun the idea of music being a viable tool for language learning. Some teachers incorporate dance, or artistic activities, and others may opt for sitting in a circle and having a group discussion on current events. We can achieve all our goals within our methodological framework without using any of the above, or contrarily, by using all. No-one can say that you must use music in your class. Once teachers are dictated how they must perform with no regards to their own personal style, the class itself will by nature turn stale and this will be reflected in the teachers' teaching and the students' learning. Of course there are many other factors we must keep in mind. Just as teachers have their own teaching styles, students have their own learning styles.

Methodology

2009-12-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

Let's look at a brief history of language learning and the different methodologies seen over the years. Back in the old days people didn't really learn language to develop communicative competency, rather they learned languages like Greek or Latin for scholarly purposes. They used a classic approach, which included endless repetition, long winded translations and similarly boring exercises. For the last hundred years or so, communicating in the second language has become increasingly important. For that reason we have seen so many different 'new' methods popping up to replace the old. Some appear for a short time like a fad and just as quickly disappear while others fight for survival and, in some cases, experience a revival. But having a basic understanding of some of the methodological practices of the past can help us understand our methodological stance today and in what place our own personal style can contribute.

Grammar-Translation: This method is still seen today. You can see it every time you do a fill in the blank activity. You can see it every time you see a vocabulary list of animals or verbs to memorize. This was the ruling method in the early part of the twentieth century but it is given less and less credibility as more importance is placed on communication. This is because this method is often taught in the mother tongue, requires no auditory understanding and pronunciation is irrelevant.

Behaviorist: This method owes its thanks to a dog that used to drool whenever he heard a bell ring. It holds the belief that all learning comes from outside stimuli. It is shown that when a learner makes an utterance and receives a response, they are thus encouraged or discouraged to do so again, positive responses leading to a repeated behavior which is consequently habit forming.

Audio-Lingual: This method is very similar to the behaviorist approach in that it rewards good while it ignores the bad. It is also dubbed the army approach for the incessant drilling sessions. Students are subjected to memorization of dialogues and rote learning of surface forms yet fail to use the language with any proficiency.

Total Physical Response: This method is very well known today for its dynamic approach. It is an instruction-movement-response methodology that at the very least has students out of their chairs.

These are by no means the only methods out there. There are a great many different methodologies to choose from. Is one any better than another? Certainly yes. Better yet, are there aspects of each which we may incorporate into our own classrooms? Absolutely. What of an holistic approach? It is only with a basic understanding of all the tiresome work the theorists have done that we may begin to experiment in our own classroom and discover for ourselves what works for our class and our students.

Welcome to Teaching ESL

2009-12-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

This blog has the specific purpose of introducing you to the world of teaching English as a second language and in no way attempts to explain all facets of applied linguistics. Esl Teacher will give the new or soon-to-be teacher the tools in order to become good teachers. Teachers, just as much as students, are in a constant state of development. There is no prescribed period of time or number of hours that could define one teacher as being better than another. As a matter of fact, many teachers that have accumulated hours of experience over the years are more likely to stick to old habits and ignore new advances in this ever- advancing field. Our goal here is to direct those self motivated people to where they may find the quality resources in order to fashion themselves as teachers defined by their own personal make-up.

There are so many different types of teachers. We've all had them. The strict ones, the unfair ones, the fun ones, the boring ones and the interesting ones. The list can go on. When we enter a classroom for the first time it can be overwhelming. It is not uncommon to resort to role-play and act like a teacher as opposed to being one's self. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, without training or professional development we will often imitate one or more of the teachers we've had in the past. We teach best how we were best taught. This can be a dangerous situation. Simply because our age and the changes in pedagogical theory in the time since we received our own formal education may cause us to approach learning in an out-dated or even ineffective way. Then how does a new teacher avoid the teachers of the past and develop their own 'teacher role'? We will see many ways throughout this blog, but primarily, it is to be curious, ask questions, investigate and experiment.

The English language learning industry is an enormous one. From publishers making millions of new editions of language books to private enterprises peddling new methodologies to the unsuspecting, the business of selling English is a multi-billion dollar affair. As English teachers we can enjoy the security of traveling the world and know that there will always be a demand for us. We will always have work (more lucrative in some countries than in others). But for us to really understand what it is to teach a second language to someone is something different altogether. In fact, it's the difference between teaching as a job and being an educator. Once we become aware of this distinction, we can become more effective educators, and this will not only make our working life much more enjoyable, there will be many more opportunities for growth (academic, professional, and economical).