TESL 0100 – Unit 8 – Reflections

 

TESL 0100 – Unit 8 – Reflections

Assessments have always been an afterthought for me. My experience as a learner was that assessment occurred after the course was finished. I had no concept of assessment before or during the course teaching. Furthermore, my understanding of assessment was strictly Normative based testing. Prior to this course, I had no idea of criterion-based testing. To use a set of objectives rather than simply making questions regarding the content of the entire course is a new concept to me. Being new to me, developing criterion-based tests is very daunting. Identifying a set of objectives for the test and drawing up specifications is challenging. After that, it seems that drafting, revising, and finalizing the test is a little easier. However, a big concern regarding developing tests is test validity. Am I actually testing what I am wanting to test? In language testing, it can be difficult to validly test for proficiency. Much of the scoring can be subjective. Therefore, developing a set of objectives is important. The objectives help identify what the test taker has accomplished. The validity of the test comes from ensuring the test is testing the objectives. It is also important that the test looks like it tests what the test taker is expecting. It is possible that even if the content of the test is valid in assessing the set criterion, the test may not look like it to the test takers. It is important that the test be carefully constructed, clear, and organized. Developing criterion-based tests and ensuring their validity will take some time for me to become proficient.

TESL 0100 – Unit 6 – Reflections

 

TESL 0100 – Unit 6 – Reflections

I usually find lesson planning challenging. Especially the more unfamiliar I am with the topic. Trying to explain something to someone when you are only partially sure of the topic is difficult. At the same time, it also adds to, or allows for, personal growth as I try to understand the topic better to teach it. However, the more unfamiliar with the topic I am, the more difficult it is to judge the appropriate level of difficulty for teaching. Assessing the difficulty of a lesson plan is important so the learners can understand but not be bored by the content. I find that often textbooks and prescribed lessons are too simple for my audience. Or at least that is how I perceive the situation. On the other hand, developing my own lesson plans is time consuming and can still be the wrong level of difficulty for the students. I find that I can also fall into the problem of not planning through an entire course and instead focusing on lesson to lesson with no overall goal in mind. I have often added to and modified existing lessons in textbooks to what I perceive to be an appropriate level of difficulty. This brings up the issue of assessing the abilities of the students. I have never realized the importance of assessing the abilities of the students before and during the course teaching. I always believed that assessment occurred after the course was finished. This is a result of my own learning experiences in school and university. There will be more on assessment in another unit.

TESL 0100 Unit 1 - Reflections

 

TESL 0100 Unit 1 – Reflections

Brown and Lee (2015) have a discussion regarding native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) (p. 165). They claim that non-native English-speaking teachers have an advantage over native English-speaking teachers for several reasons: they can serve as role models of successful L2 learning; understand the students’ culture and language; understand the challenges of learning an L2; can provide better explanations using the L1; can simplify the L2; and can understand the role of the L2 and the suitability of the teaching and materials.

However, most of these advantages are only advantages if the teacher’s L1 is the same as the students L1. If the NNEST is teaching students with a different L1, they are in virtually the same situation as the NEST. They no longer necessarily understand the students’ language and culture and they are less likely to be able to provide efficient explanations and simplify the L2 by using their L1. NNESTs still may have an advantage in knowing what it is like to learn the target language, but a NEST who has learnt another language will have some idea about the difficulties learning another language.

The potential advantages of being a NEST were not discussed by Brown and Lee (2015). I see a few possible advantages of being a NEST. A NEST is more likely to identify pronunciation problems in the students’ speaking, although there are some instances where pronunciation differs between different groups of speakers. NESTs should be more likely to identify grammar mistakes such as missing articles and noun/verb agreements with the students’ speaking and writing. A NEST should be able to help more with idioms and colloquialisms having been using them for longer than a NNEST.

I do agree with Brown and Lee (2015) when they indicate that training and experience are the best qualifications for any language teacher. All the advantages for the NESTs and NNESTs become less important and less distinguishable with the more training and experience a teacher has.

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed. revised).

My New PLN

 My PLN has not changed too much in the last three months, except that I realize the necessity of connecting to more ESL professionals. Internet resources are good and useful, but real connections are very important. The ability to communicate and share ideas with each other is vital for growth. As soon as Covid is over, I look forward to actually attending conferences.

TESL 0100 Unit 7 Trent's Class

 This is how I envision my classroom for TESL. I see myself teaching online to one or more students.

TESL 0100 Unit 2 Needs Assessment

 Just found some new to me Needs Assessment ideas.

Needs Assessments

• Practical PBLA Needs-assessment
• 15 Ways to do Needs Analysis

TESL 100 Unit 1

 

What does speaking English mean to me?

• "Reflect on what it means to be the speaker of the language or languages you speak. What does speaking that language mean to you?"  How does it shape you as an English teacher? (Razfar & Rumenapp, 2014, p. 286)

English is my only language. I grew up speaking English and my family all speak English. As such, English is an important part of my personal identity. I think about the world through the English language and its vocabulary. Obviously, how I interact with others is shaped by the English language and the vocabulary available to me. It is part of the culture that I live and grew up in. As an English First Language Speaker, English ties me to the larger English-speaking culture that includes England, Canada, and the United States. Also, my family has been English speakers for generations, so I am connected to the larger historic English-speaking culture, for better and for worse. It is important to note though, that there are many different English dialects and subcultures and just because I speak English does not necessarily enrol me into everyone of these subcultures.

I hope that being a native English speaker helps me to recognize and correct errors in learners speaking and writing, such as articles. It also gives me a little bit of an advantage in teaching and explaining local English colloquialisms. For example, a hoodie as a sweatshirt with a hood is called a bunny hug in Saskatchewan. Unfortunately, this knowledge is rather local and is also semi useless outside the local English culture and dialect.

TESL 100 PLN

 This is a graphic of my Personal Learning Network (PLN).

TESL 140, Assignment 3

Self-Evaluation -TESL 0140

It is now the end of the course and it is time to evaluate whether I achieved the goal I set at the beginning of the course.

This is my goal setting for the TESL 140 Course

My goal for this course:	My goal by April 4 is to learn how to create a summative needs assessment.
My plan for learning it:	Over the next few weeks, I will complete the assigned readings and course assignments to help me understand assessments and how to create them.
How I know I have achieved it:	I will have achieved my goal when I am comfortable in creating a summative needs assessment.
Demonstration that I have learned it:	I will create a summative needs assessment for the final assignment for the course by April 4.

I did create a summative assessment and rubric for the final assignment. So success.

However, I was not comfortable creating the summative assessment and I am not sure it was done well. So it needs work.

As for my plan to learn how to create a summative assessment by completing the readings and the various course activities, this is how it went.

I was intrigued by the idea of having separate definitions for assessment and evaluation. I have always equated them as the same thing. However, once you distinguish the two terms as assessment is a measure of progress while evaluation is a score and a judgement, you open yourself to more possibilities. Assessments allow you to measure students progress on a continuing basis which allows the teacher to help or assist the student in their learning process. Evaluation enables the teacher to quantify the extent of the student's learning, but also leads to ranking and comparing students against one another. Assessments allow for better feedback of the student's strengths and weaknesses to allow the student to grow not just in knowledge, but also in 'self'.

Learning the specifics of creating assessments left me intimidated. Having never taught an ESL course before and therefore never using assessments, I found the information helpful yet overwhelming. It was difficult to determine what I would need to do when I had no background. Attempting to create a valid assessment for the teaching material while I am still struggling to understand how to create the teaching material left me unnerved. 

Then rubrics were introduced as a tool for assessments and evaluations. Essentially providing students with a check list of what is required to perform a specific task is a fascinating concept. Throughout the other TESL courses I have been using them myself as a student, but the explanation was not clear in the earlier courses. Now I understand that rubrics can help me guide students, and myself, toward understanding their own learning process.

So, as for understanding the readings and activities throughout the course, I have to admit that it needs work.

Overall score - I need to do more work!

Stay tuned.

TESL 0140 Assignment 4: Applied Exercise

 Assignment 4

TESL 140, Unit 4, Activity 3

I adapted the Conestoga College LINC Program PBLA Assessment Tool as a rubric for the Aboriginal Art LISTN Lesson Plan Email Activity.

Trent's Activity 3

TESL 140, Unit 3, Activity 1b

 My Task

Look at these two documents and complete the table below:

Activity 1: Speaking CLB 8.1

Activity 1: Writing CLB 1.4

	Speaking CLB 8.1	Writing CLB 1.4
What suggestions are offered to assess this skill?	Real-World activities involve: Expressing or responding to sympathy and comfort. Resolving conflict. Expressing appreciation to a child’s teacher. Conducting professional phone calls and interacting with customers.	Real-World activities involve: Answer simple questions about immediate needs. Create a Lost and Found notice. Write a postcard with 2 details about the trip. Respond to a colleague's text message.
What criteria will be used?	Students will be evaluated using 1-18 various criteria based on the actual task, such as: Introducing guests or speakers. Expressing or responding to sympathy. Asking follow up questions to keep the conversation going. Professional manners on the phone.	Students will be evaluated on 1-7 criteria based on the actual task, such as: Writes a few personal and familiar details. Demonstrates limited knowledge of language. Uses extremely limited vocabulary.
How will performance be measured?	Performance will be measured on a scale of 1-4 for each criteria with room for additional comments.	Performance will be measured on a scale of 1-4 for each criteria with room for additional comments.
After reading these documents, how would you define success for this skill?	Success for this skill using this rubric, is defined by performing all, or most, of the criteria for the specific task.	Success for this skill using this rubric, is defined by performing all, or most, of the criteria for the specific task.

TESL 140: Unit 2, Activity 2

 Activity 2 asks us to: "Reflect on the differences between traditional tests and alternatives in assessments [from Brown and Lee, 2015]. What are the benefits and challenges in using both of them?"

Traditional Tests/Assessments

• Benefits
• Easy for the teacher to use and score.
• Less time commitment for the teacher.
• Standardized.
• Summative.
• Challenges
• Often stressful on students.
• A one-shot chance.
• One right answer.
• Summative.

Alternatives in Assessments

• Benefits
• Less stressful on students.
• It is a continuous process.
• Multiple and/or creative answers.
• Interactive.
• Challenges
• More challenging for the teacher to use and score.
• Large time commitment for the teacher.
• Difficult to assess fairly.
• Continuous process of assessing is labor intensive.

There we have some benefits and challenges to Traditional Tests and Alternatives in Assessments.

TESL 140: Unit 2, Activity 1

Activity 1 askes us to:

Read pages 516-517 in your Brown & Lee text.  Consider the grammar and communication skills listed. Answer the question in the classroom connections box:

The target grammar points listed are not stated in the form of performance (what the student is expected to do). How would you incorporate some of those grammatical items into statements about what students are expected to do (to perform) in the communication skills?

 Brown and Lee (2015) talk about "Test Toward Clear, Unambiguous Objectives" when creating summative tests. Incorporating this objective into the Grammar objectives listed in the reading, I come up with the following hopefully clearer, more unambiguous objectives:

1. Students will be able to ask about who did something using who as a subject.
• Example: Who made the coffee?
2. Students will be able to use irregular past tense verbs when discussing various people and events.
• Example: He ran the race very fast.
3. Students will be able to give reasons for something using the conjunctions so and because.
• Example: I had a shower because I wanted to get clean.
4. Students will be able to ask for confirmation using simple past tense verbs in negative statements and information questions.
• You didn't make the coffee, did you?
5. Students will use anyone, someone, and no-one to discuss family and friends.
• Someone in my family likes figure skating.
6. Students will be able to state guesses about what happened using tag questions.
• You didn't know that, did you?

This is my take on creating clear, unambiguous objectives.

TESL 140 Unit 1 Needs Assessment

This assignment was to create a needs assessment or a diagnostic test for the provided teaching context.

You are teaching a CLB 7 class in a part-time five month LINC program. It’s the second month of the instruction. One of the most popular topics your students chose in the initial needs assessment was buying a house. You want to create a short needs assessment to inform your module and lesson planning for this topic.

The following questions can serve as a needs assessment test. 

• What is your dream home?
• When you read adds for accommodation, how much do you understand?
• When you talk to somebody about housing, how much do you understand?
• What terms do you find difficult?
• Are you able to communicate your needs?

This should serve as a starting point for lesson planning around housing issues.

TESL 140 Unit 1 Goal Setting

 This is my goal setting for the TESL 140 Course

My goal for this course:	My goal by April 4 is to learn how to create a summative needs assessment.
My plan for learning it:	Over the next few weeks, I will complete the assigned readings and course assignments to help me understand assessments and how to create them.
How I know I have achieved it:	I will have achieved my goal when I am comfortable in creating a summative needs assessment.
Demonstration that I have learned it:	I will create a summative needs assessment for the final assignment for the course by April 4.

TESL 130 Unit 3 Aha Moment

 My Aha moment for Unit 3 Reading and Vocabulary, came from a fellow classmate who made a comment about students paraphrasing the reading. I found this very perceptive. It is an excellent way to help the students and to evaluate the students understanding of the vocabulary and context of the reading text. If the students are able to paraphrase the text and insert synonyms for the new words encountered, we have completed our goal.

TESL 130 Unit 3 Vocabulary Activity

 

Vocabulary Activity for

“Learning English with CBC: It’s Time to Fix Aboriginal Education.”

https://universityofmanitoba.desire2learn.com/content/enforced3/393774-59971.202110/Content/Readings/Unit%203%20Skills-Based%20Lesson%20Plan.doc?_&d2lSessionVal=yX9iYt5j9ffLO431YMIEHIN77&ou=393774

Level: CLB 5+

Purpose: This is a pre-reading vocabulary activity to teach Ss the new words they will encounter in the reading activity.

Materials: All Ss need access to a computer.

Activity:

·       Teacher will print the vocabulary words on the board.

            Aboriginal, trend, disaster, contributing, social requirements, post-secondary education, K – 12, mature student, First Nations, precious resource, adequate.

·       Ss will use computers to look up words on an online corpus site such as Corpus of Contemporary American English (Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) (english-corpora.org)

·       Ss will discuss how the words are used in context.

Post-Lesson: Teacher will evaluate how well the students interpreted meaning from the context.

TESL 130 Unit 2 "Think-Aloud" Exercise

 Here is my first attempt at doing a "think-aloud" video. It is regarding a few small readings from survivors of residential schools in Canada.

TESL 130 Unit 2 Adapt a Reading Text

 The following text was presented as an example of a Reading Skills Practice with the following questions asked.

Sorry I haven't written till now. Since I got here I've been really busy with the course and making new friends. I'm speaking English all the time and going out in the evenings with my classmates. We're a real mix of nationalities: Chinese, Russian, Thai, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian, etc. We all talk in English but I'm learning loads about other languages and countries too.

My host family are really nice. The parents, Susan and Paul, are very friendly and kind. The children are called Lewis and Amy. They're both in primary school and are very sweet but they can be a bit annoying too. If I have to watch the film frozen with them one more time, I'm going to go crazy! I know all the songs by heart now. Ahhhh!

We live pretty near the school so I walk there every day. It's only a short bus ride from Edinburgh city centre, and there are loads of shops and cafes there. There's an ancient Castle too and we're going there on a school trip next week. Edinburgh is a really interesting place to be and there’s a festival on at the moment. It's awesome but a bit expensive for us students, so we've been hanging out in the streets watching the free street performances from actors and musicians. Yesterday I saw a magician doing card tricks - it was so much fun!

I'll send some photos of Edinburgh Castle next time. Take care and let me know how you are doing.

Reading Skills Practice Foreign Exchange Emails.pdf (desire2learn.com)

How might you adapt this text for a LINC level 4 class with mature students?

The text appears to be at CLB 5 currently. LINC 4 is relatively equivalent to CLB 4, so the text would have to be made less difficult. Making the text shorter and changing some of the informal words such as “loads” to “lots” and “hang out” to “spend time with friends”.

As for adapting the text for mature students, I would change the setting. It could be changed from a student and classmates to adults going on a tour with other international adults with the common language of English. Instead of a host family it would be a hotel and then touring is still a good option.

What edits would you make to accommodate a group of international students in an EAP setting?

I do not see any need to change or adapt the text for EAP students. Hanging out with friends and touring are perfectly acceptable for professionals as well.

If you are teaching at a school that uses a learning management system (LMS), how would you share this reading with students? Do you know what copyright laws say about sharing texts in an educational setting and how to provide appropriate references?

I have no idea what a LMS is. I have no idea how it can be used. I am also unaware of what copyright laws say. I do not believe they have been covered in any of the courses yet.

Is this text too difficult for your group of learners? What would you do if your curriculum includes this as a mandatory reading?

I do not have a group of learners, so this is irrelevant. I do not see a problem using this text as mandatory reading if it was for the appropriate CBL, although I wouldn’t mind having a Canadian version instead.

Where can you springboard from here?

From here you can easily discuss the differences between formal and informal writing and reading. With the use of culturally specific language in the text, you could also continue with identifying more culturally specific vocabulary in other texts. There are also grammar and structural mistakes which could be addressed and discussed as a class.