TESL WW Newsletter Winter 2006 Back in the Saddle Again! Perhaps everyone is still refreshed enough from their winter break to be enjoying all the bustle of exams, reporting and semester turnaround. No, eh? Well, surviving with equanimity, at least. Here is our latest effort to help you in your professional life with a little stimulation, motivation and community--our first on-line newsletter! Be sure to reserve Saturday morning, March 4, for our Winter Professional Development Workshops at Conestoga College, Kitchener. Salutations from Our President! Dear Colleagues: It has been a wonderful Fall for us at TESL WW. We are busy planning your next PD event on March 4. This past October, we ran a very successful workshop on Pronunciation featuring Judy Gilbert and Olle Kjellin. Over 120 teachers attended and the evaluations indicated that this had been a very worthwhile professional development opportunity. As one attendee said, "This was the best. Thank you. Amazing ideas from amazing people." The presenters introduced us to ideas that ranged from very practical (techniques for helping students produce aspects of English pronunciation – elastic bands, choral repetition and sound before orthography) to very theoretical (Why is the brain so pleased to repeat the target pronunciation? Is memory the mother of learning? What happens as we develop new neural pathways?) I think all who attended went away with new ideas to try in the classroom and many new questions to think about. One of the issues that has always fascinated me about pronunciation is how it highlights an aspect of ESL teaching in general that we tend to side-step much of the time – the powerful choices we have to make as teachers in an L2 classroom and the way these choices reflect our world view. What am I asking when I ask a student to change her pronunciation? As Canadian researcher and teacher Jim Cummins highlighted in his article "Language and the Human Spirit (April 2002, http://www.iteachilearn.com/cummins/langhuman02.htm) We can no longer conceptualize language as some kind of neutral code that can be taught in classrooms in splendid isolation from its intersection with issues of power, identity, and spirituality. --- What is the image of the student implied by the classroom interactions we orchestrate? What image of ourselves as educators is reflected in the instructional choices we make with respect to language, culture, curriculum, and community involvement? --- As educators we make choices on a daily basis that reflect how we have defined our roles with respect to both language and the human spirit. Professional development can help us to question, reflect on and improve our classroom practice. As we examine our daily interactions with students, we can check whether or not each practice is congruent with what we believe. We can start in our own classrooms to develop the type of community we value, work to extend that to our workplaces in general and as Jim Cummins suggests "reclaim our professional identities and our role as advocates for our students by resisting actively programs and initiatives that shrink human potential." It is our hope that TESL WW can serve you as you continuously develop your capabilities in the classroom. This newest newsletter is a testimony to the belief the executive has in creating a community of practice and you will note that it features a number of new initiatives designed to help us develop as teachers and learners in TESL.

Upcoming TESL WW PD Workshops - check the website regularly for more info!

TESL ONTARIO MEETINGS Since I am new at the TESL Ontario executive, I’d like to tell you what actually happens at the meetings. The TESL Ontario executive meets five times a year. Four working committees meet in the morning and then report back to the whole executive. The working committees are Certification, Conference, Website/Technology, and Public Relations. In the afternoon, we receive reports from the Ministry of Training , Colleges and Universities, from CESBA (Ontario Association of Adult and Continuing Education School Board Administrators), ERGO (ESL-ESD Resource Group of Ontario), ORLAC (Ontario Region LINC Advisory Board ), and TESL Canada. The executive then puts forward responses and initiatives. The goal is to represent both the teachers of TESL Ontario and students and their communities as educational policies and realities on the ground shift and change. Later in the afternoon, the affiliate directors get a chance to meet in order to share news and concerns and to draft requests/suggestions for the Board. We share ideas for P.D., concerns or questions from our members, and suggestions for ways to meet the needs of our membership. RENEWAL OF CERTIFICATION The first group of adult ESL instructors who have come up for renewal of certification have been through the process now. As your date for renewal of certification approaches, you will receive a renewal notice from TESL Ontario. TESL Ontario has begun keeping a record of P.D. hours obtained through TESL Ontario-sponsored events. Some affiliates are also forwarding the names of attendees to their affiliate workshops and conferences. You will be asked for documentation of all P.D. that is not on record. On the website under Certification and Renewal of Certification , you will find "A Checklist for Renewal of the TESL Ontario Certificate" in a PDF format that can be downloaded and completed with documentation of the professional development you have taken. CERTIFICATION

There has been a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition process in place since January for those who missed certification during the grandparenting phase or who have moved to Ontario from another part of Canada or from abroad. Currently, the process is done by correspondence through the University of Saskatchewan. We have had a number of internationally trained teachers go through PLAR already. Lastly, there is a process of appeal in place with respect to certification. Anyone may appeal a ruling through the Appeals Committee (contact TESL Ontario). If you have questions about the process, contact Leslie Sheffer at the TESL Ontario office by telephone ((416) 593-4243 or 1-800-327-4827) OR through the website at teslcertification@telus.net. NEWS We heard at the September meeting that the adult ESL portfolio has moved from MED to MCI (Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration). The responsibility for bridge training for internationally trained professionals is also moving from MTCU (Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities) to MCI. At the same time, a budget increase from CIC of $298 million dollars over five years was announced. Priorities include restoration of program supports such as professional development, salary catch-up, capital costs, transportation allowances, and research and statistical information to enhance programs. COMMUNICATION TESL Ontario has hired a new editor for Contact. Clayton Greaves begins as editor after the October issue, which you can read on the TESL Ontario website. You can now access Contact without having to sign into the members corner. And last, have you looked at our Website LINKS lately? The instructor links are full of neat websites with teaching resources. Let us know if there are more links we should know about! If you want to send questions or concerns to TESL Ontario, or if you just have questions for me, please contact me at lstoutenburg@conestogac.on.ca. I’ll be glad to hear from you. Best, Laura Stoutenburg

Greetings from Our Affiliate Director!

Why Is Renewing My TESL Ontario

Certification Important? There are several reasons. First, your original certification is for five years. From the initial date of certification until it is time to renew, you will have had the opportunity to attend workshops and conferences that will keep you current on the latest findings about learning a language, and the debate about the best ways of teaching ESL. You will also have had chances to share best practices and bright ideas for ESL classes with colleagues at various workshops and conferences. By renewing your certification through submitting proof of participation in these professional development activities, TESL Ontario formally acknowledges your commitment to your professional development. In addition, for those of us employed in LINC programmes funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, we are required to maintain our TESL Ontario certification while we are under contract. In Schedule 4 of the 2005-2006 LINC contracts it states: "LINC instructors who were hired by a LINC funded service provider prior to January 1, 2003 and who have been continuously employed by the same service provider since that time, may continue in that capacity with the same provider. LINC instructors hired by a LINC funded service provider on or after January 1, 2003, must be TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) Ontario Certified at the time of hiring and throughout their employment as a LINC instructor." For ESL instructors who seek employment in a LINC programme funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada it is necessary to demonstrate certification by TESL Ontario. Finally, the Province of Ontario has recently completed a review of its adult education programmes including the delivery of English as a Second Language programmes. In the chapter outlining the "Recommendations for Action" of the Ontario Learns" Strengthening Our Adult Education System the report states that it recommends: "Fostering a culture of excellence in the delivery of adult education through improvements in practice, through professional development, and through the creation of a website for sharing resources, best practices, and the results of adult education research." The landscape of ESL delivery is changing in Ontario as attested by the new provincial Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. Renewing your TESL Ontario certification gives you flexibility in your employment situation.

Spotlight on... whereby we request an overview from an agency affiliated with our ESL learners Kitchener – Waterloo Reception House There is a large, old house located on David Street in Kitchener. From the outside it looks like any other older home in the city. But, as hundreds of immigrants readily attest, this is a very special place, indeed. This is Reception House, the first residence for many individuals and families who come to Kitchener from far away countries. They have come to start a new life and to provide better opportunities for their children. Reception House provides these newcomers with temporary shelter until they find a place to their own. But it provides much more than that to these refugees. It’s their first encounter with Canadian hospitality. It’s an opportunity to meet new friends in a relaxed, informal setting. And it’s a safe way for them to discover what Canada has to offer. How did Reception House begin? It was established in March 1988. For years the Mennonites and the Lutheran Church had been helping refugees settle in Kitchener-Waterloo. During that time the immigrants stayed in various motels until apartments were found for them. In 1987 the government decided that it would be better to receive them in one central location. K-W House Churches, a branch of the Mennonite Church, owned the site on David Street, so it was a natural choice for this purpose. During the first few years of operation, Reception House handled four hundred government-sponsored refugees annually. Now about three hundred pass through its doors each year. The staff becomes their friend to all who pass through the door. Their main job is to help the newcomers feel comfortable, find a place to live, and find a school for the children. Once an apartment has been found, the housing coordinator orders furniture. During the day a staff of two people take care of the residents, and at night there is one staff member there. Reception House can accommodate twenty-six refugees at a time in its twelve bedrooms. The optimum stay for each resident is ten days. All leave feeling more secure than when they arrived. Following are testimonials by one former resident of the Reception House. "After two days traveling to Canada, I was welcomed warmly. My family stayed at Reception House for twelve days. They helped us find an apartment and other necessary things. Two others spoke my language, so it was easy to communicate. All the guests lived like a big family. We shared the living room, kitchen, dinning room and even the bathroom. We met a lot of people from different countries who had their own habits." Mira (Director of KW Reception House)

KPL Goes the Extra Mile with a New Initiative

Kitchener Public Library Connects with Newcomers

Public libraries may not be the first institution you think about when looking for places that assist new Canadians but there is a treasure trove of services, resources, programs and information available you should surely not ignore. Libraries provide access to print, audio-visual and electronic resources for information and for leisure. Most libraries also offer specific collections designed to help ESL learners master the English language and many offer materials in other languages. New Canadians can also take advantage of the free computer use available at most public libraries - a great way to access the Internet, type documents or use email to keep in touch with family and friends at home. And the public library is open evenings and weekends when the school library is closed! The Kitchener Public Library offers all of the above and has taken many steps to enhance services and respond to the needs of an increasing number of new Canadians in the city. KPL has recently subscribed to the Rosetta Stone, an online language instruction program which can be accessed in the Library or at home with an active KPL borrower’s card. KPL has also purchased services from Newspaper Direct and will receive daily newspapers from 10 different countries. The Main library has always carried materials in several other languages and all Community Libraries offer children’s French materials. Recently the library launched a new initiative funded by the K-W Community Foundation to establish small collections of bilingual and unilingual children’s materials at 3 of the branch locations. Based on recent immigration statistics, the Pioneer Park Branch received a collection of Chinese

books, the Country Hills Branch carries Farsi materials and the Forest Heights Branch houses a small Hindi collection. The Grand River Stanley Park Branch offers a collection of books in German. Recently, the Forest Heights Community Library has partnered with their neighbours at Forest Heights Collegiate Institute and The Settlement and Education Partnership Program of Waterloo region to issue a free KPL borrower’s card to all ESL students enrolled at the school. In November, tours of the Branch were offered to students who have been in Canada for two years or less with interpreters available to help translate. There are future plans to offer a Homework Help evening with tutors who speak multiple languages. In the New Year, the Main library will offer an “English Conversation Circle” in partnership with YMCA Cross Cultural & Community Services on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 from January 10 – May 30. This drop-in session will provide an opportunity for people to get together and practice speaking English. KPL is dedicated to developing and enhancing services, programs and resources of specific interest and assistance to our multicultural community. We invite you to visit your local public library branch to discover all that they offer! Check out the KPL website at www.kpl.org for more information or call Susan Bloos or Natalie Gibbons at 743-0271. Susan Bloos is the Manager of the Forest Heights Community Library and Natalie Gibbons is KPL’s Multicultural and Periodicals Librarian.

What is ‘communicative’ about Communicative

Language Teaching?

Barbara Schmenk

Established in the early 1970s, the term "Communicative Language Teaching" (CLT) is widely used nowadays, and it is difficult for teachers to tell exactly what CLT is and what it is not. If we recall the observation that we cannot not communicate (Watzlawick et al., 1967), and that ‘[e]verything human beings do may, in one way or another, be subsumed under the general heading of ‘communication’ (Gordon, 1969, p. ix), we would have to conclude that – one way or another – everything teachers and students do in a classroom may be subsumed under the heading of ‘communicative language teaching.’ After all, how can language teaching – be it pattern drills, grammar-translation approaches, role plays, etc. – not be communicative?! The question emerging from the inflated use of the terms ‘communicative’ and CLT is therefore: What exactly is it that distinguishes CLT from merely ‘communicating in language teaching’? What is ‘communicative’ about CLT?1. Looking back: the emergence of CLT

Although there are numerous sources that would be worth recalling, I will limit the following retrospective view to three texts that have arguably played a central role in the development of CLT: Hymes’ theory of communicative competence (1972), the development of the functional-notional syllabus (e.g., Wilkins 1972), and Canale and Swain’s theoretical framework of CLT (1980).

Communicative competence The term ‘communicative competence’ was introduced in the 1960s by the American anthropologist and ethnographer Dell Hymes. Broadly speaking, Hymes sought to investigate people’s practices of community-building, specifically individuals’ successes and failures in doing so, a research focus that eventually led him to reflect on the role of language and communication. Hence, in the course of his studies, Hymes came across Noam Chomsky’s (1965) distinction between performance (actual speech) and competence (knowledge of grammar-rules which Chomsky declared the object of linguistic study); however, Hymes did not consider this view of language and the distinction between competence and performance very helpful. Communication, Hymes observed, often works even though interactants may make mistakes; and communication may very well fail even though interactants use perfect grammatical and syntactical structures.

This observation led Hymes to coin the term ‘communicative competence’ that comprises (but is not confined to) dimensions of both performance and competence in the Chomskyan sense, and that seeks to pay adequate tribute to the social context of communicative events and the respective interlocutors. He developed the following, oft-cited four parameters of the ‘communicative’ which add up to our ‘communicative competence’:

Whether (and to what degree) something is formally possible;

Whether (and to what degree) something is feasible in virtue of the means of implementation available;

Whether (and to what degree) something is appropriate (adequate, happy, successful) in relation to a context in which it is used and evaluated;

Whether (and to what degree) something is in fact done, actually performed, and what its doing entails. (Hymes, 1972, p. 281)

Evidently, this framework is based on a view of language as a means of communication, of constructing shared meanings, communities, and cultures. Only the first parameter is to do with morphosyntactical correctness (the sole focus of the Chomskyan concept of competence), and especially the third and the fourth dimension broaden the view of language in social and cultural contexts (3) and language as used by actual communicators (4). And while this model is immediately appealing to anyone dealing with language and communication practice, it is important to keep in mind that Hymes was neither a linguist nor a language teacher. Both groups of people, however, referred to his framework for their own purposes – a fact that has led to much misunderstanding and misinterpretation of both the dimension of the ‘communicative’ and communicative competence. It is important, therefore, to acknowledge the potentials as well as the limitations of Hymes’ framework with regard to our field of interest: Communicative competence, according to Hymes, is a descriptive, open category. As such, it does does not provide a framework for (normative) categories in language teaching and curricula. This, however, was sought to be done by other language educators. The functional-notional syllabus At roughly the same time, European language educators were faced with what could be called a pedagogical crisis. Language learning had become a prerequisite for successful European integration and cooperation; however, the actual results of language instruction were rather unsatisfactory. The Council of Europe established the "Modern Language Project," which dealt with, among other questions, curriculum design. It was in this context

Scholarly Works

that David Wilkins’ works on language teaching and the role of notions and functions of language were considered. Wilkins conceded that "[h]owever fluent one’s mastery of a language – fluent in the sense of the ease with which grammatically acceptable sentences can be constructed and produced – it will serve as nothing if one cannot use it to achieve the desired communication effects. Language teaching therefore must be concerned with effective communication" (Wilkins, 1972, p. 146). The expression ‘effective communication’ does indeed resemble what Dell Hymes called communicative competence – at least on the surface. However, Wilkins’ approach considerably differed from Hymes’ conceptualizations. The former attempted to establish a list of ‘notions’ that he believed speakers should be able to express in a language. Wilkins even believed that the notions he had identified were universal, i.e. that each language expresses basically the same ideas (Wilkins, 1972, p. 148). These notions included, e.g., expressing opinions, family issues, shopping, etc. Today, we can of course no longer ignore the culture-blindness involved in such reasoning, but in the early 1970s these arguments marked an important shift in language teaching and curriculum design, for this was the beginning of a new era: the functional-notional syllabus that consisted of tables of language functions and lexical notions. As Wilkins put it, the "advantage of the notional syllabus is that it takes the communicative facts of language into account […]. It is potentially superior to the grammatical syllabus because it will produce a communicative competence" (Wilkins, 1976., p. 19; my emphasis.). Here we are faced with the term ‘communicative competence’ again; however, this time it means something rather different from what Hymes had had in mind when he reflected on successful and less successful communicative events. It was precisely the unforeseeable nature of communication that led Hymes to call linguistic descriptions of ‘language as a rule-governed practice’ into question. In the functional-notional syllabus, however, ‘communication’ was attempted to be described in terms of its underlying rules and lexico-grammatical forms. The openness of an adequate framework to study communicative competence as demanded by Hymes was thus neglected. Besides that, the focus of teaching was on (written and spoken) speech production – the important dimensions of reading and listening, the differences between written and spoken discourse, as well as their significance within the learning process were often neglected and underestimated. From teaching communicative competence to CLT In 1980, Michael Canale and Maryll Swain published their widely-read article on communicative language teaching. The authors summed up the vast amount of literature on communicative competence and CLT that had been published in the 1970s, and they developed a

framework for communicative competence in CLT. According to Canale and Swain (1980, pp. 29ff), communicative competence is composed of:

Grammatical competence Sociolinguistic competence (appropriateness/sociocultural rules) Strategic competence (communication strategies)

Unlike proponents of the functional-notional syllabus, Canale and Swain argued that much remained to be done in research on language education, for it was not at all obvious what exactly learners would need to learn in order to become competent in the above sense. 2. Looking back: the career of CLT in language education. At this point it becomes obvious that CLT is not – and never has been – a coherent approach to the teaching of languages. Rather, it has been an ongoing work-in-progress approach that has brought about numerous ideas and concepts related to language teaching and learning, all centred around the terms ‘communication’ and ‘communicative competence.’ However, as each of these concepts slightly differs from others, the application of such considerations to the language classroom inevitably led to diverse practices, not necessarily to a well-founded praxis. The meanings of ‘communicative competence’ and ‘communication’ in language education had soon turned into more than just a collection of lists of language course objectives, but into a method of teaching as well. Not only were language learners to become ‘communicatively competent,’ but language instruction itself was to be ‘communicative’ in nature, i.e., communication was considered a means as well as an end to language teaching. This expansion of the ‘communicative’ led to yet more irritations, for soon the fields of language teaching and learning had turned into a ‘communicative’ business throughout. The term ‘communicative’ then served to signify teaching methods, classroom interactions, tasks and exercises, curricula, learning objectives, etc. In short: somehow everything about language teaching was to be communicative. And the term ‘communicative’ became increasingly fuzzy. Here, I would argue, we find the most compelling reason for much of the current confusion among many language teachers. The word ‘communicative’ has been used so often and in so many different ways that today it is almost impossible to tell what ‘communicative’ is or could be in CLT. Yet if we wish to maintain that communication is of central importance in language teaching (which I think it should be), and that communicative competence is to be fostered (not only) in language education, we need to rethink what exactly we mean by ‘communication’ and ‘communicative,’ and which implications our views of the

respective terms have for language teaching and learning. 3. CLT then and now. Looking back at CLT in practice, we can summarize that there is a widespread lack of reflection when it comes to applying theoretical insights into ‘communication’ and ‘communicative competence’ to language teaching praxis. This is due primarily to the insecurity as to the notion of ‘communication’ itself; which has led to four problems in CLT that have remained partially unresolved: ‘Communication’ is often limited to fluent speech production in face-to-face interaction. This has led many to neglect written discourse and to underestimate the significance of receptive dimensions of language use. The focus on communication was mistaken by many to mean grammar-free language instruction. Although the importance of structural aspects of language had been stressed by many proponents of CLT and communicative competence (for example, Dell Hymes’ first parameter, or Canale and Swain’s first component of communicative competence), the teaching of grammar as an integral part of communicative events of all sorts often caused problems. One can suspect that this was due largely to the desire to overcome old habits of language instruction – however, the pendulum often swung too far in the other direction and grammar was considered not necessary in order to communicate meaning. Even though many researchers had pointed out that communication was to a large extent dependent on local social and cultural frames and regulations, the practice of CLT often turned out to be culture-blind. One simply assumed that learners need to learn how to express the communicative needs that had been determined in advance. In retrospect, even a brief view of textbooks from the 1980s today shows us that the culture-blindness of dialogues on travelling, shopping, etc. is blatantly obvious. However, this was not at all evident to many colleagues some twenty years ago – the rise of intercultural awareness was yet to come. The notions of ‘communication’ were often derived from common sense rather than from theoretical insights, which led to simplified notions of communication as any form of interaction (a phenomenon called "McCommunication" by David Block [2002]). As Henry Widdowson, one of the earliest proponents of communicative language teaching recently argued: "Communication [...] is not simply a matter of issuing semantic tokens of fixed meaning […]. That is to say, it involves engaging with the shared assumptions, values, beliefs, and conventions of behaviour that define the culture in particular discourse communities" (Widdowson, 2003, p. 67). Reflecting on the origins of CLT may allow us to critically re-examine to what extent language programs can really

claim to be ‘communicative’ in focus and to help students achieve ‘communicative competence.’ In order to avoid the problems outlined above, we have to remind ourselves that communication is much more than just verbalizing intentions. If teachers are aware of the above problems, we can begin to think about how to avoid them: The focus of language instruction ought to be on receptive as well as on productive dimensions of language. Given that it is impossible to break down ‘communication’ into distinct units that add up to an even remotely ‘complete’ set of tools for ‘managing communicative events,’ we have to accept that we can only teach exemplary units of ‘communication’. With respect to receptive domains, however, we could shift our learning objectives: learners are to develop a sense for language use in sociocultural contexts, i. e. issues such as register, social and situational appropriacy, sociocultural aspects of discourse conventions, speaker and writer constructions in discourse, etc. In short, I would suggest that what we need to focus on ‘communicative awareness.’ This does of course not exclude a focus on productive skills; however, receptive skills should be given much more weight than often thought in the past. Ignoring grammar in CLT has often been criticized – and all of us have had to deal with (and maybe continue to deal with) the outcomes of grammar-free instruction. The role of grammar in CLT has been widely debated; however, developing lessons and ideas for teaching that integrate grammatical points into a more comprehensive meaning-focused class remains an ongoing challenge to language teachers. Here we will always need to be creative as teachers – there is no recipe that simply tells us once and for all ‘how to teach grammar in a meaningful communicative context’! The culture-blindness of many early teaching materials following a CLT approach has begun to be eliminated. Keeping in mind that anything to do with communication and communicative competence is deeply rooted in community-based habits, regulations, etc. that are themselves constantly changing will caution us in this respect. Developing an awareness of the many dimensions of actual communicative events will lead learners to be more sensitized towards ‘communication’ in general, and not to simply assume that their own experiences and ways of interacting are somehow universally applicable, comprehensible, or appropriate. 4. Reframing the ‘communicative’ The complexity of communication (especially in our current age of digitalization) calls for a heightened sensitivity towards communication among language learners. As mentioned above, the highly complex and diverse issues related to the ‘communicative’ today call for a focus on both receptive and productive dimension of communication. Dealing with internet sites in a foreign language, ordering items via the net from another country, reading

instructions in another language, participating in online chats, etc. are ‘new’ communicative situations learners are faced with, in addition to numerous others. Therefore it is especially important in our ‘age of communication’ that communicative competence be fostered in language education. Of course this cannot solely be done in EFL or ESL courses. But in one way or another, I would

suspect that it is particularly in the EFL and ESL classroom that learners can develop a heightened sensitivity towards language and communication. After all, the very ‘foreignness’ of the language they are learning might allow them to understand more about communication that they ever did in their first languages.

References Block, David. (2003). ‘McCommunication.’ A problem in the Frame for SLA. In Block, David & Cameron, Deborah. (Eds.). Globalization and Language Teaching. (pp. 117-133). London/New York: Routledge. Canale, Michael & Swain, Merryll. (1980). Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing. Applied Linguistics, 1, 1-47. Chomsky, Noam. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Gordon, G. (1969): The language of communication: A logical and psychological approach. New York: Pantheon. Hymes, Dell H. (1972). On Communicative Competence. In Pride, J. B. & Holmes, Janet. (Eds.). Sociolinguistics. Selected Readings (pp. 269-293). Harmondsworth: Penguin. Widdowson, Henry G. (2003). Defining Issues in English Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wilkins, David. (1972). Linguistics and Language Teaching. London: Arnold. Wilkins, David (1976). Notional Syllabuses. A Taxonomy and Its Relevance to Foreign Language Curriculum Development. London: Oxford University Press. Watzlawick, P., Bavelas, J. B. & Jackson, D. D. (1967). Pragmatics of Human Communication. New York: W W Norton.

Article Review "Increasing Reading Achievement of Students from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds" By Kathryn Brillinger In an article in the journal Preventing School Failure (Fall2005, Vol. 50 Issue 1, p41-44), McCollin,; O'Shea, and Algozzine discuss the importance of phonological awareness to the process of learning to read in a second language. Their article is based on the assumption (supported by current research) that second language learners are limited in their phonological awareness (awareness of the sounds, syllables and words that make up a stream of speech) of the target language and that this impedes reading progress. They recommend explicit instruction in awareness of the various parts of spoken language before proceeding to decoding text for meaning.

The authors recommend "infusing culturally diverse materials and early reading opportunities to arouse students’ interests" (p. 41). These activities should first require the students to manipulate the spoken language. For example, pictures of various cultural dresses could be shown, rhymes practiced, spelling patterns highlighted and then short sentences read. For a picture of a sari, the students could focus on the sound /iy/, examine the sound and then practice "The sari is green and worn by a teen." For a picture of an angry girl in a pair of jeans they could work on "The girl is in jeans and looks very mean." The authors recommend finding pictures in books etc but with the advent of digital cameras a group of teachers could easily create a set of culturally and emotionally diverse pictures for use in their centre or the students could be given the task of bringing in as many styles of dress as possible and, as a class, photographing scenes from which to work.

Helping Newcomers from Asia Adapt to Our Education System How well prepared are we to help newcomers adjust to our school settings? Wasonga (2005) predicts that "Issues of diversity could apply to a quarter of the school population by 2010." Cochran-Smith (2003) asks "What knowledge, interpretive frameworks, beliefs and attitudes are necessary to teach diverse populations effectively, particularly what knowledge and beliefs about culture and its role in schooling?" This article is a brief, beginning look at what we may need to think about in order to help Asian students and is an invitation for future suggests from other teachers in the region. My experience leads me to believe that there are two major areas that impact on the adjustment of Asian students and that these areas are easily addressed to the benefit of both teacher and student. These areas are "Conceptual Fluency" and paralinguistic skills. Conceptual Fluency Theory (Adapted from Danesi & Mollica 1998) states that if second language learners use the second language as a carrier of the metaphors and conceptions of their first culture then miscommunication is bound to occur continuously. The learner must examine the cultural concepts behind the words as he/she learns and uses new vocabulary. For example, the word bike will conjure up images of recreation for most Canadians and images of transportation for most Chinese. The phrase "have a coffee" will mean a 15 minute break and a paper cup for many Canadians but a social time of 30 minutes to many Asians. The concept of education involves images of varied activities and slow development of skills and abilities to many Canadian teachers but for most Asian teachers the image of studying and memorization and hard work and final exams is stronger. If we don’t examine and discuss our varying views of terms and concepts with our ESL students, many mismatches will occur and these mismatches can engender confusion and resentment. An example of confusion is a Muslim student thinking his teacher had some religious intent in writing TGIF on the board. An example of resentment is a Chinese student who recently told me she dropped a LINC Level Five program after a week when she saw the teacher was not serious and gave them nothing to study. When I asked what she had expected, she replied "Words to memorize and exercises to practice grammar." Her concept of ESL learning did not match the Canadian teacher’s concept of ESL teaching. While preparing a presentation for Business teachers in the college where I work, I surveyed several teachers and Asian students to see where they had mismatches in their observations that might reveal a lack of conceptual fluency in terms of each others’ cultures. The Canadian college teachers observed the following in Asian students:

• non participation, passive in learning • lack of questioning • hard working, good studiers • no indications of understanding • lack of understanding, don’t follow instructions correctly • writing that simply reproduces without critical/independent thinking • tendency to plagiarize • dependency on teacher, lack of autonomy in study practices, problems in group work • a preference for well-structured classes where they are given a lot of clear information to write down and later

memorize • come in groups to get help, have a ring-leader • can seem alternatively demanding/too quiet

The Chinese students said they had observed:

• teachers/lessons not well organized • a lot of time wasted on group work • students can fall behind and not be helped • teachers ask questions for which they don’t know the answer • what needs to be studied/memorized is not clear • role of teacher changes even within a class • teachers look surprised/annoyed when asked for extra explanations and practice • teachers aren’t available during study times (which they said in China could be up to 5 or 6 pm as students often

stay late at school to study) An examination of the list above suggests many areas for discussion with new students so that they can understand the Canadian concepts attached to education. A second area in which Asian students may need guidance is the area of paralinguistic expectations in Canada. Some Canadian expectations:

• Head Nodding (2-3 times when all is normal) • Eye Contact (in response to teacher scanning of class) • Gestures (3-4 per utterance/use of the 5 types/allowed area) • Proxemics (classic "handshake distance) • Silence (under 2 seconds whereas in Asia silent periods in response to questions can last up to 15 seconds

with no filler.) In many Asian cultures stillness of the body, silence and non-intrusive eye use is equated with the highest ideals of development and education. The above is just a brief look at how we can help students from diverse backgrounds navigate in our school systems. Teachers can begin to articulate the ways in which the problems encountered by Asian students and other new groups may be problems of "conceptual fluency" rather than language skills. Teachers can begin to examine instances where it is paralinguistic fluency that is causing confusion, alienation, resentment rather than language issues per say. As front line teachers in ESL we can start to dialogue on these issues and share ideas so that our students have better chances of being successful. Kathryn Brillinger, November 2005

The following are new resources reported at TESL Ontario. 1. New Moves: an orientation video for newcomer students. Produced by Frameline Productions (20 minutes)

www.settlement.org/site/ed/guide/videos for more info. Funded by CIC Originally produced to help newcomer teens and young adults understand the differences in culture and educational systems, but found to b useful to teachers, guidance counsellors, settlement workers, parents and Canadian-born-youth -in diversity and equity in schools and society.

An accompanying User's Guide outlines activities, points of discussion and interest for various user groups.

2. Alphabet puzzles, Hindi and Punjabi, suitable for Heritage Language programs with young learners,

www.hnptoys.com $10.00 each 3. My Talking Dictionary in 38 different bilingual editions 4. ESL/ELD curriculum documents have undergone revision and are due for release in spring 2007 5. ESL Teacher's Guide for 2006 Census

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This newsletter is about the recent reports concerning ESL by the Auditor General and The Ontario Public School Boards Association. www.settlement.org/edguide (Editor's Note: a crucial bit of reading for any teachers of elementary or secondary ESL/ELD students, or the teachers of the parents of such students.) See the Newcomers' Guides to Elementary & Secondary School, www.settlement.org/edguide New Moves A video for newcomer secondary school students! www.settlement.org/site/ed/guide/videos Your Library - a video about library services for newcomers www.settlement.org/site/ed/guide/videos Meeting the Teacher - a video on Parent Teacher Interviews COMING SOON Peter Dorfman, Provincial Coordinator Settlement Workers in Schools 416 534 7319 416 534 1464 f .........................................................................................................................................................................………………………............................... There is a 2006 Census Teacher's Kit. It is available in CD-ROM or paper format. The kit can be used in elementary, intermediate, secondary, and adult classes across the country. The government ad says, "Each kit provides teachers of various subjects with innovative classroom materials that deal with the 2006 Census. Ready-to-use activities, that require minimal preparation time, have been classroom-tested and approved by educators." How to order Teacher's Kit To obtain your FREE 2006 Census Teacher's Kit and materials, choose one of these options: *Download the Teacher's Kit at www.census2006.ca (available starting January 2006) *Order online now at www.census2006.ca (for delivery in February, March or April 2006) www19.statcan.ca/11/11_000_e.htm#03a and they have an interesting school project at www19.statcan.ca/r000_e.htm.

Hey! Look Over Here!

Community Literacy of Ontario Literacy Basics Community Literacy of Ontario is very pleased to introduce Literacy Basics: www.nald.ca/literacybasics. Literacy Basics is a free, self-directed online training website for Ontario literacy practitioners. This innovative training website was researched, written and designed by Community Literacy of Ontario (www.nald.ca/clo.htm). Literacy Basics was funded by the National Literacy Secretariat, HRSDC. Literacy Basics removes many of the barriers to training faced by literacy practitioners. It reduces travel time, travel costs and scheduling conflicts. It also minimizes the lack of local availability and the lack of time to attend training in more traditional settings. Literacy Basics contains the following training modules:

1. Initial and Ongoing Assessment 2. Instructional Strategies 3. Exit and Follow-Up 4. Volunteer Management

(Mail from an ESL teacher working in a unique setting) Greetings from Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan! Japan is one of those places you either love or hate. It can at first seem familiar with all its shopping malls and modern technology. It is, however, anything but. Upon arriving here for the first time in 1999, I had little idea of what was in store. I would never have dreamed I would find a profession I love, meet my husband and leave Japan only to return years later to a place we now consider home. My first three years in Japan were spent teaching English to kindergarten and elementary school children at various schools. Following this my husband, Sean, and I returned to North America where we achieved a satisfactory lifestyle, but one certainly not the equal of the life we had enjoyed in Japan. Drawn back to this enigmatic land after three years in the United States, we find ourselves in a profession we enjoy and a culture with which we feel comfortable. Teaching is a very respected profession in Japan and many ESL teachers feel very appreciated for the work they do. I work for the JET Programme which hires people from around the world to teach in junior high and high schools throughout Japan. There are 136 AETs (Assistant English Teachers) working in Nagano Prefecture this year, 23 of them from Canada. Japanese students must write entrance exams for high school and are then placed in schools specific to ability and interest. I work at three very different schools, and thus am privy to a wide-ranging experience.

At Fukashi Senior High School in Matsumoto, I teach high level English to first year students. Most of the students will go on to Japan's top universities which require a solid grasp of English reading and writing. In Japan, rote memorization and proficiency in reading/writing tend to trump the more practical skill of speaking competence. For this reason the Japanese are very knowledgeable in English grammar and sentence structure but find it difficult to communicate in spoken English. My students often complain that they know the textbook backwards and forwards, but speaking memorized phrases only gets you so far in the real world. My job as a high school ESL teacher primarily revolves around being available to the students to converse in English and to help them to feel comfortable speaking with native and listening to speakers. For lessons I plan activities and group work which aim to compliment the lesson we are studying in the textbook. Outside of class I

From Afar

try to be as available to students as possible, whether eating lunch with them or simply being at my desk where they can easily find me. In schools in Japan it is common for students to visit teachers in the staffroom when they have a query. At any point during the day when classes are not in session, the office fills with students seeking help. My desk area is normally crowded with second and third year students seeking advice on how to effectively study or just wanting conversation practice. One of the advantages of teaching at a high academic school is that the students can easily converse in English. Fukashi students are incredibly well behaved and respectful. They are studious and quiet, which can be challenging, but creates a calm atmosphere in a class of 40 students. The need to discipline students for using their cell phones or hand-held games in class is rare. And when they fall asleep in class, which they do, it's easy to assume it's because they have been up all night studying. Teaching at an agricultural school, however, is the exact opposite. The students at my visit school, South Azumi Agriculture High School, are there primarily to study biology and horticulture, not English. They are rowdy and full of life. Unlike at Fukashi, when I ask a question I get five answers at once, albeit in Japanese. My personal goal there is to show the students that learning English can be fun, so if they do decide to pursue study they have a good impression. Each week I choose a theme, then create a lesson plan around it with the intention of having as much hands on participation as possible. Once a month I visit a school for the mentally and physically disabled called Kotobukidai. I have no training in special education, so my first visit was preceded by anxious worry. However the teachers want only for me to be a friend to the students and plan fun activities to take advantage of the short time I'm there. The school focuses on art activities, giving the students control of their projects. We paint, sing and play games in English. One class even taught me how to hand-build pottery. Most high schools in Japan require students to wear uniforms; however, in Nagano Prefecture that is not the case. The students display wild clothes, spiked and dyed hair, piercings and the odd tattoo. This outward show of individuality is quite out of place in Japan, and perhaps a sign of how some of the basic cultural underpinnings of this county may be changing. Whether the change is for better or worse remains to be seen.

Whereas western society is focused on individuality, Japan functions on group theory and the idea that everyone in the group should portray the same characteristics. Japan is a very homogeneous country, both ethnically and linguistically. People of Korean and Chinese decent bring a little diversity, but still about 99 per cent of the population speaks Japanese as their first language. Add to this the fact that Japan is an island country, known to be expensive; the tourism industry caters to Japanese tourists, not foreigners. Whereas in Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, which thrive on foreign tourism, it is beneficial to speak English, in Japan it is almost never necessary. This lack of diversity matched with the traditionally humble Japanese character, makes it very difficult for ESL teachers to encourage their students to practice speaking English. The first year students at Fukashi write journals to help express their feelings and opinions in English with the ultimate goal of speaking these opinions. This is actually probably more fun for me as I get an inside view of Japanese teen culture through their writing. For Halloween I had them write a spooky story and was extremely impressed with the results. Japanese people tend to be quite superstitious so there was no lack of creativity. Many of them wrote about ghostly encounters they had as children, some translated Japanese folktales, but the majority wrote about `kanashibari`. This rare occurrence is when one wakes up in the middle of the night `rooted` to the bed and can’t move for several seconds. It seems to have become a trend among high school students. Taking a lead from my students, I now write a journal in Japanese and have one of the third year students mark it each week. I am amazed at how much my Japanese has improved through this routine. In studying a complex language such as Japanese, it is easy to understand why the Japanese have such a difficult time learning English. Not only is the Japanese writing system composed of thousands of characters, it is a very manner based language, making it difficult to know the proper words to use in a given situation. English is just as challenging, if not more so, with all it's nuances, slang, idioms and accents. My experiences in Japan have been a brilliant mix of excitement and challenge; never boring, always rewarding. I never stop learning from the students and other teachers. The day I do is the day I stop using my full potential as an English teacher. Best Wishes, Sarah Kistler

A Good Read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver This very compelling novel is a suspenseful epic of one misguided missionary family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa. The story, from 1959 through to 1998, is told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce Evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it, from garden seeds to Scripture, is calamitously transformed, irrelevant or useless on African soil. His determination to convert the Natives of the Congo to Christianity is, we gradually discover, foolhardy and dangerous, unsanctioned by the church administration and doomed by Nathan’s self-righteousness. Narrating the story by turns are the sharply witty and observant daughters who arrive in the Congo with racial preconceptions forged in the 1950’s in Georgia and are soon transformed by their new found knowledge and friendships. Cultural and spiritual conflicts, confusion and revelation, hunger and pleasure, cruelties and kindness, suffering and love all combine with the day-to-day life in Africa’s villages during the Congo’s fight for independence from Belgium and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Kingsolver shares her insight and compassion for the Congo, including its people, the wisdom of their ancient cultures and their language and sayings. --Lorraine Lasmanis

Girl of Kosovo by Alice Mead An 11-year-old Albanian, Zana Dugolli, is confronted with the seeds and consequences of generations of ethnic rivalry when the Serb military brutally crushes ethnic Albanians' aspirations for independence in Kosovo. Among the casualties are her two brothers and her father who against all odds implored his children not to let hate take root in their hearts. Understandably, Zana finds this loving example nearly impossible to follow when her ankle is shattered following a Serb attack and her Serbian girlfriend continues to enjoy a different standard of living. Hard hitting, graphic details make this a grim read but Zana discovers unlikely friends along the way. Her courage and hope is put to the ultimate test making her too early journey to adulthood both sad and hopeful. Year of No Rain By Alice Mead Farrar Ages 9-12 Eleven-year-old Stephen Majok embarks on a brave and harrowing journey after soldiers raid his drought-stricken village in war-torn southern Sudan with his mother slaughtered and his sister missing, Stephen seeks refuge, food and water, but desperately yearns for home. Mead sensitively conveys the traumatic effects of war on children and families.

Reviews by Barb Dickie (found on the Internet)

The Heaven Shop by Deborah Ellis This novel, by the author of The Breadwinner, looks at the plight of the AIDS orphans in Malawi through the eyes of Binti, the child star of a local radio drama. After the unexpected death of her father, Binti and her siblings are forced to leave their home and travel to different parts of the country. Binti learns first hand about the hardships and prejudice faced by those whose lives have come into contact with the disease, as well as about the vision of others who recognize that all people are family. --Wanda Murison

The Professional's Shelf

A Good View Water The third in a trilogy by Deepa Mehta, this film examines the practice of sending widows to live out a miserable life sentence in an ashram, a practice that continues to this day. Set in 1938 as Ghandi was rising to power, and seen through the experiences of Chuyia, an eight-year-old widow, we meet the other widows, young, old, accepting, bitter or hopeful. Despite the harsh topic, the film is tenderly rendered with stunning cinematography and a superb soundtrack. --Elly Campbell-Lawrence Sahara This non-stop action movie covers ground geographically and time wise as it moves from the civil war in the United States to modern day South Africa. A W.H.O. doctor investigating the causes of a mysterious disease, and an antique hunter from America cross paths in this exciting film. --Jullia Williams In This World Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Tells of the hazardous journey of two Afghan boys as they travel from Pakistan through Iran, Turkey, Italy, France and the UK in search of refuge in London, revealing the desperate measures people take to escape persecution and life-threatening conditions. Special features: Behind-the-scenes footage with commentary from Michael Winterbottom and Tony Grisoni; director's introduction from the Sundance Film Series; U.S. and UK theatrical trailers; production notes and biographies; highlights from the 2003 Sundance Film Series.

So it's the end of the term, and our students decide to express their gratitude by presenting each of the instructors with a lovely bouquet of flowers. Each bouquet had one of those little cards with a message. All of us got the one which read: "In loving memory." --Dara Lane A few years back, one of my most capable ESL Keyboarding students was acing all his assignments and speed tests. When I asked him how he was liking the computer course, he said, "It's okay." Surprised at such an unenthusiastic answer from such a motivated student, I pushed for clarification. "Well", he said, "I thought it was going to be, you know, like a piano." Poor kid. --Elly Campbell-Lawrence

Our Beautiful, Brave Students

All pictures were taken from Microsoft ClipArt Gallery.