My TESL Journey

TESL 0110  Unit 4 Reflection  There are three main approaches to grammar-based lesson planning, and I think they all have some merit. In Present-Practice-Produce lessons, students are presented with a structure, practice it, and then produce that structure in a more communicative task. Task-based lessons begin and end with a task with grammar and language elements being taught in the middle. Grammar instruction is integrated into the teaching of a language skill in Skills-based lessons. I do not think that I necessarily gravitate to one approach entirely; I think the way I think of teaching a grammar lesson incorporates bits and pieces of each approach. In addition, my decision on how to teach a lesson would be primarily based on the needs of my students, the context I was teaching in, the length of the class, and a multitude of other factors.  Initially I was drawn to the Task-Based approach, but in a somewhat more structured way with a bit of Present-Practice-P...

TESL 0110 Unit 3 Reflection Teachers should be selective when correcting students' mistakes . This appears to be a topic that is hotly debated. According to Scott Thornbury's true or false quiz on myths and misconceptions about corrective feedback, this statemement is false. I  completely disagreed with Thornbury's answer to this question. I don't think it is beneficial to a student's learning or self-esteem to point out every single mistake that they make, in any skill area. If a student has many errors and they are all identified, it may be overwhelming and the student may not be able to process the amount of information they are being told. As a result, they are not likely to learn from those mistakes or correct them in future speaking or writing tasks.  In addition, pointing out all of a student's errors can have a negative effect on their self-worth. It can crush their self-confidence and cause them to not want to do further tasks. It may also result...

TESL 0110 Unit 2 Reflection Grammar Methods: I don't necessarily think that there is a right or wrong answer to this question, and as I read the history of methods presented in Thornbury's  Grammar and methods , I saw that a variety of methods have, and still exist. I found it fascinating to read through the evolution of methods and to see how current beliefs and practices actually incorporate elements from many of the methods of the past.  Learning a second language, and "picking it up" through immersion and repeated exposure, as in the Direct Method and the Natural Approach, are based on Noam Chomsky's belief that we have an "innate capacity" to learn languages. According to these methods, it is not necessary to explicitly teach grammar; we will acquire grammatical knowledge in a natural and automatic way, just as we did as children when we learned our first language. Deep-end Communicative Language Teaching was rooted in similar ideas. It ...

TESL 0100 Unit 10 Reflection For our final reflection we were asked to synthesize and visualize our learning in the form of a Pecha Kucha. The video below includes the ideas that resonated the most with me throughout this ten-week course. Enjoy!

TESL 0100 Unit 9 Reflection As we begin to think about the language classroom that we may be teaching in, we need need to also take a step back and consider what teaching and learning looks like in the twenty-first century. We were asked to think about the skills, tasks and technologies that our students would need to have an understanding of in order to be successful in today's world, and to create an infographic to represent our ideas. Below is the infographic that I created. It includes the skills and strategies that I believe are needed by all students, including language students. In order to succeed in today's ever-changing world, students need to be taught more than just the basic knowledge and skills that were taught in traditional classroom. The four key skills that I have highlighted - communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking, often referred to as the four C's, should be an important component to any classroom. In university, the workp...

TESL 0110 Unit 1 Reflection In order to teach English as a second language, does a teacher have to be a "Grammar Expert?"  I think it is important for teachers to have a strong foundation in grammar, but I would not say that they need to be "experts." The purpose of grammar is to provide structure and patterns for how we communicate our thoughts and ideas to others, both in speech and in writing. An ESL teacher needs to know what sounds right or how we say something in English, but I don't think it is necessary for them to know the name of every single verb tense and part of speech. Being able to "name" these items of knowledge is not the same as being able to apply them in the context of speaking or writing or to understand them in listening or reading.  When I think back to my own schooling, I do have some memories of grammar instruction. I can remember identifying and labeling parts of speech in sentences, such as subject, verb, and object...

TESL 0100 Unit 8 Reflection Assessment is a complex topic. In most adult ESL classes nowadays, assessment can take on many different forms. The traditional paper-pencil test is not as common anymore, Of course some types of English proficiency tests do still exist, such as the tests that are needed in order to become a permanent resident or attend a Canadian university. However, in government-funded programs, Portfolio-Based Language Assessment, or PBLA, is the method of assessment. PBLA is a formative assessment, meaning that it helps to "form" the teaching and the learning. It takes place throughout a topic or unit of study and allows both the teacher and student to find out how the student is doing with a topic. Are they "getting it?" Are there some parts that are still confusing or unclear to the student? Does a particular skill need review or reteaching? Through formative assessment, students also reflect on their learning and think about what they can ...

TESL 0100 Unit 7 Reflection In this unit we were focusing on how to build inclusive classrooms and it reminded me of something. During an Inclusive Education course that I took this summer at the U of M I watched a video on Inclusive Pedagogy by Kristine Black-Hawkins. I n this video,  Black-Hawkins shares the key ideas she has been exploring in her research on Inclusive Pedagogy. She outlines what she calls a “fundamental shift in thinking,” in which teachers are moving away from a more traditional approach to inclusion that is individualized, towards a more inclusive pedagogical approach that starts with the class as a whole. In the more  traditional approach a teacher would think of “most” of their class as being “okay” and having to do something “different” for “some” students who have special educational needs. In inclusive pedagogy a teacher starts with everybody; it is a way of approaching teaching and learning that extends what is available to everybody in...

TESL 0130 This week we focused on how we can empower language learners to be more autonomous and self-directed in their learning. Our task was to think about how students can incorporate self-directed learning strategies to support reading and vocabulary and how we, as teachers, can promote autonomous learning in the classroom. We were to explore these ideas on our own and come up with a creative way to share our ideas. Below are the graphic organizers that I created as a result of my exploration.