Technology has become a very effective tool for instruction in this our modern world.  To the extent that some of the electronic materials which were once viewed as negative passive endeavor are now used in classroom in very constructive ways.  Many students have cell phones, iPods and have access to internet either in their houses or at public libraries.  The implications are overwhelming because students can judiciously interact by a press of  a key through all the different media that are available now – the face book, texting, blogging, emailing, MySpace, YouTube videos and eBook just to site a few.  As teachers we have so much that we could use to make life a lot easier both for our second language learners and for us as facilitators of learning. 

The advantageous effect of the explosion of mass media is that information can easily be found and instruction could be made a lot easier by using them.  Educators can easily integrate different content areas by using the internet and searching for simple articles that students at every levels can read with understanding.  Take the eBook for example, as it relates to the science as a content area, abstract concepts can easily be simulated and animated so that second language learners can easily see and understand what is being taught.  The eBook also contains activities that students can do after listening to a reading.  Alternatively, there is DVDs to go with certain concepts taught in class.  So between the reading, discussion and viewing the DVD on that particular concept, each student will always leave the class with a better understanding of what they a supposed to learn.  There is also the doing part with technology.  As students are now quite adept with the use of some of these electronics, the opportunities for them to create things by themselves are limitless. 

 The use of eBook I consider a very effective tool for students in all levels.  One of the reasons is that it can be used as Text Aloud where the student can read the assigned passage silently while the passage is read aloud electronically.  The implication is the students learn the first language user pronunciation of the word and learn the reading at the same time.  I will also assign the eActivities that go with that passage and the students can complete them on line and is corrected at the same time.  The activities include all kinds of concept maps, puzzles, animation and simulation of some natural processes and unscrambling of words that they can use to learn the content power words. The next stage of my using the eBook is by giving homework assignments that the students will do and the teacher will grade and publish the results to individual students.

Gwinnett County Public Schools have a lot of paid and free web sites that are available for their teachers to use.  Some of the sites include but not limited to Brianpop.com, Studyjam.com, and Middleschoolscience.com.  I will show the students the topic that I want them to learn about after a brief discussion with some guided questions then they will write down important things they heard from what was shown to them.  Some of the guided questions will include writing down the power words and defining or explaining them.  Others will include writing processes in Chronological sequence as they happen.  Actually the guided questions will depend on the concept that I plan to teach at that time.  The students will watch and listen to the script more than once before a group discussion. After the group discussion, there will be a class discussion with a replay of the script and then they will answer some questions individually from what they have watched.  Of course, there are limitless activities one can derive from using technology in classroom.   

February 26, 2013: You are posting your Journal 1 from Chapter 26 - Using Technology with English Learners.(FUN TESOL) by 8:00 pm. Then you must respond to a colleague by the following Tuesday, March 5 by 4:30 pm.

 

Requirements for your Journal:

From the reading, identify two (2) important concepts and how you see those concepts reflected in the student learning in your classroom. In your journals, discuss how you can apply the concepts to make you a better teacher for English Language Learners (ELLs).

Happy Posting! I look forward to some rich discussion. 

Click where it says, "comments" and then paste your post.  Check back on the blog throughout the week in order to respond to a collegue. 

 

Journal 1 Chapter 26 Technology

Technology can simplify content delivery.  The use of multi-media can lend meaning visually and bridge gaps that occur when presenting information through the use of lectures, worksheets, or even reading aloud.  This approach can help increase student understanding through listening and comprehension skills.  Research shows that English learners grasp and retain concepts more efficiently when content is supported with technology.  The ability to replay a video, podcast, ebook, or any other source of technology is advantageous to both the teacher and the student.  Inevitably there will be various levels of abilities within an ELL classroom.  The technology can be personalized and repeated making the teacher more effective and more of a facilitator. 

The selection of what the student is listening to or viewing on the internet or other source of technology is an excellent way of differentiating instruction simply by scaffolding the level of difficulty of the technology resource.  The ability to teach vocabulary at different levels through technology interested me the most.  In a single class each student could theoretically be viewing something about a subject and no two are looking at the same thing.  For example, a brand new Level 1 student can be taking a tutorial on how to operate a computer through a website.  A Level 2 or 3 student, that already knows the functions of the computer, can assist the new user and work in collaborative pairs and gain confidence by being a teacher in this activity.  Level 3 and 4 users could be listening and reading along with a book on tape and then sharing with the group an oral assessment on what he/she just listened to. 

The ELL student is able to strengthen multiple areas (listening, speaking, and reading) from a single source of technology, the internet.  The use of online communities, blogs, social media, and other websites create an environment in which most students have a comfort level in participating in.  These types of resources are so valuable because they can be accessed at any time.  Students that are committed to becoming excellent students and have a strong desire to acquire that second language don’t have to be in school to gain experience or knowledge.  EPALS, a classroom email exchange resource I am just learning about, should be used by every ELL student in our school.  EPALS is a student oriented email system that creates email pen pals.  Over 6,000,000 students currently participate in the program from over 100 countries all over the world.  What better way for an ELL to share culture, history, and possible family connections through this student-friendly and safe site.  Students can relate culturally to a pen pal from their home country and share what new experiences they are learning.  The ability to share triumphs and frustrations as the new language is being acquired lends a completely different level of support, the support of peers, something that a teacher can’t replicate.  Teachers are all aware that peer pressure and influences are major contributors or detriments.  Including culturally relevant materials and opportunities in the lesson help create a learning environment that makes the student more comfortable.  Alleviating stress and confusion in the ELL classroom through technology helps the student focus more on the skill that is being acquired and less on their own struggles and deficiencies. 

Allowing the student to access information through technology masks the fact that they are doing schoolwork.  Video games, once thought of as the great competitor to education, are now being embraced to teach middle and elementary school students.  The use of a hand-held controller or joystick to input academic information is quickly becoming part of school instruction all over the country.  Taking an activity that the majority of students enjoy, video games, and placing it in an academic setting is yet another way to cater to the needs of your students by allowing them to show mastery through multiple input devices.  In our own classrooms we see every day how changing a routine, such as target time, from a pencil and paper based activity to a classroom response system creates an excitement and competition from the students.  The use of technology allows teacher to bombard the student’s senses with multiple levels of instruction and activities.  The ability to differentiate and customize learning opportunities through technology is endless and it’s something that must be embraced. 

February 5, 2013

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING. What a fabulous way to end our Linguistics Class 2013!

Below is a class collectiion of AMAZING, THOUGHTFUL, REFLECTIVE, AND TRULY INSPIRING RESPONSES.

We must understand that the changes necessary in classroom practices are most difficult as it relates to helping students become proficient readers and writers. Teachers have to become innovators instead of regulators when it depends upon effective written and second language acquisition.  I will try to use pictures, gestures, tone of voice and hands-on activities to help in making second language acquisition more comprehensible. I understand that affective factors such as nervousness, boredom, and anxiety influence language by serving as filters that block out incoming messages and prevent second language acquisition, therefore I will try to keep these factors to a minimum in the classroom.  Perkins

      I will use the knowledge that I learned to help my students acquire language skills by emerging them in vocabulary: synonyms and antonyms.  I will have classroom discussions that relate their experiences to the real world by using newspapers, magazine articles and social media.  I would like my students to be able to write and speak so that they may express themselves.  I will model and demonstrate language by having pictures in the classroom that are in two different languages.  I would teach in both languages.  I would say it in English then in their language.  I will have many drills that allow them to learn language.  They will have assignments that are written in both languages. I will show educational films in both languages.  I will play the radio in both languages. These would all be drills that they must repeat after they hear it.  People learn by doing.  I will have writing drills (dictations), where the students will have to write what they hear.  They must be able to read it back.  This will help them to read and write in the new language.    I would make learning a new language fun and interesting .  Biundo 

At this point, students who do not speak any English are going to be in our classrooms, and we must adapt to this.  It is important that students not only be able to regurgitate information, but they understand concepts and ideas.  I want students to be able to express ideas, but I also want them to use correct academic language.  It seems to be a never ending battle, and no person or institution has all the answers.  Teachers must accept all students with an open mind and work with all students to learn and acquire a new language at the same time.  Buckelew

 The stage for learning in my class would present variables play a key role in the success of the lesson. I will make sure I speak clearly, to avoid unclear terminology and vague terms. I will accept student ideas and maintain a high overall energy level. I believe that my enthusiasm will reflect my student’s enthusiasm. I will require and allow my students to actively participate to display their understanding. Carpenter

To develop the students’ academic language, I will use the extensive-reading strategy in my classroom. I will encourage my students to read and discuss the content texts with small groups, where the students will share their understanding of the words with other students . I will also use graphic organizers to represent key ideas of the academic English words. I will encourage them to read more articles on particular content, where the students will get a complete understanding of the academic English language. Duggirala

Since beginning my teaching career three years ago, I have embraced the belief that ALL students can learn; it’s just as matter of WHAT we do to help them learn. If I had viewed each student’s unique differences as barriers to their learning and my teaching, none of my students would have seen success. I had embraced the difference orientation from the beginning, and I have seen the great success students can achieve as a result of using diversity to ENHANCE instruction. Furtney

Too often, in an attempt to cover as much content as possible, we forget to give our students the opportunity to play with words.  We forget that while they play with words, students create meaning.  To help students build meaning, I would continue using the Frontloading method, which builds concepts and vocabulary.  This background building activity teaches students important vocabulary words without focusing solely on the structural analysis of the word.  It is also a way to assess, motivate, set purposes, prepare, protect, and support students.  Hamlet

The implication for the teacher is to differentiate the writing assignments and teaching philosophy to the students based on their needs.  The English learner will need to have their ideas cultivated and developed first, and then the rules of writing can be applied after the message is refined.  The English first speaker that understand the prompts better and has some idea on how to respond (many prompts aren’t culturally sensitive, but that’s another subject altogether) can be taught the conventions of writing in order to create a writing sample that passes a standardized grading process.  Regardless of how the student learns, the teachers must first recognize the strengths and weaknesses in their student’s writing and work with the student and find out which method of teaching writing is more effective in showing improvement.  Lacy

I was inspired to help students develop their language skills not only in  English, but in their home language as well.  This encouragement can take many forms.  I provide non-English language books for students to read and encourage students to use their home languages in creative writing assignments or in class journals.  I have also advocated for a Spanish language class at Lilburn, since so many of our students’ home language is Spanish, and because I am certified to teach Spanish.  After reading the evidence presented by Freeman and Freeman, I am further encouraged to continue in my pursuit to fight for student’s bilingual education. Lunceford

I have to investigate if my student know the basic rules of language in their own language.  This will help my students to learn the rules in English (Same basic rules). Another strategy I can use is to find words that sounds similar in both language or are written in the same way to help them in the acquisition of new vocabulary. A good example of this strategy is the word area, this word is written, pronounces and it meaning is the same in Spanish than in English. Martinez

Positively, I will implement Internet , showing images depicting a relationship between the footage and vocabulary, and I will add academic content vocabulary as part of the word wall, so they can view and know how to spell them. Furthermore, I plan to set aside 15 minutes every day, going over the pronunciation of 400 basic sight words which some of my students have difficulties in recognizing and pronouncing them.   Nguyen

It is interesting to learn that ones’ view about use of language actually affects the individual’s teaching goals and strategy of teaching a concept  When teaching new concept I will help my students to identify the power words and understand their meaning, pronunciation and usage.   Some typical examples are these words; weathering and erosion.  Teaching the term weathering, I will split the word into weather-ing and relate it to weather and help my students to understand the word as how weather conditions wear away or break rocks.  For erosion I will break this as “ero-sion” and help students to come up with the word erode as the verb form of the word erosion.  By teaching these words I have accomplished two goals.  The first is that students will understand what the terms mean and secondly internalize this strategy and use it to understand other related text.  Onike

I feel that language, both written and spoken, is critical to the human experience.  Archaeology tells us what happened in history, but studying linguistics and the written records people leave behind tells us why things happen, and maybe more importantly, what people were thinking. It’s an amazing thing to think that the human brain is hardwired to learn language. I imagine that as humans continue to evolve that this innate ability will only get better and better.  Freeman explained that, “language is what makes us distinctly human” (x), and I agree that our ways of communicating and interacting with each other is what truly sets us apart from other creatures on Earth.  Sas

The one thing that I would say that has some implications for the classroom is the fact that we, as teachers—especially ESOL teachers—need to be reminded often of the complexity of language and how it relates to the children we teach.  Smith

In my classroom I plan to incorporate the Current Acquistion View into my Science Lessons.  The goal is to help students use language for different purposes.  I will use different methods of language input like you tube clips, children’s books,  and literacy articles .  The students can use the information to summarize the topics that are being taught. Tate

Chapter 7 and 8 blog

Chapter 7:

1.         How do new words enter a language?

New words enter a language through several ways.  Some enter through coining, compounding, clipping, creating acronyms, blending, back-formation, and borrowing.   Typical example of how coining works could be explained this way.  If an individual uses a word for an object and it is generally accepted and used, then that becomes a part of language vocabulary.  Coining is used quite often with new inventions.  Examples could be seen from the new terminologies we use today in our computer language like when we talk about the mouse, ram and others. Some words got into our language vocabulary when two or more words are joined to become one like in backslide and cupboard.  In some cases the new words may be joined with hyphen like daughter-in-law.  These words are said to be formed by compounding.  When the words enter through clippings or acronyms, those words are simply formed by abbreviating already existing words as seen with chemistry for chem. and bio. for biology.  Furthermore, acronyms are mostly formed with the first letter of series of words and we see this quite often with naming our schools and Universities.  Few examples are LMS for Lilburn Middle School and LIU for Long Island University.  At times, new words are formed by blending other words together to form another.  As we see with breakfast a compound and lunch to produce brunch.  In the case of back-formation, new vocabularies were added where their existed noun form of words but no related verb form of that word.  An example is the noun word beggar, they have to come up with the verb form beg.  Of course some of the words were borrowed from other social groups that we come in contact with in our life’s journey.  Some English words were borrowed from Latin, Spanish or French such as the word bouquet, which is French.           

Ch. 8:

2.         What is the best way to increase vocabulary?

There are several ways to increase an individual’s vocabulary.  Some propose direct teaching of the vocabulary as the proponents of linguistic view will argue.  However, those of sociopsycholinguistic views will opt to do so through making it possible for students to engage in a lot of reading.  Each of these views has its advantages and disadvantages.  Having considered the two options, I believe that increasing an individual’s vocabulary could be achieved better through reading.  My choice is based on the fact that being exposed to the same vocabularies more often will eventually lead to acquisition of that word in one’s everyday usage of the word.  Reading allows the reader to see the same word used in different ways and  in different forms. It lends to better understanding of the word and more usage of that word.  Human tendency is to use what we are familiar with hence the saying “practice makes perfect”   This will not negate the need to do some explaining of the power words but within the context of what the students are to read.  It will also allow building background knowledge which will help the student have a better understanding of what they are reading and in turn help them acquire the vocabulary.  The idea of frontloading which involves learning about the concept to be taught, discussing it, talking about it and writing about it makes should be an integral part of reading a lot with focus on students acquiring more vocabulary.  

 
3. What does it mean to know a word?

            The knowledge of a word involves more than just being able to pronounce it, recognizing it in a reading passage or even using it in a sentence.  All of these are just a very small part of knowing the word.  Word knowledge encompasses having the following:

·        Phonological information about the word -which involves being able to recognize and pronounce the word in oral reading

·        Morphological information – this involves knowing the meaning of the small parts, the inflectional and derivational affixes that are joined together at times to form more complex words that an individual could use to decode the meaning of the complex words; this also involve some changes that could take place when the word is being used in the past or present and as an adjective or as a noun.

·        Syntactic information – this involves understanding the role of the word in a sentence; whether the word is being used as a noun or a verb, in the past or present. 

·        Semantic information – means that the individual can define or explain the word, be able to give the synonyms and understand the meaning of that word in a metaphoric terms

·        Pragmatic information – this involves the everyday usage of that word or what could be termed the real world use of the word.  It entails understanding the context under which the word is used or could be used.

When an individual has a good grip of all of the above, we can then same that he/she has understanding of that word. 

Posted from Ms. Naomi Onike:

Chapter 9: nonike_blog

Question 5

Combining generated series of sentences and using it to write a paragraph.

1. The teacher is a scientist. 2. The teacher has so many models in her class.

She teaches science. Some models are big.

She teaches at Lilburn Middle School. Other models are big.

The teacher is in room 5.013. She uses the models to teach

3. The biggest model is the globe. 4. The ocean floor model shows many things.

The globe shows the oceans. The ocean floor has mountains.

It also shows different continents. It has valleys.

The globe shows the oceans in blue. It has plains

5. There is a model of a wind vane.

The model turns when a fan blows at it

It turns to the direction of the wind.

It has pointer that turns.

The scientist teaches science in room 5.013 at Lilburn Middle School. She has many small and big models in her class which she uses to teach. The globe is the biggest model and it shows the ocean in blue and the continents also. The ocean floor model shows that is has mountains, valleys and plains. The wind vane model turns the pointer to the direction of the fan when it blows at it.

Question 3. Formulating a rule for changing statements into question

Active: The scientist discussed the processes of water cycle.

Passive: The processes of water cycle were discussed by the scientist.

The guideline to the rule for changing the active to passive involves:

· The scientist = NP AUX = 0 VP = discussed the processes of water cycle

· The scientist served as subject in the active statement

· The scientist served as object of the verb in the passive statement

· At deep structure, all sentences contain an auxiliary since it shows up in questions.

· In the VP discussed = V, the = DET, processes = ADJ; of = P; water cycle = N

The rule for changing this active to the passive is as follows:

Put the VP at the beginning and add the auxiliary verb “were” before the verb “discussed” and let the scientist serve as the object of the verb.

Final analysis: The processes of water cycle (NP) were (AUX) discussed by the scientist (VP).

Question 2 The position of a word in a sentence can change its function. Sentences to consider:

1. Only he said that he loved linguistics.

2. He only said that he loved linguistics.

3. He said only that he loved linguistics.

4. He said that only he loved linguistics.

5. He said that he only loved linguistics.

6. He said that he loved only linguistics.

7. He said that he loved linguistics only.

Sentence I and 4 imply that maybe in their group he was the only person that loved linguistic.

Sentences 2 and 3 imply that the only thing he said was that he loved linguistic.

Sentences 5, 6 and 7 imply that there could have been other options but he loved linguistics.

Based on the changes of the positions of just one word only, the meaning of the sentence was changed to something completely different. The changes go from where you get the sense that several options were available and he loved only linguistics to that he loved linguistics was the only statement he made. The third interpretation of the sentence is that in a group, he was the only person that loved linguistic. The implication of good understanding of syntactic information better prepares an individual in being a better reader and with understanding of the language since semantic information may be limited when things like metaphors and other sentence structures are involved in a reading passage.