Idiom Final Ver.

IdIomCollaborative Conversations*by Andrea Honigsfeld

Thateffectivecollaborationbenefitsstudents(andteachersalike)isaffirmedbythewell-deservedattentionithasreceivedmostrecentlyintheprofessionalliterature(see,forexample,DelliCarpini,2008,2009;Honigsfeld&Dove,2010;NACTAF,2009;NEA,2009;Pawan&Ortloff,2011)andintheTESOLeducationalcommunity(e.g.,themesof2011NewYorkStateandKentuckyTESOLconferences).Acknowledgingtheimportanceofcollaborativeexchangesamongteachersisnotacompletelynovelidea,though.Closetothreedecadesago,JudithWarrenLittle(1982)examinedthedifferencesbetweenmoreand lesseffectiveschoolsand found that themoreeffectiveoneshadagreaterdegreeofcollegiality.Shenotedfouruniquecharacteristicsofcollegiality (orcollaboration) insuccessfulschools,whereteachersparticipateinthefollowingactivities:

• Teachers engage in frequent, continuous, and increasingly concrete andprecisetalkaboutteachingpractice.

• Teachers are frequentlyobservedandprovidedwithuseful critiquesoftheirteaching.

• Teachersplan,design,evaluate,andprepareteachingmaterialstogether.

• Teachersteacheachotherthepracticeofteaching(pp.331–332).ConsiderwhatWarrenLittle’s(1982)frequentlyquotedfourkeyideascouldmeanforELLsintoday’sschools.WhatifwetranslatedherseminalfindingsintoacontemporaryframeworkoffourCs,inwhich“collaborative”servesasadefiningadjective,followedbyakeyactivityordesiredteacherbehaviornecessaryforimprovedstudentlearning?

• Collaborative Conversations: Through enhanced communication,all teachers have the opportunity to develop ownership and sharedresponsibilityforELLs’learning.

• Collaborative Coaching: Through an encouraging school climate andsupportive framework, teachers offer and receive feedback on theirteachingpractices.

• Collaborative Curriculum Development: Through curriculummappingandalignmentandcollaborativematerialsdevelopment,teachersmatchboththeirlongtermandday-to-dayinstructionalgoalsandactivities.

(continuedonpage20)

New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

vol. 41, no. 3 http://www.nystesol.org Fall 2011

ContentsCollaborativeConversatins...................1ConversationsinSuort..........................3Acting.......................................................4ResourcesfortheCommoCore............6Talkingisleaning..................................10SmallTalk..............................................14ConversationTable...............................24RegularFeatures/SpecialAnnouncementsPromisingPracties....8BookReview..........................................12SIGsandRegions..................................17MembersOnlyWebsite.......................18EditorialNotes……………..................22UpcomingIdiomThemes…................22CalendarandAnnouncements….......22NEWMembershipForm….……........23

NYS TESOL Idiom Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011) 1

nYs tesolannual Conference

oct. 28-29Marriott Hotel

Melvillewww.nystesol.org/annualconf/

tHis issue’s tHeMe:Conversations

NYS TESOL Idiom Vol. 41, No. 3 (Fall 2011)2

FroM tHe President’s desk by Nanette Dougherty, NYS TESOL President

DearColleagues,

Ihopeyouhavebeenenjoyingahappy,healthyandrestorativesummer.Iwouldliketoupdateyouonsomechangesandchallengesfacingeducators.OnJuly13,IattendedtheBilingual/ESLCOP(CommitteeofPractitioners)meetingatTeach-ersCollege,ColumbiaUniversity.ThemostmajorchangesincludetheNewEvalua-tionLawforK-12teachersandprincipals:

1.Annualevaluationsforallteachersandprincipals2.Clear,rigorousexpectationsforinstructionalexcellence,prioritizingstudentlearning

3.Multiplemeasuresofperformance4.Multipleratings:Fourperformancelevelstodescribedifferencesinteachereffectiveness

5.Thenewsystemshouldencourageregular,constructivefeedbackandongo-ingdevelopment

6.Significance:resultsareamajorfactorinemploymentdecisions.

You can view all documents discussed at theCOPMeeting at the following link:http://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/bilinged/BilingualESLCOP.html. For more in-formationabouttheCommonCoreStandards,pleaseconsultthewebsiteat:http://www.corestandards.org/and see thearticle in this issue. Though itwasnot con-sideredatthismeeting,the14Bilingual/ESLTechnicalAssistanceCenters(BETACs)acrossNewYorkStateclosedpermanentlyonJune30,2011.ThisputsbothourschoolsandourLEP/ELLpopulationsatriskofnothavingtheappropriateresourcestomeettheireducationalandprogrammaticneedsoverthenextfiveyears.

OurnewCommissionerofEducation,Dr.JohnB.King,Jr.,maynotbefamiliarwiththeimportanceoftheresourcesofferedbytheBETACs.Youmaye-mailhimdirectlyat:[email protected],youmayemailtheNYSBoardofRegentsonthis issue at: RegentsOffi [email protected]. At theMelvilleMarriottOctober 28-29th,IwillbepassingthegaveltoourincomingPresident,RebekahJohnson.IwouldliketothankthemanywonderfulmembersofmyExecutiveBoardandthemanySIGandRegionLeadersfortheirservicetotheorganization.SpecialthankstoCorneliaRandolph,aconstantsupportandinspiration,andFranOlmos,forherguidance.

YouwillbereceivingballotsfortheExecutiveBoardslateinthemailshortly.ThankstoourNominatingCommittee,ledbyCorneliaRandolphandTerriBrady-Mendez,fortheirtimeandefforts.Members,pleasedonotforgettovoteforyournewleader-shipinourorganizationbyreturningyourballots.Asalways,pleasecontinuetokeepintouchwithissues,concerns,andideasonhowourorganizationcanbestserveyou.Bestwishesforagreatschoolyeartoall.

Peaceandblessingstoyou,NanetteDougherty,President,NYSTESOL

P.S.We’resoveryexcitedtobelaunchingournewMembersOnlywebsite-pleasereadmoreaboutitinthisissueandloginsoontocheckitout.Pleasecontactuswithideas!

New York State teacherS of eNgliSh to SpeakerS of other laNguageS

Officers and Executive Board 2010-2011

President,NanetteDoughertyNYCPublicSchools

First Vice President,RebekahJohnsonLAGCC,CUNY

Second Vice President, ChristyBaralisSouthHuntingtonSchoolDistrict

Second Vice President Elect,OliviaLimbu

Pace University Past President/TESOL Liaison,ConstanceDziombakMountVernonCitySchools

SIG Coordinator,LauraVanTassellSouthHuntingtonSchoolDistrict

SIG Assistant Coordinator, Jennifer ScullyConsultant

Regions Coordinator,TinaVillalobosHicksvillePublicSchools

Assistant Regions Coordinator,LynnEllingwoodBrightonCentralSchoolDistrict

Membership & Marketing Chair, Patricia JuzaBaruchCollege,CUNY

assistant Membership Chair, Drew FaganTeachersCollege,ColumbiaUniversity

Curriculum and Standards Chair, Maria DoveMolloyCollege

Assistant Curriculum and Standards Chair PositionOpen

Professional Concerns ChairPorfirioRodriguez,EastRamapoCSD

Professional Concerns assistant ChairPositionOpen

Publications/technology Chair, Fran OlmosYonkersPublicSchools

Idiom Editor,CaraTuzzolinoWerbenNassauCommunityCollege

Dialogue Editor,SuePetersonSt.John’sUniversity

Webmaster,DavidHirschNewYorkCity

business Manager/treasurerL.JeanieFaulkner,CornellUniversity

Certifi ed Public AccountantJimStotz

NYS TESOL Executive Board Meetingsand General InformationMembersarewelcometoattendBoardmeetings.Forinformation,contact:

nYs tesolBox 185teachers College, Columbia university525 W. 120th Streetnew York, nY 10027Tel./Fax: (212) 678-3074e-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.nystesol.org


Conversations in suPPort oF HigH sCHool ellsby Victoria Pilotti

AdolescentELLsaresecondlanguagelearnerswhoarestilldevelopingtheirproficiencyinacademicEnglish.Moreover,theyarelearningEnglishatthesametimetheyarestudyingcorecontentareas throughEnglish.Thus,English language learnersmustperformdoubletheworkofnativeEnglishspeakersinthecountry’smiddle andhigh schools.At the same time, they arebeingheld to the sameaccountability standards as theirnativeEnglish-speakingpeers(Short&Fitzsimmons,2007,p.1).

ConversationswithELLsandcolleaguesareviablewaysforESLteacherstohelptheirstudentsnavigateacademicchallenges.MyshorttimeatJamaicaHighSchoolhasbeenfilledwithconversa-tionsthathavedrivenmyinstructiontobestsupporttheELLsinmycharge.

Curriculum Experiments Based on Con-versations with ells

AtJamaicaHighSchool,anESLsupportclassisofferedzeroperiod,7:22 to8:06a.m., toprovide intermediateELLswithadditionaltargetedinterventions.September2011willbethethirdyearIamteachingzeroperiod,andeachyearisanongoingcurriculumdevelopmentactionresearchexperiment.Iconductthecourseasacombinedresourceroomandadvisoryclassmodel.Basedondailyconversationswithmystudentsabouttheirchallenges,Iprovidehomeworkhelp; teachproblematic topics inmathematics, science, and social studies; and assessand teach diverse skills necessary for academic suc-cess. The first year of the experiment,my curriculumincludedmathematicssymbolsandwordproblems;theliving environment topics of scientificmethod, evolu-tion,andorgansystems;socialstudiestopicsoffeudal-ism,estates,andanalysisofpoliticalcartoons;Englishlanguageartstopicsofidioms,formalversusinformallanguage,anddictionary/glossaryskills;andacadem-ic readiness in test-takingstrategies, studyskills, timemanagement, notebook organization, public speakingskills, and computer skills. I also taught graph skillsacrossthedisciplines.ThisclasswasoneofaselectfewJamaicaHighSchoolEnglishandESLclassesthatben-efited fromTeenBiz3000 (Empower3000),aWeb-basedindividualizedreadingprogrambyAchieve3000.

Conversations with ELLs form part of the data collection thatdrivesmycurriculumchanges.Severalfirst-yearstudents(par-ticipants in Experiment I) reported the lessons and activities

helpedthempasscontent-areafinalsandNewYorkStateRegentsexaminations.Whenaskedhow the support class couldbe im-provedfor thefollowingyear,ELLssuggestedthat Iallotmoretimetoscience,continueteachingmathandsocialstudies,andre-taincomputerinstructiononTeenBiz3000.Onestudent,whowasparticularly resistant tomy teachinganythingbutESLall year,lateradmittedhebenefittedfromcontent-areainstructionbyhisESL teacher.All studentsexpressedadeepappreciation for thebilingualcontentareaglossariesIprovided.

Inthesecondyear(ExperimentII), Ispentlesstimeondictionary/glossary skills; did not teach idioms; and,upon careful review of recent livingenvironment Re-gentsexams,addedanecosystemunit,alessononpH,andgroupactivitiesonbarand linegraphs. I replacedtheformalversusinformalEnglishlessonwithdailyaca-demic English and everyday English explanations anddefinitions.Studentsassessedtheirmultipleintelligenc-es(Gardner,1983;Gardner,1993,2996;McKenzie,1999),andlearningstyles(Dunn&Dunn,1993;Dunn&Griggs,2003,2004,2007;Missere&Dunn,2005).Iaddednative-language translationsof key content vocabulary tomystudent notebook grading rubric. Groups researchedcontinentsandexplorersandpresentedtheirPowerPointslide shows to ELLs in other classes. TeenBiz3000wasreplaced by Study Island, Web-based instruction builtonNewYorkStatestandards,thatprovidedallJamaicaHighSchoolstudentspracticeforEnglish,mathematics,science, and social studies Regents exams; and for na-tionalScholasticAchievementTest(SAT)andAdvancedPlacement (AP)exams.Basedonrequests fromExperi-ment I participants for Internet resources for speakingpractice,IcreatedlistsofWebsitesandlinkswithpod-castsandspeakingexercises.

As I gear up for Experiment III in the 2011-2012 school year, Iplantodevotemore timetodictionaryskills,suchasalphabet-izing,andcontentareatextbookstructure,withspecialattentiontotextbookglossariesandindices;theparticipantsinExperimentIIwerelackingindictionary/textbookresearchskillsanddidnotmakeoptimumuseof these resources. Iprovideda listofWebsitesandlinksforRegentspracticeandbilingualglossaries,andwillagainprovidecopiesofbilingualglossariesinExperimentIII.Ihavedecidedtostepuptest-takingstrategiesandcontentwrit-ingpracticeinthezeroperiodsupportclassbeginninginSeptem-ber.ConversationswithFamiliesIndividualwritingconferencesofteninvolvereinforcingthestudent’sstrengthsanddiscussingspecificareasinneedofimprovement(Fountas&Pinnell,2001).Ihadconversationswitheachstudentabouthis/hermultiplein-telligencesandlearningstyleprofilesgeneratedfromtheDunn. (continuedonpage26)


all tHe World’s a stage: WaYs in WHiCH teaCHing is like aCtingby Elizabeth Fonseca

Actingisasport.Onstageyoumustbereadytomovelikeaten-nisplayeronhistoes.Yourconcentrationmustbekeen,yourreflexessharp;yourbodyandmindareintopgear;thechaseison.Actingisenergy.Inthetheatrepeoplepaytoseeenergy.

—CliveSwift

Good teaching is one-fourthpreparation and three-fourths the-ater.

—GailGodwin

If“acting isenergy,” teaching ismanythings:acombinationofknowledge,experience,awareness,expertise,andcare.Itisalsotheenergywe,aslanguageinstructors,bringintotheclassroomthatabsolutelyaffectstheorderoftheday.Asatheaterloverandpastoccasionalperformer,Ihaveoftenthoughtabouttheparallelsbetweenteachingandacting.Hereareafewthatcometomind.

You’reon stage.All eyes areonyou.You’re theinitial focal point of attention. Your presenceshiftstheenergyintheroom.Sometimes,youlit-erallyhaveapodium,withdesksarrayedinrowsbeforeyoulikepatronsatatheater.Thereisnoise,chatter,laughter,shufflingintheroomuntilthelightsdim.Curtainup!Enterstageleft,theprofes-sor.Cellphonesgetputaway,oratleastdiscreetlyplacedtotheside.Chitchatdiesdown.Theroomishushedamoment,thepauseofanticipationbe-forethefirstwordsofdialoguearespoken.

Alleyesareonyou.Anactorusesherbodytoconveyinformationabouthercharacterbeforesheevenspeaks.Sodoyou.Howareyoudressed?Doeswhatyouwearconveysomemessageaboutyourpositioninthisplay,yourrole,yourpersonaasteacher,lead-er,orfacilitatoroftheenergyintheroom?Howdoyouwalkin?Areyoureyesdowncast, reflectingyourstudents’spentenergyattheendofalongweek,ordotheysparkle?Doyouwalkintheroomwithpizzazz, transmittingvital energy to them, to createthecycleofgive-and-takenecessaryforeffectivelanguagelearn-ing?Doyouusegestures,winks,andnodstoconveyinformation,emotion,evencomedy?Theseare thingsworth thinkingabout,becauseoneofthemostimportantwaysyouarelikeanactorisinthisall-importantfunction.Yourenergyandpresencesetthetone.

Justasaudiencesmusthavefaithinactorsandsuspendtheirdis-belief to fullyenter into theworld theactorsarecreating,your

studentsmustagreetotheunspokencontractoftrustthatbondsthemtoyouinavulnerablelearningsituation.Yourabilitytocre-atethatatmosphereoftrustisimportant;yourdynamismhelpsyourclassgenerateenergythatinturnfeedsyouandhelpsthelearningenvironmentbedynamic.Thisisimportantforlearningaswellasfortheteacher’sabilitytosustainenergyandpassionbothwithinaclassandoverherentirerun.

Actorsusetheirvoicesastools,relyingonnotjustword choice but inflection, intonation, varyingvolume, and the judicious use of pauses to cap-turetheaudience’sattention,rivetthem,spellbindthem,drawthemforwardintheirseatswondering“What’snext?”Youtoocanuseyourvoiceitselfasatoolthatweavesthebewitchingspellofenergy,dynamism,andtrust thatmakesfora livelyandeffectivelearningenvironment.Theshowmustgoon.Therearedayswhenyoucan’timaginegener-atingthatenergyatall.Onthosedays,youhaveto“actasif”:putonyourteachingpersonaasanac-tordonsamaskorstagemakeup,preparingher-selftogobeforethelights.Ifyoudon’tshowup,orshowupwithoutenergy,youmightflop.Thisleadsustotheall-importantteachingpersona.Asanactorslipsintoarolethroughpreparation,cu-riosity,andthedesiretoshareemotionandinfor-mationwithanaudience,youcanslip intoyourteachingpersona,comprisedofyoursincereandgenuineselfwithasoupçonofpublic-rolepoise,strategicsass,andteacher’s toolsyou’ve learnedthroughoutyour teachingdays thathelpyouontheway.

Isyourpersonatheclassicscholar?Doyouhavealittleplayfulclownthrownin?Areyouthecompassionateguide,leadingstu-dents to the knowledge they already possess? Can you switchhats to that of the taskmaster, pushing for anddemanding theverybest?Itcanbeusefultothinkoftheteacherroleascomposedofthesedifferentpersonaethatserveusefulfunctionsinthevari-ousprocessesof learning, including enablingyou to reach stu-dentsofdifferentbackgrounds,needs,andlearningstyles.Evenifyouarenotlikethat,youralterego,“ProfessorPicky”,canbe.Al-thoughyouaremorelenient,“ScholarStrict”canbecalleduponasnecessarytowhipanunderachievingclassintoshape.Beingateacherisapublicrolethatrequiresdailypublicspeaking;whynottrainforitandfindusefultoolsandapproachesthatmayaidinmaintainingyourinterest,creatingapositivelearningenviron-ment,andaidinginefficientclassroommanagement?

Ifyouthinksometrainingmighthelpyoufocusyourbodyasin-strumentandhelpyouchannelenergymoreefficientlyandeffec-


tivelyintheclassroom,herearesomesuggestionstogetyoustarted:

• Take an acting class. Learn how to use bodylanguage,breath,andvoicetocreateenergyandatmosphere.

•Take a public speaking class. Learn relaxationtechniques,visualizationtechniques,andtipsforeffectivelyconveyingamessage.

•JoinagroupsuchasToastmastersInternational,whereyou’lllearntipsforpublicspeaking.

• Listen to and read poetry aloud. Learn aboutcadence, rhythm, and volume to use your voicemoreeffectively—andtosaveitfromtoomanyofthose hoarse, raggedy, “I’ve-spoken-too-much”days!

• Similarly, take a vocal or voice training class.Learn specific breathing exercises to strengthenyourvoiceandtobecomeexpertineffectivelyandefficientlyusingandsavingyourvoice.Hereisawebsitetogetyouthinkingaboutyourownparal-lels between acting and teaching: http://www/jbactors.com/actingphilosophy/actingquota-tions.html.

references

Godwin,G.(1974).TheOddWoman.NewYork:BallantineBooks.

http://www/jbactors.com/actingphilosophy/actingquotations.html

ElizabethFonsecaisanavidtrav-elerwhohastaughtESL/EFLinsuch countries as Italy, Turkey,and the United Arab Emirates.HerworkhasbeenpublishedintheArabiaReviewandtheTrav-eler’sTalesseries,amongothers.Herinterestinactingstemsfromhighschoolandcommunitythe-aterdays,aswellasmorerecentpoetry readings. She currentlyteaches at Nassau CommunityCollegeinNewYork.<[email protected]>

nYs tesol reMeMbers Jeanette d. MaCeroby Vel Chesser

ThefieldofESOLhaslostoneofitsmostreveredmembers,JeanetteD.Macero,whodiedMay9,2011.Jeanettewaspassionateinherdedicationtonon-nativespeakersofEnglishasexemplifiedbyherteaching,mentoringandparticipationinprofessionalorga-nizations.

Jeanette,oneofthefoundersofNYSESOLBEA(nowNYSTESOL—seenotebelow),wasaleaderinthatorganizationnonstopuntilherretirementfromSyracuseUniversityin1998,asassociateprofessor of English andTESOL coordinator of languages, litera-turesandlinguistics.ShemovedtoMedfield,MAtobenearherfamily.

ManyNYSTESOLmemberswill testify to thementoringtheyreceived fromJeanette,whoheld leadershippositions in theorganizationforherentirecareer.JeanettegraduatedwithaBAinEnglishfromBarnardCollege,anMAinlinguisticsfromColumbiaUniversity,anddiddoctoralstudy in linguisticsat theUniversityofMichigan.Shewaspresident, secondvicepresident twice,andchairofvariousTESOLcommittees:publications,paperselection,awardsandnominations.Twice,shereceivedtheNYSTESOLDis-tinguishedServiceAward.

InadditiontoJeanette’sfull-timeteachingatSyracuseUni-versity,shepublishedskillbooksforbeginnersofEnglishthroughLaubachLiteracy(nowknownasProLiteracy),aswellasanumberof scholarlypapers andaddresses, editedbooksof readings, andactedasconsultanttomanygroups.

AllthosewhoknewJeanetteareawareofhermanyaccom-plishmentsinprofessionalorganizationsandherskillfulteaching,butthoseclosesttoherwillremembermostherkindandcompas-sionatemannertoallshemetandworkedwith,herheartylaugh,andherengagingpersonality.Jeanette’sfriendsandcolleagueshavelostatreasure.

Vel Chesser, retired from Syracuse University, can bereachedat<[email protected]>

Editor’snote:WiththankstoNYSTESOLhistorianGeorgeMorris:TheveryfirstorganizationwascalledNYTESOL(No“S”forState),thenNYSESOLBEA.Thefoundingdateis1970(henceour40thanniversaryin2010).ThesplitintoNYSTESOLandNYS-ABEwasintheearly1980s.


resourCes For iMPleMenting tHe CoMMon Core For ellsby Diane Garafalo

TheCommonCoreLearningStandards(CCLS)havebeenad-optedbydozensofstates.TheNYSBoardofRegentsadoptedthenewP-12CCLS for ELA,Literacy, andMathematics in January 2011; itwillbephasedinoverthenextyear.Beginninginschoolyear2012-13,NYSassessments for English LanguageArts andMathematicswillmeasurestudentachievementoftheP-12CCLS.FindNewYorkState’scomplete

CCLStimelineatwww.usny.nysed.gov/rttt/docs/ccsstimeline.pdf.

The initiative began in the spring of 2009 andwas coordinated by theNationalGovernorsAssociation(NGA)CenterforBestPracticesandtheCouncilofChiefStateSchoolOfficers(CCSO).TheadvisorygroupfortheinitiativecomprisesAchieve,Inc.,ACT,theCollegeBoard,theNationalAssociationofStateBoardsofEducation(NASBE),andtheStateHigher

EducationExecutiveOfficers(SHEO).

TheCommonCoreStateStandardsInitiativereleasedadraftofthemathand language arts content standards for public comment in September2009,andtheindividualK-12grade-levelcontentstandardsinthesesub-jectswerereleasedforpubliccommentinMarch2010.Bothsetsofcontent

standardswerefinalizedin2010.

Criteria for development Thisprocessdifferedfrompaststandardsinitiativesbecauseitwasstateledandhadthesupportofeducatorsacrossthecountryaswellaspromi-nenteducation,businessandstateleaders’organizations.Thestandards

weredevelopedbythefollowingcriteria:

•Alignedwithexpectationsforcollegeandcareersuccess;

•Clear,sothateducatorsandparentsknowwhattheyneedtodotohelpstudentslearn;

•Consistentacrossallstates,sothatstudentsarenottaughttoalowerstandardjustbecauseofwheretheylive;

• Inclusive of both content and the application of knowledgethroughhigh-orderskills;

•Builtuponstrengthsandlessonsofcurrentstatestandardsandstandardsoftop-performingnations;

•Realistic,foreffectiveuseintheclassroom;

•Informedbyothertop-performingcountries,sothatallstudentsarepreparedtosucceedinourglobaleconomyandsociety;

•Evidenceandresearchbased(Quay,2010);

•ApplicationoftheStandardsforEnglishLanguageLearners.

Common standards can potentially provide a greater opportunity forstates to share experiences and best practices within and across statesthatcouldleadtoanimprovedabilitytoserveELLs.TheK-12English-languageartsandmathematicsstandardsdoincludeinformationontheApplicationof theStandards forEnglishLanguageLearners, locatedathttp://www.corestandards.org/assets/application-forenglish-learners.

pdf.

OnesegmentoftheApplicationofELACoreStandardsrecommendsthattohelpELLsmeethighacademicstandardsinlanguageartsitisessential

thattheyhaveaccessto:

•TeachersandpersonnelattheschoolanddistrictlevelswhoarewellpreparedandqualifiedtosupportELLswhiletakingad-vantageofthemanystrengthsandskillstheybringtotheclass-

room;

•Literacy-richschoolenvironmentswherestudentsareimmersed

inavarietyoflanguageexperiences;

•InstructionthatdevelopsfoundationalskillsinEnglishanden-

ablesELLstoparticipatefullyingradelevelcoursework;

•CourseworkthatpreparesELLsforpostsecondaryeducationortheworkplace,yetismadecomprehensibleforstudentslearn-ingcontentinasecondlanguage(throughspecificpedagogical

techniquesandadditionalresources);

•Opportunities for classroomdiscourseand interaction that aredesigned to enableELLs todevelop communicative strengths

inlanguagearts;

•Ongoingassessmentandfeedbacktoguidelearning;

•SpeakersofEnglishwhoknowthelanguagewellenoughtopro-

videELLswithmodelsandsupport;

•NeedforEnglishLanguageProficiencyStandards.

TheCommonCoredidnotspellouthowthestandardsappliedtospe-cificlevelsofEnglishproficiency.ItwasleftuptostatestocreateEnglishLanguageProficiencyStandardsthatalignwiththeCoreStandardsortoexplainhowspecificstandardscanbestbe taught tostudentsdepend-ingontheirlevelofEnglishproficiency.InherJuly12blogatEducationWeek,“LearningtheLanguage,”MaryAnnZehrrecognizedthisneedbyreporting thatStanfordUniversityhasreceiveda$1milliongrant fromtheCarnegieCorporationofNewYorktocreateEnglishLanguagePro-ficiencyStandardsforthestates’CommonCoreAcademicStandards.Dr.KenjiHakuta,aprofessorofeducationatStanfordUniversity,amemberof theCommonCoreValidationCommittee,anda long-timeexpertonELLs; andMaria Santos, the former director of programs for ELLs fortheNewYorkCityschoolsystem,areco-chairsofthisnationalefforttowritestandardsforELLstoparalleltheLanguageArtsandMathematicsStandardsoftheCommonCore,aswellastheScienceStandardsthatareexpectedtobedeveloped.ThisgrantawardfillsthegapintheprocessofimplementingtheCommonCoreforELLs(Zehr,2011).Thegrant,whichlastsfortwoyears,iscalled“BuildingonCommon-CoreStandardstoIm-

proveLearningforEnglish-LanguageLearners.”


“Theeffortistothinkaboutthecontentareasinthecommoncorethatofferstrategi-callyfertileareasaroundwhichlanguageinstructioncantakeplace,”Dr.Hakutaex-plained.“ThestandardswillelaborateonwhatELLsshouldknowandbeabletodo

inthecontentareasatdifferentEnglishproficiencylevels,”headded.(Zehr,2011).

Preparing ells for the Common Core—a We-binarOnMay5,2011,Dr.Hakutapresentedawebinaratwww.teachscape.comcalled“Re-searchtoPractice:PreparingELLsfortheCommonCore.”HeofferedhisthoughtsandideasduringthewebinarunderthetopicofplanningfortheCommonCore,

including:

•Recognizethat languageisnecessarytoteach, learn,anddemonstrateun-derstandinginschoolsubjects,andthatthisistrueforallstudents,butes-peciallyforELLs;

•Engageintheideathatexcellenceininstructionandassessmentaroundcon-

tentrevolvesaroundtheideaofrichlanguageuse;

•Buildtheprofessionaldevelopmentaroundtheideathatlanguageinstruc-tionisthedomainofallteachers,notjustEnglishLanguageArtsandESL

teachers;

•Identifyyourobjectives,assessments,andbestpracticesinclassroomsand

ensurethatyou’remakingprogresstowardthoseobjectives;

•Use theCommonCore to recognizeandamplify theopportunity for rich

languagedevelopmentforELLsandforallstudents(Hakuta,2011).

AccordingtoDr.Hakuta,therearesomekeyelementsforELLsregardingtheCom-

monCore,including:

•TheCommonCoreprovidesastrongincentivetoexaminetheroleoflan-guageincontentinstructionandinassessment;thereisaroleforleadership

totakeadvantageofthisopportunity;

•EventhoughtheCommonCoresaysnothingabouttheEnglishLanguageproficiencyexpectationsofELLs, there isa requirement thatEnglish lan-

guageproficiencybealignedtotheCommonCore;

•Therewillbemorecommonalityacrossstates in the identificationofstu-

dentsbecausetherewillbemorecommonproficiencytests;

•TheCommonCorehasthepotentialtomoveELLperformance/proficiency

bothacrossschoolsandacrossthecountry(Hakuta,2011).

Criteria for Writing Common Core Curriculum Materials Lastsummer, thenonprofitgroupCommonCore issuedasetof freecurriculummaps.Themapsaredesignedtogiveanunderstandablesequenceofthematiccur-riculumunitsthatconnecttheskillsprovidedintheELA. (continuedonpage17)

some Helpful resources

-CommonCoreCurriculumMaps:www.commoncore.org/free/

-CommonCoreStandardsandEnglishLanguageLearners:www.colorincolo-rado.org/educators/common_core

-CommonCoreStateStandardsInitia-tiveWebsite:www.corestandards.org

-CommonCoreStandardsWorkforELLs:TheImportanceofLinkingEnglishLanguageProficiencyStandardstotheCommonCoreStandardswww.colorin-colorado.org/powerpoint/ELLELPStan-

dardsPPT%20Slide.pdf

-K-6UnitsinELAAlignedwithCom-monCoreStandards:www.elementary-tests.com/blog/k-6-ela-common-core/

-P21CommonCoreToolkitwww.p21.org/images/p21_toolkit_final.pdf

-www.thejournal.com/arti-cles/2011/08/02/common-core-tool-kitaligns-standards-with-21stcentury-

skills-framework.aspx

WebsitesofthemembersoftheadvisoryboardtotheCommonCore

Initiative:

Achieve,Inc.:www.achieve.org

ACT:www.act.org

TheCollegeBoard:www.collegeboard.com

NationalAssociationofStateBoardsofEducation:www.nasbe.org

StateHigherEducationExecutiveOffi-cers:www.sheeo.org


PieCe oF Cake! idioM aCtivities and tHe iMPortanCe oF ProPer intonationby Andrew Edison Schneider

IdiomspopupeverywhereinEnglishmedia,oftenmetwithconfused

looksbyourstudents.Evenmoreadvancedstudentshavedifficulty

using themwithanydegreeof competence, especially if the idioms

are culturallydifferent from theirown (Irujo, 1986).Given their im-

portance,moreattentionshouldbepaidtoteachingidiomsinESLset-

tings(Cooper,1998).Itisuptoteacherstohelpstudentsnotonlylearn

idioms, but also to encourage their usage in an intelligiblemanner.

Howcanweincorporateidiomsintoclassroomsettingsinarelaxed,

communicative,andstudent-centeredway?Moreimportant,howcan

weteachtheintonationofidiomstoachievestudents’maximumintel-

ligibility?Ihavefoundthefollowingthreeactivitiestobehelpfulfor

mystudents.

BYOI—Bring Your Own Idiom

Eachstudentchoosesoneidiomto“teach”theclass.Theymaychoosefromanysource,andlearnitwellenoughtobeabletoexplainitinfrontoftheirclassmates.Thisisagreatwarm-up;it’sstudent-centeredandexciting,sincetheyhavechosentheseidiomsthemselvesbasedontheirowninterests.Don’tbesur-prisedifanumberof idiomscomefromGossipGirlorGlee,American television programs centering around high-schoolstudents,soidiomsrelatingtodatingandshoppingtendtosur-facequiteoften(i.e.,It’sonme;She’sintohim;Thoseshoesaretotallyyou).Duringthestudents’explanations,Istayofftothesideandwillassistonlyifthesituationcallsforit;IhaveevendonethisactivityremotelyviaSkypewhenIwashomesickinbed.Havingthestudentsinchargeofthisactivitymadeitquitemanageable. It can also act as a springboard for all kinds ofculturerelateddiscussions.

Where is the CHange?

Amajorobstaclefacingourstudentsisintelligibility,especiallywhenusingidioms.Whilepronunciationmaybeafactor,anequallyimpor-

tant factor isproper intonation.As thepitch inourvoices risesandfalls,thesechangesinintonationareprocessedbythelistener(Crut-tenden,1986).IfyouhaveeverstudiedChinese,Thai,orVietnamese,youmaybefamiliarwiththeinextricablelinkbetweenthepropertoneandcommunication. InEnglishaswell,when language isgiven thecorrect intonation, communication can be greatly enhanced. To em-phasize this pointwithmy students, I imitate the “wawa” teacherfromCharlieBrown.Iwalkaroundtheclass,lockeyeswithastudent,raisemyhand,andslowlysay“Wa,wawaWa?”WhatIamactuallysayingis“Hi,howareYou?”StudentsinevitablyguesscorrectlyandarequitesurprisedthattheycanunderstandwhatIamsaying.Oncetheyhavecaughton,wecanthencreatecontextualsituationsandap-plytheproperintonation.Amini-dialogueImighthavewithastudentinfrontoftheclass,inwhichmyrolewouldbeB,isasfollows:

A:Whatareyoudoingthisweekend?B:Thisweekend?Nothingspecial.I’llprobablyjusthangOUt.A:OK.Givemeacall.B:Alright.

Aftertheclassmateshaveheardthedialogue,Iwillaskthem,“Whereisthechange?”Hopefully,theywillhear“OUt”onthefirsttry.Iwillthenmarkitontheboard.Theriseinpitchatthebeginningof“OUt”ratherthanontheword“hang”isessentialto the intelligibilityof the idiomaswell as to the rest of thedialogue.Teachersplayavitalrolehere.Onceanidiomispre-sented,eitherthestudentsortheteachershouldprovide/elicittheproperintonationandthenmarkit.Thismarkingsystemisespeciallyimportantfornon-native-English-speakingteacherswhomaybeunfamiliarwiththeproperintonationofidioms.

Thegoodnews regarding idiomaticphrases is that there aregeneral intonation patterns. In an emphasized two-syllableword, such as “brainer” in the expression “no-brainer,” thewordtendstoreceiveahighertoneorpitchonthefirstsyl-lable.It’sano-BRAIner.Inthecaseofaone-syllableword,suchas“cake” in theexpression“pieceof cake,” there isahighertoneonthefirsthalfoftheword:It’sapieceofCAke.Ineithercase,therisingintonationatthebeginningisthenfollowedbyafallingintonation.Sayingtheidiominfrontofyourstudentsinslowmotioncanreallyhelptoclarifythis,anditisalsogoodforalaugh.Whenstudentsknowtheproperintonation,com-munication can be achieved evenwith less-than-perfect pro-nunciation.Thisisgoodnewsforourstudents,asitisgenerallymucheasiertochangethepitchofawordthantopronouncethewordproperly.

Mini dialoguesTheminidialogueswrittenby the students, followedbyan in-classroleplay,arenotonlyalotoffunbutpracticalandeffectiveexercisesfor ESL students (Nunan, 2003; Scott&Ytreberg, 2000). They couldbedoneashomeworkorinclassindividually,inpairs,oringroups.Thesedialoguessupplythecontextnecessarytoachievenaturalusage

Promising Practices

Thisisanongoingcolumn,featuringadviceforeffectiveteaching.Pleasesendarticlesubmissionstothecolumneditor,AnnC.Wintergerst(contactinformationonpage22ofthisissue).


andeffectivecommunication(Nippold&Martin,1989).Thetaskistowriteminidialogues,whereeachdialoguecontainsatleastoneidiomfromclass,eitherfromourtextorfromoneofthestudents’BYOI.Thereshouldbejustenoughcontext(4-6lines)fortheexchangetobemeaningful(Nippold&Martin,1989).Makesurethestudentsunderstandthateventhoughthesedialoguesarebeingwrittendown,theyshouldbestrivingforspokenandnotwrittenEnglish.Ialsoaskthemtoconsidertherolesofthespeakersasinthefollowingstudentdialogue(theprofessorisputtingonhercoatasherstudententerstheoffice):

A:Excuseme.Professor?Areyoubusy?B:I’mrunningLAte,actually.I’llbeheretomorrow.A:Ok,thankyou.B:Alright.

Thisexchangemeetsthecriteriainthatitisaspokendialogue,therolesaredefined,atleastoneidiomisused,andtheidiomismarkedwiththeproperintonation.Oncetheirdialoguesaredone,Icollect,correct,andreturnthem.Afterward,Icirculate,takingstudentquestionsonmycorrections.Then,Ihaveeachpairpracticeandperformatleastoneoftheirdialoguesinfrontoftheclass.Eyecontact,bodylanguage(studentsmustsitfacingeachother),andvoiceman-agementshouldbeemphasizedduringpracticetime.Besuretocirculate,assomestudentswillsimplyreadthedialoguetogether.Iwalkaroundwithablanksheetof8½x11paper,whichIusetocoverupthedialoguetheyareworkingon.Thisforcesthemtolookupand,hopefully,ateachother.Thestudentsthenperformatthefrontoftheclass.Iactasthedirector,yelling“Action!”andopening/closingmycellphonelikeadirector’sslate.Theclasslistensfortheidiomusedinthedialogue.Thisisalwaysfun,asstudentsenjoywatchingtheirclassmatesperform.Iliketosupplyprops/wigstospiceitup.Bepreparedforthecamerastocomeout!Ialsoquizthemontheidiomandtheintonationrightaftereachdialogue.

Conclusion

Englishcontinuestobeagloballanguage.ProperknowledgeandusageofidiomsarepowerfultoolsforanyonerequiringEnglishindailycommunication.Byfocusingontheproperintona-tionforourstudentstoachievemaximumintelligibility,wearebetterequippingthemfortheEnglish-speakingworld.Itisimportantforusasteacherstogotheextramile.

referencesCooper,T.C.(1998).Teachingidioms.ForeignLanguageAnnals,31(2),255-266.

Cruttenden,M.(1986).Intonation.Cambridge,UK:CambridgeUniversityPress.

Irujo,S.(1986).Don’tputyourleginyourmouth:Transferintheacquisitionofidiomsinasecondlanguage.TESOLQuarterly,20,287-304.

Nippold,M.A.,&Martin,S.T.(1989).Idiominterpretationinisolationversuscontext:Adevelop-mentalstudywithadolescents.JournalSpeech&HearingResearch,32,59-66.

Nunan,D.(2003).PracticalEnglishteaching.NewYork:McGrawHill.

Scott,W.A.,&Ytreberg,L.H.(2000).TeachingEnglishtochildren.NewYork:Longman.

AndrewSchneiderhasbeenteachingESL/EFLfor20years,havingtaughtinJapan,Spain,andtheUnitedStates.HecurrentlyteachesmedicalstudentsinKanazawa,Japan.<[email protected]>

introduCtion FroM tHe neW idioM editor, Cara tuzzolino Werben

Greetings Idiom readers, Iam delighted to combine mybackground in publishing withmy love of TESOL as the neweditorofIdiom.Thankyoutomypredecessor, Julie Dziewisz, forher great work and help with asmoothtransition.Ialsothankthecolumneditors,copyeditor,NYSTESOL leadership and membersforthewarmwelcome.

My career began with a B.A. injournalism from NYU. After Iswitched tomarketing, and laterfundraising, I volunteered in anESOL classroom and loved it.I enrolled in Teachers College,Columbia University, graduatedwith an Ed.M. in TESOL, andbegan working as an adjunct atPace,CUNY,andColumbia.

Presently, I work in an intensiveEnglish program at NassauCommunity College. We focuson improving students’ skillsthrough an integrated, holisticapproach, so that they can exitourprogramandbepreparedforcollege-levelwork. Ialso instructand mentor aspiring TESOLteachersattheLiteracyAssistanceCenter.

I welcome the chance to meetwithinterestedwritersduringtheAnnualconferenceinOctober.Seeyouthere!--Cara<[email protected]>


For ells, talking is learningby Elaine Caputo Ferrara

ESL teachersemployavarietyof instructional tools in the

classroom.Conversationcanbeusedtohelpstudentsprac-

ticepronunciation,toprepareanddevelopawell-thought-

outparagraph,andtoenhancelisteningskills.Mostimpor-

tant, conversational activities tap into students’ schema to

help them fullydevelop critical thinking skills inEnglish.

BelowareseveralactivitiesIhaveusedwithmystudents.

Tointroducetheconceptofstudents’origins,Ishowstudentshowtouse

theReporter’sQuestions(Who,What,When,Where,Why,andHow)to

gatherinformation.Studentspartnerwithoneanothertoasktheseques-

tionsandrecordtheanswers.Whentheclasscomestogetheragain,Iask

thegroup,“Whohasapartnercomingfromacountrywhosnamebe-

ginswiththeletterA?”StudentsmightanswerArgentina.Theclassthen

identifieswhichcontinentArgentina ison.Studentscheckthemapin

theclassroomtoknowmoreabouttheirpartner’shomecountry.Thisis

repeateduntiltheendofthealphabet.Studentsworkwiththeirpartners

toseewhattheyalreadyknowaboutthesecountries.Thispriorknowl-

edgehelpsstudentsrealizethattheyknowmorethantheythinkabout

geographyandothertopics.

Next, the class discusses the variety of languages spoken

bythestudents.Afterobtainingthis information,students

put thenamesof these languageson theboard.This fi rst

conversation in classprovides informationneeded for the

firstwritingassignment,which is thebiographyofaclass

member.Thefirstdraftbeginsinclassandispeerreviewed

for content by the student’s conversation partners. Their

homeworkistoreviewthedraftandtorewriteitathome

onthecomputer.Thenextday,Ireviewthehomeworkwith

studentsand focusmycommentsonagrammatical topic,

suchasverbtenseusage.Ichoosetofocusmyfeedbackon

oneortwoaspectsofthewritingassignmentsothatacom-

pletelymarked-uppaperdoesnotincreasestudents’writing

anxiety.

ThenextassignmentinvolvesreadingabiographyaboutafamousAmer-

ican.ItmightbeacommonlyknownAmericanlikeGeorgeWashington

orsomeonefromaparticularfield.Afterforminggroupsandpriorto

reading,studentsdiscusswhattheyalreadyknowaboutthepersonand

whattheyexpecttoseeinthearticle.Iintroducetheconceptsoftopicand

main ideaaswellasvocabularyspecific to thestory.Afterreadingthe

biography,studentsindividuallyanswertheReporter’sQuestionsfrom

thearticle,andthensharetheiranswerswiththeirconversationgroup.

Ingroups, studentsgenerate their ownquestionsusing theReporter’s

Questions.Whentheclasscomes together,onestudent fromeachcon-

versationgroupwritesonequestionontheboard—thequestionsshould

notbeduplicatesofothergroups’questions.Studentsreadeachquestion

aloud.Iaskthewholeclassforgrammaticalcorrectionstothequestions.

Aftercompletingtheexercise,studentswriteasummaryofthebiogra-

phy—they can use these questions or the ones from the conversation

group—andshowthistotheirconversationpartnerforfeedback.Their

homeworkistocreatearevisedversionofthein-classwrittensummary

thatincorporatestheirpartners’feedback.Theystaplethedrafttothetop

oftherewrite.

Usingconversationsheets,suchasthoseavailableatwww.

bogglesworldesl.com, also provides opportunities for in-

teraction.Eachconversationsheetcentersonathemesuch

asseasons,media,habits,andcustoms.Thesecanbeused

totalkaboutthetopicinconversationgroups,tolearnvo-

cabularyspecifictoatopic,andtopracticepronunciation.I

askstudentstolookupdefinitionsofhighlightedwordson

thesheets.Asan instructor,usingthesesheets isawayto

determinestudents’familiaritywithAmericancultureand

toplanclasstrips.Studentscanalsoconductresearchtoen-

hancetheirknowledgeaboutmedia.

Iusedtheseconversationactivitieswithlevels3to7students(asmea-

suredbytheBestPlus)enrolledinnon-creditESLCUNYcoursesfora

semesterormore.Studentsrangedfrom18to60years,werefromallover

theworld,andspokeawidevarietyof languages.Somewererecently

arrivedprofessionalswhohaduniversitydegrees;othershadabasicedu-

cationintheirnativecountry.

Students developed a sense of community because of the

shared conversation exercises.Many good friendships be-

gan inclassandcontinuedaftergraduation.These friend-

shipsmade itmore enjoyable formany to attend classon

aregularbasisanddidleadtofewerabsences.Bytheend,

studentslearnedhowtoexpresstheirideasmoreclearlyin

Englishandhow to formulatequestions for future educa-

tionaluse.Theircriticalthinkingskillswereusedtoevaluate

thenewinformationandtocompareittowhattheyalready

knew.

ElaineCaputoFerrarareceivedaMaster’sdegreefromN.Y.U.ineduca-

tionalpsychology,withaspecialtyinreadingandspecialeducation.At

theCollegeofStatenIsland,sheteachesreadingandwritingtocollege

students inESLclasses.Recently, shedevelopedacitizenshipclass for

students.

<[email protected]>


CoMe to tHe nYs

tesol annual

ConFerenCe

October28-29,2011

NewYorkStateTeachersofEnglishtoSpeakersofOther

Languages

41stAnnualConference

“EnhancingEnglishLearning:ConnectingCommunitiesThrough

Collaboration”

MarriottHotelMelville,NY

Forfurtherinformation,goto

www.nystesol.org

andcheckyoure-mailontheNYSTESOL

Listserv

Ifyouareinterestedinvolunteeringorhavequestions,[email protected]

Call For aWardsexCePtional ProFessionals

Tohonorcontributionsmadewithinourfield,NYSTESOLpresentsseveralawardsannually,including:

JamesA.LydonDistinguishedServiceAwardOutstandingTeacherAward

RecognitionAwardLifetimeAchievementAward

JamesE.WeaverMemorialAwardSpecialAward

Year aWard Honoree

2010 RecognitionAward Dr.AnitaBatist OutstandingTeacher Dr.MariaDove

2009 LifetimeAchievementAward EsteeLopez RecognitionAward Dr.Walter Sullivan&Saul Cohen OutstandingTeacher BarbaraSuter

2008 JamesE.WeaverMemorialAward AlisonO’Neil RecognitionAward SamHoyt OutstandingTeacher DonnaBove

2007 JamesA.LydonDistinguishedService GeorgeMorris RecognitionAward MariaNeira OutstandingTeacher Dr.Andrea Honigsfeld& CarynBachar

2006 JamesA.LydonDistinguishedService Dr.FrankTang OutstandingTeacher PatriciaC.La Rose

2005 JamesA.LydonDistinguishedService DianaSegovia Praus

2011AwardWinnerswillbepresentedatthe41stAnnualConferenceOctober28th&29th,2011

Pleasereviewouravailableawardsandcriteriaforsubmissionatwww.nystesol.org.Submitallnominationsandsupportingdocumentationasattachmentsviae-mailto:

MeredithVanSchuyler,[email protected]

AllsubmissionsdueSeptember23,2011.


book review

Thisisanongoingcolumn,featuringreviewsofbooksandothermateri-

alsforESOLteachersandstudents.Pleasesendarticlesubmissionstothe

columneditor,NanetteDougherty(contactinformationisonpage22).

MoreGrammarGames: Cognitive,Affective andMovementActivities

forEFLStudents.ByMarioRinvolucriandPaulDavis.CambridgeUni-

versityPress.Cambridge.UK.(2010).176pp.ISBN:978-0-521-46630-1

Reviewed by Kathryn North

Mario Rinvolucri and Paul Davis’ More Grammar Games:

Cognitive,AffectiveandMovementActivitiesforEFLStudents

providesarevampingoftheirearlierworkGrammarGames,

whichwasoriginallypublishedin1984.Theauthorsdesigned

the text to provide EFL/ESL teacherswith a framework for

gamesthatcanbemodifiedtobeappropriatefordifferentage

groupsandvariedEnglishproficiencylevels.Therefore,while

theusefulnessofthebookasasupplementaltextintheadult

ESLclassroomisthemainpurposeofthisreview,itsutilitycan

beappliedtovariousteachingscenarios.

The text isdivided intoninesections including“CompetitiveGames,”

“Cognitive Games,” “Feelings and Grammar,” “Listening to People,”

“MovementandGrammar,”“MeaningandTranslation,”“ProblemSolv-

ing,”“Correction”and“Presentation,”foratotalof81games,ormini-

lessons.Asthetitlessuggest,manylessonsarerootedintheprinciplesof

well-knownEnglishlanguagelearningmethodologiesincludingtheSi-

lentWay,aswellasCounseling-Learning/CommunityLanguageLearn-

ing(CLL).Thebookbeginswithatableofcontentsnotingthegamesand

pagenumbers.Thisisfollowedbyadetailedmapofthebookwiththe

gametitles,grammartopicscovered,andlevelsandtimeneeded.Thein-

troductionalsoincludescommentaryfromtheauthorsonhowthebook

canbeusedandtheirrationaleforthemethodologiesutilizedbysection.

Eachgamebeginswiththetitleofthegameandaboxrestat-

ingthedetails fromthemapof thebook. If thegamecanbe

adaptedforotherstructuresandlevels,asub-boxstatesthis.

Tostartthemainportionofthemini-lesson,theauthorsnote

any preparation required before class. This is followed by a

breakdownofthein-classproceduresofthegame.Theauthors

also include examples, variations, a rationale overview, and

notes or acknowledgements when necessary. Lastly, any re-

quiredhandoutsareprovided.Onaminornote,theexamples

andhandoutsarewrittenusingBritishEnglishvocabulary.In

thecaseofclassesintheUnitedStates,instructorswillneedto

rewritetheseinStandardAmericanEnglish.

Thefirstsectionincludescompetitivegames,whicharedesignedtoin-

creasemotivationbyfosteringcollaborationwithingroupswhilecreating

asafe,spiritedenvironment.Manyofthegamesinthissectionfocuson

thecorrectionofmaterialprovidedbytheteacher.This,ofcourse,means

thattheinstructormustdevotetimetothepreparationofthegame.For

somethiscouldbelessthanideal.

Thecognitivegamesinsectiontwoareuniqueintheirstruc-

tureas,accordingtotheauthors,theexercisesaremostlyopen-

ended ones: this differs from many grammar exercises that

requireonecorrectresponse.Theflexibilityoftheactivitiesal-

lowsstudentstodiscovervariousaspectsofthelanguagewith-

outthedirectinfluenceoftheinstructor.Whilethesetypesof

activitiescanbeverycreativeandhavetheirplace incertain

contexts,givingstudentsunlimitedcontrolover the typesof

sentencesproducedcancausethedirectionofthelessontobe

diverted.Forthisreason,althoughthissectionfollowstheSi-

lentWaymethodinitspurestform(Larsen-Freeman,2000),the

lackoffinallanguagedestinationdoesnotfollowtheintegrat-

edandpragmaticwaythattheSilentWayisoftenpracticedin

theclassroom.

Sections three and four,whichdealwith feelings and listening tooth-

ers, respectively, are arguably the strongest chapters.Here, games are

designed to promote healthy interpersonal discussions, which require

speakers tomake use of a specific grammar structure.Many teachers

can attest to thepositive influence thatmutualunderstanding, respect

andpersonalinvestmentintheclassroomcanhaveonproductivity(e.g.,

CounselingLearningandCommunityLanguageLearning—seeLarsen-

Freeman,2000).

Section five ismade up of games that incorporate grammar

andmovement.WhilethereisamodicumofDesuggestopedia

inherent ingames throughout the text, this section explicitly

focusesontheusageofmovementtoinstilllanguageconcepts.

Therationaleseemstobethatstudentsaremoreopentolan-

guagelearningwhenthepreconceivedmentalandemotional

barriers to learning are “desuggested” through lighthearted

activity(Larsen-Freeman,2000).

Inthemeaningandtranslationgamesfoundinsectionsix,theminiles-

sonsfocusonhavingstudentsdevelopadeepergraspofthenuancesand

rootmeaningoflanguagebylinkingEnglishwiththeirmothertongue.

While thedebateover theuseof translation in theESLclassroomcon-

tinues,usingnativelanguagesasaresourceintheforeign/secondlan-

guageclassroomcanhelptobuildlinguisticabilitiesinbothlanguages,

bridgeexistingknowledgetotheacquisitionof thenewlanguage,and

givevaliditytothefirstlanguage(Baker,2006;Gibbons,2009).Therefore,

ifinstructorsusethesemini-lessons,theymayfindthatwhenproperly

administered,deeplearningcantakeplaceduringgamesthatusetrans-

lation.


Thelastthreesectionsarelesssubstantial.Sectionsevendeals

withproblemsolving.Sectioneightofferstechniquesforself,

peerandteachercorrections.Finally,sectionninerecommends

alternatives for thepresentationofnewgrammar topics toa

class.

Both students and teacher have much to gain from More Grammar

Games. The authors offer ideas for games that appeal tomanydiffer-

ent learning styles.With the exception of musical and natural intelli-

gences, this book contains games that promote all themultiple intelli-

gences(Gardner,2006).Thebookalsolistsgamesspecificallydesignedto

strengthenreceptiveskillstohelpstudentsbecomemoreactivelisteners

and readers. Furthermore, utilizing grammar games, an instructor can

adeptly introducegrammar topicswithout theuseof overt grammati-

callanguage.Althoughthediscussionofteachinggrammaticalformvs.

focusingoncommunicativeinteractionsisstillverypredominantinthe

ESLteachingfield,researchhasshownthattheintegrationofgrammar

withcontextualizedlanguagecreatesthemostefficientmodeoflearning

(Larsen-Freeman2001).

Tooffersomecriticism,theorganizationalstructureofthetext

canbechallenging.Forthosewhonormallyorganizelessonsin

aprogressionofscaffoldedtopics,thedivisionbyunderlying

pedagogicalapproachesmaybelessintuitive.Inaddition,the

organizationwithinthesectionsisunclearandfindingagame

for a specific grammar topic or level requires some hunting

withinthemapofthetext.Further,manyofthegames,espe-

ciallyinsectionsoneandtwo,requireafairamountofsetup.

Whileaninstructormayhopetouseabookofgamesasaquick

referenceforlessonideas,thetimerequiredforfindinganap-

propriatelessonandsetuppreventthebookfrombeingused

inthatmanner.Finally,whileonewouldassumethatallofthe

games are related explicitly to grammar, some have amore

semanticfocus.Thisdoesnotdeterthestudentfromgaining

knowledgebutshouldbenoted.

references

Baker, C. (2006). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism

(4thed.).Toronto:MultilingualMatters.

Gardner,H.(2006).Multipleintelligences:NewHorizons.NewYork:Ba-

sicBooks.

Gibbons, P. (2009). English LearnersAcademic Literacy and Thinking:

LearningintheChallengeZone.Portsmouth,NH:Heinemann.

Larsen-Freeman,D.(2000).TeachingandPrinciplesinLanguageTeach-

ing(2nded.).NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.

Larsen-Freeman,D.(2001).Teachinggrammar.InM.Celce-Murcia(Ed.),

TeachingEnglishasaSecondorForeignLanguage(3rded.)(pp.251-266).

Boston:Heinkle&HeinkleThomsonLearning.

Rinvolucri,M.,&Davis,P.(1995).MoreGrammarGames:Cognitive,Af-

fectiveandMovementActivitiesforEFLStudents.NewYork:Cambridge

UniversityPress.

KathrynN.North isa recentgraduateofNewYorkUniversity’sMas-

ter’sPrograminTESOL.AnESOLinstructorwiththeNewYorkPublic

Library,Kathrynalso tutorswritinganddevelopmental readingat the

BoroughofManhattanCommunityCollege.

<[email protected]>

2011 nYs tesol student essaY Contestby Laura Van Tassell

NYS TESOL SIG Coordinator In coordination with

the 2011 NYS TESOL annual conference, “Enhancing

English Learning: Connecting Communities through

Collaboration,” the topic for thisyear’s student essay

contest,“Howhasyourcommunityhelpedyou learn

English?,” revolvedaroundcommunitiesand the role

that living,working,and interacting in themplays in

the English language learners’ (ELLs) acquisition of

English.

Theessaycontestwasheld for studentswhoare cur-

rent or formerELLswithin three categories: students

ingrades four througheight; students ingradesnine

through twelve;andstudentsenrolled inauniversity

oranadulteducationprogram,includingstudentsen-

rolled in IntensiveEnglishprograms, community col-

leges,degree-basedprograms,andESOLprograms.

The student essay contest was very successful, with

113essays received from throughoutNewYorkState.

Awinnerandanhonorarymentionwerechosenfrom

eachofthethreecategories.Thenamesofthewinners

andhonorarymentionswillbeannouncedduringthe

Fridayluncheonattheannualconferenceandtheires-

sayswillbeprintedintheconferencebooklet.Thewin-

ningessayswillalsobeincludedinthewinteredition

ofIdiomaswellasbepostedontheNYSTESOLSpecial

InterestGroup(SIG)StudentEssayContestpage.

Pleasejoinmeinthankingallofthestudentswhosub-

mittedessaystothesixthannualstudentessaycontest!

Watchfornewsaboutthe2012contestinanupcoming

issueofIdiom,aswellasonourwebsite.


sMall talk: a MeaningFul Conversation toolby Joy Scantlebury

EngagingEnglishLanguageLearners(ELLs)inafewminutesofsmall

talkpriortothestartofESLclasscanbeaveryusefulstrategy.Thepur-

poseofsmall talk isnotaboutgauginghowgrammaticallycorrectmy

studentscanspeakinEnglish--althoughIdomakementalnotesofstu-

dents’ grammatical difficulties for subsequent lessons. It provides the

opportunityformystudentstobeheardinaveryrelaxedsetting,while

allowingtheirEnglishtoemerge.Itcertainlycanbeachallengetoinsert

thosefewminutesduringthefast-pacedscheduleofatypicalschoolday,

butIhavefoundittobeasourceofvaluableinformation.

I often begin the small talk sessionwith an informational “wh” ques-

tionsuchas“Howwasyourappointmentatthedentist?”or“Whatdid

youdoafterschoolyesterday?”Theresponsesarequiterevealing.Some

students,especiallythoseinmiddleschool,areinitiallyguarded,while

othersseemsurprisedthatIwanttoknowmoreaboutthem.Gradually

astheylearntotrustmeaswellastheirclassmates,thestudentsslowly

openup. It is gratifying to see a once painfully shy kindergarten stu-

dentnowcomingtoclasswithdailyannouncementssuchas,“Youknow

what?Yesterday,Ilose(sic)atooth.”

Thereareothertimeswhenstudentsexpressmoresensitiveis-

sues,whichwediscussfurtherinprivate.Oneexampleofthis

occurredwhenanELLinthirdgradetoldmeduringoursmall

talk session thatoneof theother students in themainstream

classmadefunofhisspeechandcalledhim“stupid.”Neither

his classroom teachernor Ihadnoticedany tensionbetween

thesetwostudents.ThefactthattheELLwhomentionedthis

incident had always felt self-conscious about his ability to

speakEnglishpromptedmyimmediatearrangementofameet-

ingwithhisteacherandtheotherstudent.Fortunately,wewere

abletoresolvethesituation,butittaughtmetobecomemore

vigilantwhenworkingwithELLsinthemainstreamclassroom.

Itisimpressivetolistentoastudentretellastoryorincident,

but themostgratifyingpart iswhenheorshe isabletocon-

nectittoanewconcept.Whenstudyingtheconceptofcause

andeffectduringareadinglesson,Isensedthatonlyafewstu-

dentsunderstoodthisconcept,whilemanydidnot.Suddenly,

onestudentannounced,“Doyourememberwhen I toldyou

thestoryabouthowIaccidentallyspilledwateronthekitchen

floor?”Heproudlycontinued,“Thatwasanexampleofcause

andeffect.ThecausewaswhenIspilledwateronthefloor.The

effectwaswhenmymombecameangry.”Hisclassmatesnod-

dedtheirheadsinagreement.Itwasasifalightbulbhadbeen

turnedon!Icouldnothaveprovidedabetterexampleofcause

andeffect!

AsELLsbecomemoreconfidentinspeakingEnglish,moreoftheirper-

sonalitiesemerge.Duringoneofoursmalltalksessions,Iaskedabegin-

ningELL in the fi rstgrade, “Wheredoesyourbrothergo to school?”

Without hesitation, she stated, “My brother go (sic) to SleepyHollow

School.Zzzzzzzz.SleepySchool.Iamsoooosleepy!”assheputherhead

onthedeskandpretendedtosleep.Priortothatcomment,Ihadnotseen

thathumoroussideofher.Inoticedhowthrilledshewasthatshehad

mademe laugh. I thendecided to followherquipwithanother “wh”

question. I tappedher on the shoulder asher eyes snappedopen and

herheadbobbedupfromthetable.“Whatdoesyourbrotherliketodo

at school?” I asked. She smiled and impishly replied, “He like (sic) to

sleep.”Howcleverthislittlegirlwas!Irealizedseveralthingsduringour

smalltalkexchange.Thisstudentdemonstratedthatsheunderstoodthe

word“sleepy”,sheconnectedthatunderstandingtoadifferentcontext,

andshefoundawaytomakeithumorous.Noneoftheseiseasytodo,

especiallyatthebeginningofthelanguageacquisitionprocess.Laterin

theday,Ihadthisstudentretellthejoketoherteacherandsomeofher

classmates.Thissmalltalksessionwasapivotalmomentforthisstudent

becauseshewasclearlypleasedtoseethatshecouldbefunnyinEnglish.

I have noticed that ELLs have the capacity to dissect words

in interestingways, especiallywhen thesewordsare spoken.

WhennativeEnglishspeakers thinkaboutwords,wetendto

focuson the sumandnot theparts.Whena studentwasbe-

ginningELLinsecondgrade,Irecallhisreadingapassageout

loud.Afterencounteringthetwo-syllableword,“awesome”,he

pronounceditasifwereathreesyllablewords,“a–we—some”.

Priortothatday,Ihadneverrealizedthattheword“awesome”

is comprised of three smallerwords: “a”, “we” and “some”.

Thatwasarevelationforme.Howawesome!

I am sure thatmany ESL teachers utilize small talk or some

variantofitintheirclassrooms.Itisnotanovelconcept,butI

findthatitisvaluableduringalimitedamountoftime.Con-

versations,whichonthesurfacemayappearsuperfluous,are

inactualityagoldmineofenrichingandrelevantinformation.

Joy Scantlebury is a graduate of SmithCollege. She received

herM.A. inTESOLfromTeachersCollege,ColumbiaUniver-

sity.JoycurrentlyteachesESLatPocanticoHillsCentralSchool

inSleepyHollow,NY.

<[email protected]>


CrOwNE PLaza aLbaNY - CITY CENTEr40 LOdgE STrEET

aLbaNY, NY


beloW:AhmedEl-Habashi,Egypt;TomokoKihira,Japan;UfualèAfolaAmey,Togo;OsirisRomero,DominicanRepublicandElenaLyumanova,Russia,come

togetherinanticipationoftheirpanelpresentation.

rigHt:

SoniaPortugal,Peru,performsFloatingWords,adanceshecho-

reographedtoportraythespiritofEnglishlanguagelearning.

above:EveryonelistensasUfualèAfolaAmeytalksaboutlearningEnglishfromherteacherDave,aPeaceCorpsvolunteer.


resources for implementing...(continuedfrompage7)

standardswithrecommendedstudentobjectives,texts,andactivities.

Examples of these thematic curriculum units include: Grade 1: The

AmazingAnimalWorld; Grade 3: The People, the Preamble, and the

Presidents;Grade6:Folklore:ABlastfromthePast;Grade9:LiteraryEle-

mentsofaShortStory;andGrade12:EuropeanLiterature:Renaissance

andReformation.CommonCoreisworkingwithschoolsanddistrictsin

differentstatestoimplementthemaps.ArizonaandNorthCarolinaare

usingthemstatewidetohelpdistrictsputthestandardsinplace(Gewitz

&Robelen,2011).

Twowritershave recently crafteddocumentsoutliningCommonCore

curriculumcriteria.Workingunder a contractwith theBill&Melinda

GatesFoundation,astrongsupporterofthestandards,DavidColeman

andSusanPimentel,co-authorsoftheCommonCoreStandardsforELA/

Literacy,wrote twodocuments highlighting the key ideas of the stan-

dardsanddescribingthequalitiesofinstructionalmaterialstheyconsider

anaccuratereflectionofthem(Gewertz,2011).

Common Core Assessments and PARCC

According to the National Governor’sAssociation/CCSSO, the Com-

monCoreStateStandardswillalsoultimatelybethebasisforasystem

ofhigh-qualityassessments.NewYorkStateisagoverningmemberof

the Partnership forAssessment of Readiness for College and Careers

(PARCC),whichwasawardedRacetotheTopAssessmentfundsin2010.

ThePARCCWebsitecanbeviewedathttp://parcconline.org/.Overthe

nextfewyears,NewYorkand25otherstateswilldevelopasetofEnglish

LanguageArtsandMathematicsassessments,whichwillbefinalizedin

2014-15(NYSED,2011).CommonCoreStandardsAssessmentResources

arelocatedathttp://educationnorthwest.org/resource/1331.

Idiomwillworktokeepreadersawareofalltheupcomingchanges.

references

August,D.,Cortese,A.,LaFonde,S.,Leos,K.(2010).MakingCommon

CoreStandardsworkforELLs:TheimportanceoflinkingEnglishLan-

guageProficiencyStandardstotheCommonCoreStandards.October

21,2010.AFTEduca-(continuedonpage21)

nYs tesolSPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS (SIGS) AND REGIONS LEADERShIP DIRECTORY

2010-2011

SIG Leaders/SIG Coordinator

LauraVanTassell<[email protected]>

Assistant SIG Coordinator

JenniferScully<[email protected]>

Applied LinguisticsAndrewMiller

LindsayWells<[email protected]>

ESL in Adult Education

TamaraKirson<[email protected]>

ESL in Bilingual Education Co-ChairLydiaGutierrez<[email protected]>

ESL in Elementary Education Co-ChairsSusanGoldstein

DianeHowitt<[email protected]>

ESL in higher Education Co-ChairsDafnaBenAnath

LisaKraft<[email protected]>

ESL in Secondary EducationLanNgo<[email protected]>

ESL in Special Education Co-ChairPattyBarry<[email protected]>

Teacher Education Co-ChairsSoonhyangKim

JoannaLabov<[email protected]>

teaching english internationally Co-ChairsClaudetteOliveras

MelissaDuquette<[email protected]>

Regions Leaders/Regions Coordinator

TinaVillalobos<[email protected]>

Assistant Regions CoordinatorLynnEllingwood<[email protected]>

buffalo

ElenaDokshansky-Zelfond<[email protected]>

Capital region Co-ChairsLizAllen

RomaKumar<[email protected]>

hudson Valley Co-ChairsKatieWernerRebeccaHorwitz<[email protected]

Long IslandVickyGiouroukakis<[email protected]>

new York City Co-ChairsJoeTillman

ElaineRoberts<[email protected]>

rochester/syracuse Co-ChairsGloriaDancause

ElaineFerlicca<[email protected]>


CHeCk out tHe neW MeMbers onlY Website!

We’reveryexcitedtoannouncethelaunchofthenewMembersOnlywebsiteforNYSTESOL.Wearejustgearingup,buthopethiswillbecomeamajorresourceandnetworkingsiteforourmembers.

CurrentmembersweresentanemailalertinearlySeptembercontainingtheirusernameandpassword.Ofcourse,youremailsystemmayhavefilteredourmessageintoaspamfolder—ifyouareacurrentmemberanddidnotreceiveanoticewithyourlogininformation,[email protected].

Withannualconferenceregistrationalreadyunderway,pleaseactquicklytologinandverifyyourprofiledataandnetworkingpreferences.

What’s there Coming soon•Yourprofilepage •Membershiprenewal•Discountedeventregistration •MembersOnlyonlinepublication, Dialogue•Discussionboards •Networkingoptions•SIG/RegionE-lists •JobCoach/CareerMentoring•Serviceopportunitiesandawards

Your PrivaCY

Thissiteisviewableonlybyactivemembers.And,becausethisisnew,wehavealsoblockedyourcontactinformationfrommembers.So,unlikeFacebook,whereyoudecidewhattosetas‘private,’we’vealreadydonethis.Theonlyinformationvisibletoothermembersis:yourName,MemberType,RegionandSIGpreferences.Youcanprivatizethese,too,ifyouwish,byupdatingyourprofile.

However,forthoseofyouwhowanttonetworkwithothermembers,thereare2optionalfields–an“emailtoshare”anda“website/blogaddress”bothsetupasviewablebyallmembers.Andyoucanuploadaphoto.Youcontroltheprivacysettingsforthesefieldsandcaneditthematanytime.

What’s Next?

We’dlikeyoutotellus!Pleaselookaroundthesite,updateyourprofile,joinadiscussionboard,andsendusideasforadditionsandimprovements.

disCounted MeMbersHiP uPdate

NYSTESOL is committed toprovidingmemberswith themost up-to-date resources,newsandeducationaltools.Toenableaccessbyallmembersofourfield,NYSTESOLoffersdiscountedmemberships.Recently,werevisedthedocumentationpolicyfordis-countstoalignwithothernon-profitorganizationsaswellastocreategreaterconsis-tencyandtransparency.Pleasecheckthenewrequirementswhenyoupreparetorenew.Forquestionsregardingmembershipstatusanddiscounts,[email protected].


English Now! a/b Intervention is ideal for short term intervention. The English Now! kit includes everything the teacher needs to implement a complete intervention program, including pretest and posttest, vocabulary picture files, student books, a big book (or overhead transparencies), wordless story books, color storybooks, games, a teacher’s guide, and posters.

Representedexclusivelyby:

Attanasio&Associates,Inc.

“ATrustedNameinEducationforMoreThan27Years!”

79-1169thDrive

MiddleVillage,NY11379

www.attanasio-edu.com

Questions?

Giveusacall!(718)416-1832 OutsideNYC:(877)416-1833 Fax:(718)416-1838

ArrA Aproved!


table 1: the Four Cs of Collaboration

Collaborationmaystartoutasasmall,grassrootseffort,involvingonlytwoorthreeteacherswhosharetheresponsibilityforsomeofthesameELLsandare

concernedabouttheirstudents’progress.Itmayinvolveanentiregradelevel.Someexamplesincludegradeclustersworkingtogethertodeveloporenhance

curriculainelementaryschools;aninterdisciplinaryteamofmath,science,socialstudies,English,andESLteachers(sharingresponsibilityforaclusterof

classesinmiddleschools);oradiscipline-specificdepartment(focusingonpreparingallstudentstomeetgraduationrequirementsofhighschools).Regard-

lessofthelocalcontext,allthesecollaborativeeffortsstartwithprofessionalconversations,throughwhichteacherscollaborativelyexploretheirstudents’

needsandresponsivepractices.

references

TheInternetTESLJournal,14(8).Retrievedfromhttp://iteslj.org/Techniques/DelliCarpini-TeacherCollaboration.html

Collaborative ConversationsTalk about

-Students’needs

-Students’lives

-Studentsinandoutofschoolwork

-Curriculumandinstruction

-Teachers’ownstruggles

-Teachers’ownsuccesses

-Whatmatterstoyou,theteacher

Collaborative Curriculum developmentAlign

-Lessonobjectives(languageobjectivesandcontentobjectives)

-Unitgoals

-Curriculummaps

-Primaryandsupplementaryinstructionalmaterials

-Adaptedtextsandmaterials

-Resources

Collaborative CoachingUse peer coaching to improve

-Lessonplanning

-Lessondelivery

-Unitdesign

-Useofsupplementarymaterials

-Adaptedcontent

-Modifiedinstruction

-Assessmentpractices

Collaborative CraftsmanshipExplore

-ELLs’backgroundknowledge

-ELLs’priorlearning

-Peercoaching

-Planninginstructioncollaborativelyorinthecontextof

co-teaching

-Effectivemethodsforaligningcurriculumandobjectives

-Usingtimemoreeffectively

-Makingthemostofcollaborativeefforts

Collaborative Conversations*(continuedfrompage1)

• Collaborative Craftsmanship:

Throughconsciouseffortsforcontinuousimprovementofthecraftofteaching,teachersexplorewaystoenhanceinstructionaltime,languagedevelopment,

andcontentarearesources,andoffersupportforeachother.Table1showshowtheconceptofcollegialityandcollaborationmayofferasystemofsupport

inalinguisticallyandculturallydiverseschoolcontextbyincludingthefourCswithampleexamples.


DelliCarpini, M. (2009, May). Dialogues across disciplines: Preparing

English-as-a-second-language teachers for interdisciplinary collabora-

tion.CurrentIssuesinEducation(Online),11(2).Retrievedfromhttp://

cie.ed.asu.edu/volume11/number2/

Honigsfeld,A.,&Dove,M.(2010).Collaborationandco-teaching:Strate-

giesforEnglishlearners.ThousandOaks,CA:CorwinPress.

National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NACTAF).

(2009). Learning teams: Creating what’s next. Retrieved from http://

www.nctaf.org/documents/NCTAFLearningTeams-408REG2–09_000.

pdf

NEA(2009).NEAreiteratescollaborationaskeytokeepingteachers.Re-

trievedfromhttp://www.nea.org/home/31477.htm

Pawan,F.,&Ortloff, J.H.(2011).Sustainingcollaboration:English-asa-

second-languageandcontent-areateachers.TeachingandTeacherEdu-

cation,27,463-471.

Dr.AndreaHonigsfeldisassociatedeanandprofessorintheDivisionof

EducationatMolloyCollege,RockvilleCentre.Sheistheco-authorwith

MariaDoveofarecentlypublishedbook,CollaborationandCo-Teach-

ing:StrategiesforEnglishLearners(CorwinPress,2010).<ahonigsfeld@

gmail.com>

*Sectionsofthismanuscripthavegrownoutoftheauthor’scollaborative

conversationswithDr.MariaDoveandarefeaturedintheircoauthored

book,citedabove.

resources for implementing...(continuedfrompage17)

tional Policy Forum. http://www.colorincolorado.org/powerpoint/

ELL-ELPStandardsPPT%20Slide.pdf

Colorin Colorado (2011). Common Core Standards and English Lan-

guageLearners.ReadingRockets.WETALearningMedia.http://www.

colorincolorado.org/educators/common_core/

Gewertz,C.(2011).CommonCoreWritersCraftcurriculumcriteria,July

22,2011.EducationWeekly.http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011

/07/21/37curriculum.h30.html?tkn=UPSFLpcFv4ebJmsg2qZx2C7B8rK

m7AL%2FiacG&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

Gewertz,C.,&Robelen,E. (2011).CurriculummapsaimtobringELA

Standardstolife.July25,2011.http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curric

lum/2011/07/the_nonprofit_group_common_cor.html

Hakuta,K.(2011).Webinar:Researchtopractice:PreparingELLsforthe

CommonCore,Teachscape,May5,2011.http://marketing.teachscape.

com/K12KenjiELLMay2011WebinarAccess.html

Lopez, E. (2010). ELA Standards: Shifting the focus to the Common

Corecomments,standardsandcurriculum,NYSTESOL,October2010.

http://www.nystesol.org/curriculum-standards/standards.html

Nagel,D.(2010).Fedsaward$330milliontofundalternativestohigh-

stake bubble tests. The Journal, September 2, 2010. http://thejournal.

com/articles/

2010/09/02/feds-award-330-million-to-fi nd-alternatives-tohigh-stakes-

bubble-tests.aspx?sc_lang-en

NYSED(2011).FAQs—CommonCorelearningstandards.http://www.

p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/faq.html

NYSUT (2011). Educational Resources for English Language Learners.

http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/k12_13765.htm

Quay,L. (2010).Higherstandards forall: Implicationsof theCommon

Coreforequityineducation.CivilRightsResearchRoundtableonEdu-

cation,BerkeleyLaw,April2010.http://www.law.berkeley.edu/fi les/

Education_Roundable_Standards_Brief_4_10.pdf

WashingtonStateSchoolBoard (2010).CommonCoreStandards—Pro-

cessFAQs.http://www.sbe.wa.gov/documents/FAQ%20Common%20

Core%Standards%20Process.pdf

Zehr,M.A.(2011).Conference:ImplementingCommonCoreStandards

forELLs,LearningtheLanguageBlog,August11,2010.EducationWeek-

ly. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-thelanguage/2010/08/

conference_implementing_common.html

Zehr,M.A.(2011).StanfordtoleadcreationofELLstandardsfor“Com-

monCore”LearningtheLanguageBlog,July12,2011,EducationWeekly.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-thelanguage/2011/07/

stanford_to_lead_creation_of_e.html

DianeGarafaloisaformerESLteacheratOswegoCitySchool

District.ShewasalsoasecondaryEnglishteacher,withatotal

offifteenyearsofpublicschoolteachingexperience.Diane’s

previouspositionsincludeworkingasanadjunctprofessorof

writtencommunicationsforITTTechnicalInstituteandahu-

manresourcesandtrainingmanager foravarietyofFortune

500companies.Currently,DianeisanHRandworkforceliter-

acyconsultantforDRGAssociates.<[email protected]>


Editorial Notes

IdiomisaquarterlypublicationformembersofNYSTESOL.Theeditorswelcomearticlesaswellas

reactionstoarticles.Allcopy(maximum1000words,typed,double-spaced,withwordcountpro-

vided)shouldfollowAPAguidelinesandbesubmittedviae-mail(MSWord).Pleaseincludeyour

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biographical statement. Please visit idiom.nystesol.org for links regardingAPAguidelines and to

viewasamplearticle.

Idiom’seditorialgoalsaretobeaccurate,tomaintainthewriter’smessage,content,andstyle,andto

fittheworkinthespaceallotted.

Idiomreservestherighttoeditallmanuscriptsforclarity,brevity,andstyle;theeditorswillconsult

withcontributorsonsubstantive revisions.Articles fromIdiommaybe reprintedwithproperac-

knowledgmentofthesource.

Editor:CaraTuzzolinoWerbenLINCC-NassauCommunityCollegeOneEducationDr.GardenCity,NY11530

(516)573-0165E-mail:[email protected]

Editorial Consultant:CeilGoldman

Printing and Mailing:TheCoughlinPrintingGroup,Watertown

Column Editors:Book ReviewNanetteDoughertyEmail:[email protected]

Culture NotesElisabethGareis257CrestDriveTarrytown,NY10591Tel.:(914)524-7915E-mail:[email protected]

Promising PracticesAnnC.WintergerstDept.ofLanguagesandLiteraturesSt.John’sUniversityQueens,NY11439E-mail:[email protected]

Calendar and announCeMents

october 28-29, 2011 nYs tesol 41st annual Conference “EnhancingEnglishLearning:ConnectingCommunitiesThroughCollaboration”

MelvilleMarriottinMelville,LongIsland.Seehttp://www.nystesol.org

February 11, 2012 33rd Annual Applied Linguistics Winter Conference “Connections:TESOLandAppliedLinguisticsinaGlobalContext”

We’llcontinuetokeepyouposted!

Questions?Contactusat:[email protected]

March 28-31, 2012 TESOL International Convention and English Language Expo “ADeclarationofExcellance”

Philadelphia

Formoreinformation:www.tesol.org/s_tesol/convention2012/index.html

uPCoMing idioM tHeMes

tbdDeadlinesandthemesfor2012willbepublishedintheWinter2011

issueofIdiom.

annual ConferencePleasesubmitarticlesbasedonpresentationsattheNYSTESOL

conference(Oct.28-29,2011)

“EnhancingEnglishLearning:ConnectingCommunitiesThrough

Collaboration”atMelvilleMarriott

Submission Deadline: December 1


neW York state teaCHers oF englisH to sPeakers oF OThER LANGUAGES MEMBERShIP FORM (EFFECTIVE 9/1/2011)

renewal:____ new Member:____FirstName:_______________________________________LastName:_______________________________________StreetAddress:___________________AptNo.:_________City/State:______________________ZipCode:_________Email:____________________________________________(requiredtoreceiveonlinenewsletter)PreferredTelephone:(______)____________________________Home____Work____CellPosition:__________________________________________Organization:______________________________________

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Conversation tableby Sarah Elia

A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a

month’sstudyofbooks.

—Chineseproverb

Onceamonth,theHaggertyEnglishLanguageProgramatSUNYNew

PaltzhostsaninformallearningluncheonknownasConversationTable

toencouragecasualconversationonarangeoftopicsinaninvitingenvi-

ronment.Theprogramwasestablishedtohelppromoteinteractionand

dialoguebetweeninternationalstudents(particularlyESL),faculty,and

staffandAmericanstudentsinterestedininternationalstudies.Occasion-

ally,communityvolunteersattendaswell.

ConversationTableisheldattheCenterforInternationalPro-

gramsonadifferentweekdayeachmonthtoensurethatstu-

dentshavetheopportunitytoattendatleastonceasemester.At

thecateredlunch,20-25guestsmeetfor45minutes.Attendees

areseatedatalargerectangulartableconducivetointeraction.

Faculty, staff, and volunteersmay lead discussionswith stu-

dents on topics such as food, cultural similarities anddiffer-

ences,religionandgovernment.Ifastudentseemslonely,the

facultyistheretomakeintroductionsandinitiatedialogue.

TheprogrampromotesConversationTableinavarietyofways.Atthe

beginningofeachsemester,allnewstudentsreceiveaneventhandout.

ESL teachers review it in class, answer questions, and promote atten-

dance.Oneweekpriortotheluncheon,fliersarepostedande-mailssent

out.StudentscanRSVPandcommentontheevent’sFacebookpage.The

daybeforetheevent,weremindstudentstoattend.Onthedayofthelun-

cheon,theeventcoordinatorarrivesearlyatthevenuetosetupandgreet

guests.Attheendofthemeal,studentsareaskedtohelpwithcleanup.

After the gathering, photographs of the event are uploaded

ontotheESLdepartmentFacebookpage.Studentspostphotos

and comments.A student survey on Facebook following the

luncheonhelpswithpreparation for futureevents.Astudent

journalistwritesanarticleaboutConversationTablefortheESL

departmentnewsletter,whichisdistributedtoallESLstudents

aswellasotherdepartmentsoncampus.

ConversationTablehasbecomeincreasinglypopularbecauseoftheop-

portunityitoffersforsocializationanddiscussion.Attendeesleavehav-

ingshareddialogue,laughter,smiles,andgoodfood.ESLstudentsalso

haveavaluable languageexperienceandnewconnectionswithnative

speakers.

SarahEliaisalecturerinESLattheHaggertyEnglishLanguage

ProgramatSUNYNewPaltz.Astheprogram’seventcoordina-

tor,sheworkstoactivelypromotepositiveinteractionsbetween

internationalstudentsandAmericanstudents.EliahasaB.A.

from Bard College and anM.A. in TESOL from SUNYNew

Paltz.<[email protected]>

tiMed ConversationsBy Phillipa Arthur

Introduction

During Timed Conversations, learners primarily practice listening/

speaking skills andahostofother conversational skills, includingbut

not limitedto: turntaking; the languageofencouragementandpraise;

the language of expressing unfamiliarity with topics; comprehension

checking;andagreeinganddisagreeing.Althoughgenerallyreferredto

asTimedConversations,somespecifythetimelimitinthetitle,forex-

ample: FourMinuteConversations.TimedConversations are typically

fluency-basedandopportunitiesforlearnerstopersonalizeandconverse

aboutatopic,foraspecifiedperiodoftime.

For the instructor, Timed Conversations can function as: a

warm-upactivitytoactivatelearners’schemata,tofocuslearn-

ersonthelessontopicortoconnectthepreviousandcurrent

lessons;afollow-upactivitytoallowlearnerstoexpandonand

personalizelessoncontent;afilleractivitytopurposefullyuti-

lize‘extratime’attheendofalesson;astress-relieveractivity

toinfuseasenseoffunintoalesson;areviewactivityforcon-

tentcourses;andaspeechsamplingactivitytogaugelearners’

conversationalskills.

Materials

In order to conduct Timed Conversations you essentially need two

things-atimerandtopiccards.Conveniently,wristwatches,cellphones,

iPads,computers,stop-watches,kitchentimersandclassroomclockscan

allfunctionastimers.

Ideally, the topics refl ectedon thecards shouldcomplement

yourlessontopic.Forexample,ifyouwereplanningalesson

on‘classicbakedgoods,’eachtopiccardcouldreflectthename

of a classic baked good. Format topic cards on a computer,

print incolorandlaminatethem(if theseareresourcesavail-

abletoyouandifyouwilladdthisactivitytoyourrepertoire).

Ofcourse,youcanalsoprepareaslideshowof‘topiccards’to

displayonacomputeroriPad.Topiccardscanbeword-based

(pie,quiche,tart);question-based(“Howwouldyouprepareic-

ing?”); statement-based (“Tell me about your favorite baked

childhooddessert.”); andpicture-based (imageofa six-tiered

weddingcake).

(continuedonpage27)


let’s talk about it!by Yanick Chery-Frederic

ELLsrespondwelltolessonsintheformofconversationsasanotherway

toincorporatesomeofthesamestrategiesandscaffoldsusedforwriting.

As an example, I often give students a prompt of 5-10words. For all

gradesIhaveused“Mygreatestsurprise.”Fourthgraderswriteabout

justice.

The students use the prompt as a starter and beginwriting,

eventuallyproducingawell-developedparagraph.Thesesame

promptscanbeusedtomaintainintelligentdiscourseamong

students.Thedifferencewithmakingconversationsthemajor

goalinalessonisthatthediscussionwillnotbebasedonprevi-

ousreadingand/orwriting,butstrictlyonthepresentconver-

sation.Self-expression,thoughts,ideas,andopinionswillbegin

andendwithclarificationthroughconversationonly.Making

thisanintegralpartoflessonswilladdressthechallengesfaced

byourELLpopulationinverbalcommunication,andcanen-

hancethestudent’slisteningandspeakingskills.

Anothervaluewithconversationsasamajorfocusisthatthevocabulary

challengesfacedbymanyofourELLswillbeconsidered.Ourstudents

mayhavedividedlanguageskills.Theyarecomfortablewithaspecific

lexicon from the home language, but use a different second language

lexicon.Astrongeremphasisonclassroomconversationswillallowfor

abalanceandexchangeofwordcomprehensionofsimilarvocabularyin

both languages.Conversationswillbeamajor theme inmyESLclass-

rooms this schoolyear in supportof enhancingmystudents’oral lan-

guageskills.

Further Reading

Beck,I.,McKeown,M.,&Kucan,L.(2002).Bringingwordsto

life:Robustvocabularyinstruction.NewYork:Guilford.

Gordon,T.(2007).Teachingyounghildrenasecondlanguage.

Westport,CT:Praeger.

YanickChery-FredericisanelementaryschoolESLteacherfor

grades2-4 inCentral Islip,aswellasanadjunctprofessorof

ESLatSuffolkCountyCommunityCollege.Shehasalsotaught

aMethodsundergraduatecourseinTESOLatSt.Joseph’sCol-

legeinPatchogue.<[email protected]>

exPliCit CoMMuniCationby Ellen Terry Vandrew-Wald

Themannerinwhichlanguageandwritingareunderstoodandmisun-

derstoodpromotessuccessorfailure.Understandingwhatissaidisthe

keytocommunicativecompetence.

Explicitcommunication isdialoguethat isclear,sure,andre-

stated when necessary. Crawford (1993) states that the pro-

cessesofliteracyandlanguagelearningrequirelearnerstobe

immersedinmeaningful,relevant,andfunctionalsituations.In

thisway, students can learn to handle themselves in various

situations.

Let’sbeginwithakindergartenermeetinganinstructorforthefirsttime.

Ifthechildisaskedtodescribesomething,perhapsdrawingitisamuch

betterwayofcommunicatingwhathappened.Descriptionmaynotsim-

plybedonebytalking.Theexplicitcommunicationwouldrequirethat

theteachertalkanddemonstratesothatthisstudentknowswhattodo.

MiddleschoolstudentswhodonotspeakEnglishcanbenefit

fromexplicitcommunicationaswell.Classmatesmightofferto

translateforthisstudent,butthatmeansthateveryutterance

requiresassistance.WhenIwritetheaimandotherparticulars

ontheboard(Iverballyexplaintotherestoftheclass),Iopen

anewcomer’snotebookandwriteafewofthewordsfromthe

boardinhisorhernotebook,givingthestudentexplicitcom-

municationforinstructionbydemonstration.Thestudentcop-

ieswhatisontheboard.ThenIsay“Copy.”Fromthattimeon,

thisstudentknowswhattheword“copy”meansandcancopy.

Explicitcommunicationwithparentsisoneofthemostimportanttypes

ofcommunication.Afterall,theparent(s)orcaretakeristhefirstteacher

andtheonewhocandothemosttofacilitateastudent’sacademicsuc-

cess. In parentmeetings, I combine simplewordswith academic lan-

guageandhave the requisitebilingualdictionaries.Byexplainingand

demonstratingslowlyandcarefully,explicitcommunicationandagood

dialoguecanbecreated.

Whenone speakswithhumility and caring, the communica-

tionisexplicit.Explicitcommunicationisthekeytoallforms

ofdialogue;ifonemethoddoesnotwork,justkeepontrying.

references

Crawford,L.W.(1993).Languageandliteracylearninginmul-

ticultural classrooms.NeedhamHeights,MA:Allyn and Ba-

con.EllenTerryVandrew-Waldwasborn in theBronx intoa

multicultural,religiousbackground.BarryWald,herhusband,

encouraged her to become a teacher. She got her B.A. from

MarymountManhattan College in 1999 andM.A. in TESOL

fromHunterCollegein2004.SheisaNYCpublicschoolK-12

teacher,andalsoanadjunct.<[email protected]>


Conversations in support...(continuedfrompage3)

andDunnLearningStyleModelhighschoolassessmentLearn-

inginVogue:ElementsofStyle(LIVES)(Missere&Dunn,2005)

andsuggestedindividualstudyandhomeworkstrategies.My

students had critical conversations with their families about

their personal preferences, strengths, and areas for improve-

ment. Some students discussed their need for a quiet, cool,

andbrightlylitplacetostudyandcompletehomeworkassign-

ments.Onestudent,whowasnotamorningperson,discussed

herneedforanalarmclocktowakehersoshecouldarriveto

classon time.Sadly,her familydidnotwant tobedisturbed

bythesoundofanalarmclocksoearlyinthemorningandthe

student’sguidancecounselorsuggesteddroppingherfromthis

supportclass.

Conversations with Colleagues

MyfellowESLteachers,bilingualguidancecounselor,anddepartment

supervisor met regularly to discuss parent outreach, truant students,

misplacedstudents,overcrowdedclasses,creditaccumulation,andNY-

SESLATscheduling, among thenumerous challenges facingourELLs.

Theseconversationsledtosolutionsandconsensusonmajordecisions

andnewinitiatives.Colleagueswhosharedstudentswould(a)discuss

divisionoflanguageskillfocus—onewouldemphasizethewritingpro-

cess,vocabulary,andgrammar,whiletheotherwouldprovidereadings

ofabroadrangeofliterarygenres,teachliterarytermsandvocabulary,

andemphasizelisteningandspeaking,(b)collaborateandsharedatafor

eachstudentbeforemakingarrangementstocallparentsoneachother’s

behalf—eachteacherrelayedmessagesofbothteachers,and(c)preview

andrevieweachother’slessonssowecouldreinforcewhatwaslearned

ineachother’sclasses.Muchtoourdismay,wediscoveredthatstudents

oftendidnottransferlearningbetweenESLclassesandteachers—some-

how,thelearningremainedintheclassroomenvironmentandwasfor-

gotteninanewsetting.

ConversationswithmainstreamEnglishcolleaguescenteredon

implementationofTESOLstrategiestomeettheneedsoftran-

sitionalandpost-ELLs.Conversationswithmathematics,sci-

ence,andsocialstudiesassistantprincipalsandteachershelped

mefocusontopicsthattheyfoundwerethemostproblematic

forELLs.

AstheESLteachercomponentinacollaborativeteamteachingmathe-

maticsclass,dailyco-teachingexperiencesandcollaborativeconferences

led to differentiated tutoring and small-group instruction. I reinforced

basic math skills to the students who did not know simple addition,

subtraction,multiplication,anddivision,whilemymathcolleaguerein-

forcedhigher-levelmathskillsandconcepts.

Conclusion

Theseconversationstaketimeandenergy.HighschoolteachersofELLs

mayfindthey,too,areperformingdoubletheworktosupportadoles-

centELLs inmeeting the challengesof second languageacquisition in

anacademicenvironment.This increased responsibility,however,may

proveworthwhilewhentheresultingconversationsleadtotargetedin-

structionandinterventionsasteacherscollaborateinassessingELLsand

planninginstructionfortheirstudents.

references

Dunn, R., & Dunn, K. (1993). Teaching secondary students

through their individual learning styles:Practical approaches

forgrades7-12.Boston,MA:Allyn&Bacon.

Dunn,R.,&Griggs,S.A.(Eds.).(2003,2004,2007).Synthesisof

theDunnandDunnlearning-stylemodelresearch:Who,what,

when,where,andsowhat?Jamaica,NY:St.John’sUniversity’s

CenterfortheStudyofLearningandTeachingStyles.

Fountas,I.C.,&Pinnell,G.S.(2001).Guidingreadersandwrit-

ersgrades3-6:Teachingcomprehension,genre,andcontentlit-

eracy.Portsmouth,NH:Heinemann.

Gardner,H.(1983).Framesofmind:Thetheoryofmultiplein-

telligences.NewYork:BasicBooks.

Gardner,H.(1993,2006).Multipleintelligences:NewHorizons.

NewYork:BasicBooks.

McKenzie, W. (1999). Multiple Intelligences Inventory. Re-

trievedfromhttp://surfaquarium.com/MI/inventory.htm

Missere,N.,&Dunn,R.(2005).Learninginvogue:Elementsof

style(LIVES).Retrievedfromwww.learningstyles.net

Short,D.,&Fitzsimmons,S.(2007).Doublethework:Challeng-

esandsolutions toacquiring languageandacademic literacy

foradolescentEnglishlanguagelearners—AreporttoCarnegie

CorporationofNewYork.Washington,DC:AllianceforExcel-

lentEducation.

VictoriaPilotti,Ed.D.,isanESLteacheratJamaicaHighSchool.

AformerRegion3secondaryschoolsmentor,NYCDepartment

of Education, she has taught TESOL methodology graduate

coursesatSt.John’sUniversityandHunterCollege.

<[email protected]>


Timed Conversations(continuedfrompage24)

Preparation Consideryourlearners’profile,lessontopicandobjectiveswhendecid-

ingifthisisanappropriateactivitytodowithyourlearners.

1.Considerhowmuchtimeyouwanttoallottotheactivity.Multiplythe

numberoftopiccardsbythedurationofeachconversation-10topic

cardsX2minutesperconversation=20minutestotal.

2. Decidewhich version of the activity you are going to do. You can

choosetokeep:

a.Conversationpairsstaticandhavelearnersswitchtopiccards.

Withstaticpairs,learnersgetto‘bond’withoneconversational

partnerovervarioustopicswhilefocusingonsharingtheirideas

andpersonalizingthetopic.

b.Topiccardsstaticandhavelearnersswitchpartners.Withdy-

namicpairs,learnersgettointeractwithdiversespeakerswhile

refiningtheirideasaboutonetopicandpolishingtheirdelivery.

c. Both topic cards and conversationpairs staticwhile reducing

thedurationoftheconversationsinsetincrements.Thisversion

lendsitselftolearnerswhoarepreparingfortimedoralpresen-

tations and assessments, by allowing learners to refi ne their

ideasaboutonetopicandpolishtheirtimeddelivery.

d.Decidehowyouwillpairoffyourlearnersandifpairsaregoing

tositintworowsorstandintwoconcentriccirclesfacingtheir

partners.

3.Decidewhatanodd-numberedlearnerwouldberesponsiblefor-time

keeper or ‘English only’ enforcer. If you choose to have all learners

participate(andhavethemchangepartnersinsteadoftopiccards),an

extrachaircanallowtheodd-numberedlearnerto‘rest’foroneturn.

Of course, you can always choose toparticipate in the activitywith

yourlearners.

4.Plantomodelactivityanddeliverclearinstructionsspecifictothever-

sionofTimedConversationsyouaregoingtodo.

5.Planwhatyouwillobservewhilemonitoringlearnersduringtheactiv-

ity.Thiswillconsequentlydirectthefeedbackyouwillgivelearners.

6.Planthequestionsyouwillusetoelicitfeedbackfromlearnersafterthe

activityabouttheirperformanceduringactivity.

ProcedureUseteachertalkappropriatetotheproficiencylevelofyourlearnersto

deliverclearinstructionsandtoconfirmyourlearners’comprehensionof

yourinstructions.

1.Deliverglobal instructionstoyourlearnerswhichinclude:theactiv-

itytitle,sequencing/format,purposeandduration,and,ifnecessary,

responsibilityofodd-numberedlearneroruseof‘rest’chair.

2.Pairofflearnersandarrangepairssothattheyareeitherseatedintwo

rowsorstandingintwoconcentriccirclesfacingtheirpartners.

3.Modelactivityforclassanddemonstratehow:

a.youwillstarttheactivitybysaying“begin”

b.pairswilltaketurnstoconverseaboutthetopicindicatedonthe

topiccardforXminutes

c.pairswillconverseonlyinEnglish

d.everyXminutes,atimekeeperwillsay“switch”indicatingthat

pairsneedtoswitchtopiccardsbypassingthemtothepairto

theright(ortotheleft)

e.youwillendactivitybysaying“theend.”

4.Modelthatlearnerscanremindtheirpartnertostayon-taskbysimply

pointingtothetopiccard

5.Modelsomeoftheconversationallanguageyouexpectlearnerstous-

ethelanguageofurgingandpraise;ofagreeinganddisagreeingand

soon.

6. Begin activity and cycle through the number of topics you have

planned.Circulateandmonitorlearnersthroughoutactivity.

Follow-upElicit feedback from learners about their performance. Give learners

feedbackbasedonhowsuccessfullytheycompletedtheactivity.Remem-

ber,thisisafluency-basedactivity.However,ifyoumodifyittoinclude

specificverbalstrategiesorafocusonform,youcoulddocumentthein-

accuraciesofyourlearners’Englishasyoucirculate,anddoawhole-class

correctiononthewhiteboardfollowingtheactivity.

1.Elicitspecificfeedbackfromlearnersabouthowtheyfeltabouthav-

ingto:

a.sustainaconversationinEnglishforXminutesatatime

b.switchtopicseveryXminutes

c.includeconversationallanguage

d.haveaclassmatetimethemorsitinthe‘rest’chair

e.Standorsitduringactivity;passalongtopiccards;changepart-

ners

2.Givelearnersspecificfeedbackabout:

a. how well they sustained their conversations in English for

Xminutesatatime

b.howwelltheystayedontask

c.theiruseofconversationallanguage

d.howefficientlytheyfollowedinstructions

3.Promisetodovariationsofactivitythroughoutthesemester.Thesefl

uency-basedactivitiesmaygeneratefutureconversationsinyourclass-

room,providigrichopportunitiesforstudentstointeractandpractice

English-speakingskills.

PhillipaArthur has taught ESL/EFL in the United States, China and

Korea.SheiscurrentlyaLanguageLectureratYeungnamUniversityin

SouthKorea.<[email protected]>


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