Tilla
Elahi - Region 7
Office of Adult and Continuing Education
ESOL Teacher at Williamsburg Work
Lesson Title: Community Language Learning
Focus of Lesson: To encourage and promote real conversations in English with beginning language learners.
Objectives:
Level of Students: Beginning Level
Applicable Learning Standards: ELA 1: read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding. ELA 4: read, write, listen, and speak for social interaction
Preparation Time: The teacher should be familiar with the philosophy and techniques of
The Counseling Approach (Community Language Learning).
Implementation Time: approximately one hour (flexible)
Materials and Supplies:
Room Arrangement: Students sit in a circle, preferably around a table. (I didn’t have access to a round table and had the students put their chairs in a circle).
Introduction to Teachers: Many beginning ESOL Students are afraid to speak English for fear that they will be speaking incorrectly and perhaps laughed at. This approach provides a very relaxing and supportive atmosphere and actually gets the students to engage in real conversation. They hear the correct pronunciation from the teacher who stands behind the students and coaches them. The students are amazed to hear their conversations on the tape recorder.
Procedure:
Introduction to Activity:
Ask the students to move the tables back and form a circle with the chairs. Explain to the students that they will speak about whatever they wish (the weather, feelings, the class etc.) in correct English into a tape recorder. Tell the students that you will help them with their English and translate from Spanish (or the student’s L1) if necessary. Have one student who understands translate your introduction into Spanish, if possible.
Show the students that they will only speak into the tape recorder when they are speaking correctly.
Development of Activity:
Allow the students to be silent for a while until one of them feels ready to speak. (If the silence persists, encourage them to begin and remind them that they can speak in their L1, and that you will help them).
When a student is ready to speak stand behind him or her. Listen to the student’s statement or question. Slowly say the statement (or question) in correct English in repeatable chunks (3 to 4 word phrases) and allow the student to repeat after you until his or her pronunciation and intonation is clear. When the student is able to say their phrase clearly allow him or her to record the phrase. When the student has finished recording he or she should press the "pause" button on the tape recorder. The next student to speak follows the same procedure: practicing their pronunciation with the teacher standing behind them until you feel that student is ready to speak into the tape recorder.
A Conversation from my ESOL 1 Class:
Eduvina: Narda, how are you today?
Narda: Good
Eduvina: Did you like your new job?
Narda: Yes, I liked it.
Rosa: Do they need another person at the job?
Narda: Yes, but I have to ask the supervisor.
Rosa: Narda, please speak to the supervisor for me.
Narda: Okay, Rosa, tomorrow.
Do you know where I work and what I do?
Rosa: Yes, you work in housing.
Ruth: What are we going to do next week?
Eduvina: I’m going to my job on Tuesday.
Gricelda: Why is there no class on Tuesday?
Narda:Narda: Because the teacher has a meeting.
Rosa: I’m staying home.
Luisa: Why?
Rosa: I don’t have a job.
Ruth: Why don’t you have a job?
Rosa: I couldn’t get my fingerprints done.
After the Conversation:
Ask the students how they felt during the conversation and taping? Play the tape for the students. Ask them how it sounded to them. What and who sounded better? Why?
Play the tape again this time, pausing the tape to write each sentence on the board.
Have the students repeat the conversation and read from the board, either chorally or individually. Point to the words, but don’t speak. If their pronunciation is incorrect, then correct it (you’ll have to speak for that) and have the students repeat.
Have different students take on different roles of the conversation. Try to promote natural speaking instead of a prepared reading.
Ask the students which words they found difficult to pronounce and underline these words. Also ask them which words are new to them and underline these as well.
You can choose any focus you wish. I focused on pronunciation and vocabulary, but as a follow up I decided to focus on the formation of questions.
Assessment:
The students will be assessed by their participation in this exercise. This can be done visually by the teacher: are the students speaking, listening, repeating chorally and practicing the dialogue? Do the students seem engaged? If the focus is on pronunciation the teacher needs to circulate among the groups to listen for and correct pronunciation difficulties.
Reflection on Lesson:
The lesson was well received by the students, although they were a little frightened at first. They smiled and laughed as they listened to the tape. They were able to recognize who sounded more natural. They also told me that they thought they needed to speak more English and pronounce better. I decided to incorporate this lesson into my teaching routine.
COMMUNITY LANGUAGE DIALOGUE AND WORKSHEET ESOL 1 TILLA ELAHI, TEACHER
Luisa: Ruth, why didn’t you come to school Tuesday?VOCABULARY WORDS
kind wrong
disrupt tease
GRAMMAR