![[Linguistics 577]](images/teslbutn.gif)
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Major Learning Activities |
Contacting TESOL PublishersFor this assignment you will need to (1) contact at least five major TESOL publishers and request to be put on their mailing lists (to receive catalogs, flyers, etc.) and (2) submit a brief report (one page maximum) explaining which publishers you contacted and how they responded. The names and telephone numbers of a number of major TESOL publishers are provided.Designated Reader Team PresentationsAs a valuable alternative to teacher lectures, you and your classmates will be assigned to give in-class presentations on an area of ESOL teaching methodology that you have been designated to read about in our textbook.Final ExaminationsThere are two final examinations in this course. The first one is an in-class teaching demonstration. In this lesson, your teaching objective may be skills or content related to the English language or (preferably) another language-one which your classmates do not know-to make the teaching and learning more authentic. The second examination will take the form of a brief oral interview (as if you were being interviewed for an ESOL teaching job). The possible questions for this interview will be developed in our class and given to you in advance.Journal Article ReportsHere you will find a list of the TESOL-oriented periodicals in the HBLL. Before your assigned date, you will need to go to the library, find an article that is pertinent to the topic(s) being discussed in class, read and understand it, and then present a summary (oral and written) to the class. Be sure to follow the guidelines for preparing your written summary. Your grade is also based on how well you follow those instructions.Lesson Plan Creation and Sharing![[Lesson Plan Data Base]](images/LessonPlan.gif) After receiving instruction in and examples of what constitutes a good lesson plan (and the possible variations), you will create lesson plans for the various language skill and content areas as they are discussed in class. (These lesson plans are apart from those you make for the teaching practicum.) Every student in our class will not need to create a lesson plan in every area. You will sign up to do lesson plan presentations in two different areas. One of these presentations will take a "micro-teaching" format (maximum length=10 min.). In this presentation, you will present ("teach") your lesson to class members who will act as students. In the other lesson plan presentation, you will explain ("walk through") a different lesson plan to a group of your classmates. In both cases, you will be expected to use the feedback you receive for (1) conducting a self-evaluation and (2) revising your plans accordingly. After you have revised your lesson plan, you will need to submit it electronically so that it can be posted on the WWW and kept in a database of lesson plans. Unless you state otherwise, it will be assumed that you grant permission for this storage, duplication, and distribution of your lesson plans. Log of Practicum ExperiencesAs you go through your teaching practicum experience, you create a teaching log book which consists of written, reflective evaluations of your own and your mentor teachers' teaching, your lesson plans, as well as sample teaching materials (handouts, visuals, etc.). For a set of reflective questions to guide your thinking and writing, see Dr. Henrichsen. This log book, along with other work you do this semester, will form the beginning of a teaching portfolio and will be submitted to the 577 teacher for evaluation near the end of the course. The evaluation criteria are listed here. Please attach this sheet to the front of your log when you submit it. Sample pages from a good teaching log are available.Materials EvaluationsYou will need to find (in the HLRC, the HBLL, the bookstore, or elsewhere) a textbook, software, instructional WWW site, or other material for teaching English to speakers of other languages and then analyze and report on it. This evaluation will be done in two stages. The first involves creating a checklist-style form for evaluating materials and then filling it out for the book/material you have chosen. The second stage will take the form of publishable quality book review (see criteria and samples on on the WWW). You are encouraged to submit this review to a professional TESL journal (such as the I-TESOL Newsletter, TESOL Journal, or TESL Reporter) (review editors' names and addresses are on the WWW) and earn extra credit.Materials FileA major assignment in the materials area is the creation of a file of ESOL teaching materials (pictures, tapes, transparencies, readings, figures, etc.). Specific guidelines regarding the types and numbers of items expected in the file are on the WWW syllabus. You will be introduced to facilities on campus (such as the media lab in the McKay Building) where you can produce such materials. At the end of the semester, you will show the entire file to the teacher for evaluation. On that day, please bring the criteria sheet (page ix in your packet) with the top part filled out. A valuable related activity is sharing this file with classmates on the day set aside for this demonstration.Observations of Varying Types of ESOL ClassesYou are expected to observe as wide a variety of ESOL classes as possible (high-level, low-level; skill-based, integrated; for adults, children; at the ELC, UVCC, public schools, video-taped in non-U.S. settings, etc.) in order to gain an awareness of the breadth of the profession and the many adaptations that must be made when teaching ESOL under varying circumstances. Possible sites for these observations are found on the WWW. So are the evaluation criteria for your observation reports and a sample report. You will do at least two observations (outside of your practicum experience) and write a report on each. The first observation report will be relatively informal, employing a "fill-in-the blank" type of format. The second will be a formal, written report. In it, among other things, you will be expected to report on one of the "Another Set of Eyes" observation procedures you employed. You will also exchange observation reports with other students and evaluate one another's work. As you read what your peers have written, you will have a beneficial vicarious observation experience, learn from the good examples you see, and provide useful feedback to each other.PracticumA major learning activity in 577 is the teaching practicum. This lab experience involves you-observing and teaching a class of real ESL learners at BYU's English Language Center. You will be assigned to work with a series of experienced teacher/mentors at the ELC for a few weeks each. The total amount of in-class observation and teaching time expected of you comes to a total of 780 minutes. Normally, this is distributed among three different sessions (260 minutes each) at the ELC. Since ELC classes run 65 minutes each, you ordinarily observe/assist/teach in four of these classes per session. If you have questions about your responsibilities, please see the guidelines on the Mentor Teacher Response Sheets (in your packet) or contact my assistant. You will be responsible to see that each of your mentor teachers fills out and sends a Mentor Teacher Response Sheet (packet pp. xiii-xv) to me. During eight of the weeks that the practicum is being carried out, our 577 class will not meet on Tuesdays.
Reading and Discussing Assigned Chapters from Methodology TextbooksMethodology readings (primarily from the Brown Teaching by Principles textbook and the printed course packet). It is from and through these readings that you will gain much of the theoretical understanding that must underlie your teaching practices if you are to be successful. To help you understand them, study questions (that you will be expected to use-as well as evaluate and revise) prepared by 577 students in previous semesters are linked on the course calendar.
Teacher LecturesAccompanying and supplementing the assigned readings, lectures and discussions led by the teacher are another major learning activity. Nevertheless, in this course it is intended that student activities (presentations, reports, discussions, etc. ) and demonstrations will predominate.TESL-L Reading and ReportsIn this alternate (or extra credit) activity, instead of reading and reporting on periodical articles from the library, you will become involved with TESL professionals around the world on a listserv (electronic discussion group) called TESL-L. You will do this over the Internet. You can subscribe to TESL-L (for free!) by following the instructions provided on the WWW. When other class members report on what they read in the library, you can report on the electronic mail you have read.Viewing of Video Taped LessonsThe Longman Teacher Training Through Video tapes shown in class will provide an important, popular, and beneficial activity for you. Before class, you will need to do as homework the readings and focus questions (found in your paper packet) which accompany each tape. In class, we will discuss the reading and questions and then view the tape as a group. While doing so, you should look for the items noted on the accompanying checklist and then discuss what you saw with the 577 teacher and other class members, thus building our understanding of the particular techniques being demonstrated and the teaching process in general.
Virtual Class DiscussionsSeveral times during the semester, in lieu of regular class sessions, we will conduct electronic discussions of designated chapters in the Brown textbook. Before the due date for each of these discussions, you will need to read the entire assigned chapter, write a paragraph or two describing your reaction to the chapter (what you learned, whether you agree, connections with experiences you have had, etc.), and send your paragraph to the class electronic discussion group on Route Y. Your reaction paragraphs will be sent to everyone in the Ling 577 discussion group automatically. You will then be expected to read these reactions and send your reaction to the electronic discussion group by the next day.
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