Teaching ESL in Canada

• Background• Overview of the Textbook• Sample Chapter• Scenario Discussions

Chapter 1 Language Learning Contexts in Canada Chapter 2 Cultural Considerations

Chapter 3 Theoretical Constructs and Teaching Methods

Chapter 4 Needs Analysis, Syllabus Design, and Lesson Planning

Table of Contents

Chapter 5 Listening Skills

Chapter 6 Speaking Skills

Chapter 7 Reading Skills

Chapter 8 Writing Skills

Chapter 9 Integrated Approaches

Chapter 10 Assessment

Chapter 11 Technology in Language Teaching

Chapter 12 Classroom Dynamics

Scenario 1 – Chapter 1 Language Learning Contexts in Canada

Anya is a 41-year-old woman from Vladivostok, Russia. She is a well-educated individual with a college degree in management. She worked in Human Resources in Russia. She and her 10-year old daughter joined her husband under Family Class sponsorship – her husband had a research job at a university. They live in a small basement apartment and now that her husband’s contract is over they have little income. Anya is determined to learn fluent English to get a professional job, but time is running out. Questions: What kind of classes would you recommend for Anya? Why?Other than attending classes, what can Anya do to achieve the language proficiency required for work in her field?

Scenario 2 – Chapter 2 Cultural Considerations

At the beginning of an intermediate Intensive ESL program at a university, the teacher asked students to write down what they wished to achieve in her writing class. During the term, the teacher taught ESL writing based on her beliefs about writing. She often assigned them practice in multiple drafting and peer revision, but offered them minimum error correction. She also encouraged them to read for their own pleasure but did not assign anything for them to read because she felt learning should be independent. She believed that “Language just happens. If you have enough input, and opportunities for output, you don’t need explicit grammar instruction”. At the end of term, she asked the students to write another journal to be submitted discussing what progress they had made and if they had achieved their goals set at the beginning of the term. A group of East Asian students wrote very positive comments about the teacher and their learning outcome, for example, “I have learned a lot from you in this class”. However, when they were interviewed for a research project in a more private setting, they expressed different views about the class to the researcher, “I don’t feel my writing has improved much since I came here”. They expressed their respect for the teacher and were concerned of hurting her ‘face’. They didn’t like the much-emphasized learning activities--peer revision, considering them “useless”. They wished that the teacher would correct their mistakes in a timely and explicit fashion, and they wanted the teacher to suggest something specific for them to read. However, they felt reluctant to tell these things to the teacher and very reserved in offering constructive feedback on her teaching. QuestionsDo you agree with the teacher’s beliefs about ESL teaching?Why do you think the students offered different responses to the teacher and the researcher? How could the teacher get honest feedback from her students?

Scenario 3 – Chapter 3 Theoretical Constructs and Teaching Methods

Clara teaches intermediate ESL in a LINC program (CLB 7-8.) Her students are presently giving oral presentation

about their families and why they came to Canada. Although they are speaking fairly fluently, she notices that many

students are making simple grammatical mistakes in their spoken English. She is concerned because she has already

reviewed these structures and students have had many opportunities to practice them in class. For example, Mario

stated that his wife has 35 years. When Clara interrupted his speech by saying, “Oh, your wife is 35 years old?” Mario

continued, “That’s what I say. My wife she has 35 years.” And then he continued with his presentation.

Clara is wondering if she should spend classroom time addressing some of these mistakes or just leave them. Or

maybe correct grammar doesn’t matter if the meaning is conveyed and understood.

What do you think Clara should do when students keep repeating mistakes which have become fossilized?

Scenario 4 – Chapter 5 Listening Skills

Johnny is an elementary level student in the fifth week of an intensive EAP course at Thomson River Universityin Kamloops, BC. In class, he seems unable to respond in writing or orally to simple comprehension questionsafter listening to short readings, but, in general conversation with both his peers and the teacher, he cancommunicate quite effectively. He has language lab (with individual consoles) for an hour and a half twice aweek. Questions:

How can you help improve his ability to understand and respond to oral readings using the language lab?

Do you think he needs more bottom-up or top-down listening activities? Give reasons for your answer.

Scenario 5 – Chapter 6 Speaking Skills

Betty, Betty

(/b/,/k/,/i/ /e/ /ʧ / Betty, Betty

Cook spaghetti

Tie it in knots

With pink confetti

Eat it with ketchup

Eat it with cheese

Eat it with gusto

If you please

 

Questions:

How do you think this poem would be received by learners?

Would you teach the meaning of the words, or focus on the sounds and rhythm?

Scenario 6 – Chapter 7 Reading Skills

Michael is teaching a beginner level class at a private language school in Edmonton. He decides to focus on daily routines, which is a good way to illustrate use of the simple present tense. He puts the following text on a PowerPoint slide without any pre-amble to the lesson.

Alan lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He works as a customer service representative at TD Canada Trust. He gets up at seven o'clock each workday with his iPod alarm that plays music. He takes a shower, makes his lunch and grabs a muffin and coffee at his local Country Style Bistro drive thru. He drives to work and begins his job at nine o'clock. He meets with people to help them with their money problems. They ask him questions about their accounts and the best way to invest their savings. Alan is polite and friendly with everyone. After work, he goes to GoodLife to work out and get some exercise. He gets home at seven o'clock and cooks dinner. Alan also likes watching TV in the evening. His favourite show is The Trailer Park boys. He goes to bed at eleven o'clock at night.

Michael gives the students a few minutes to read the slide before asking questions like, ‘What does Alan do?” “What time does he wake up each workday”? “What does Alan have for breakfast?” However, he notices that the students are reluctant to give answers. Some of them look confused and a couple are looking up words in their bilingual dictionaries.

Why do you think the students are confused?

What cultural and context references should Michael pre-teach so that his students are more comfortable with the text?

Scenario 7 – Chapter 11 Technology

Sonia has just started teaching 15 international students in an advanced oral communications class in a university EAP program. One of the curriculum objectives is to prepare them for giving formal presentations using PowerPoint slides. She quietly confessed to a colleague that she had never used PowerPoint slides and hadn’t the foggiest idea of how to create them. It was the one part of the course that she was extremely nervous about. Her colleague told her to just relax and let the students teach her because they most likely had far more experience in utilizing the technology. Sonia knew beforehand that they would have more expertise but she still wonders if her lack of computer knowledge will discredit her good reputation as an ESL teacher.

What can Sonia do to educate herself about doing PowerPoint presentations?

How should she present and facilitate the assignment given the fact that she needs to teach the students how to use their slides effectively?

Scenario 8 – Chapter 12 Classroom Dynamics

It is the second day of class in a LINC Level 3 class in Toronto. There are 40 students on the attendance sheet, both male and female, from China, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Thailand, Korea, El Salvador and Honduras. The teacher arrives and asks the students to find a partner (someone they don’t know from a different culture, preferably of the opposite gender) and sit together to discuss ways to create a positive learning environment for the rest of term. Everyone begins to move about to find a partner except a small group of male Muslim students at the front of the room. When prompted by the teacher to look for a partner, they politely say that they cannot work with women and would rather work with each other. Another group of Asian students remain seated, looking disoriented.

 

Questions:

Are the teacher’s instructions well thought out and clear? How would you word instructions for this task?

How should the teacher respond to the students who are not participating? Should they be approached individually or as a group?

What do you think could have prompted such behaviours on the part of the students?

How can the teacher turn a culturally based refusal by the students into a learning situation?