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.