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Teaching an advanced ESL class
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Fri Jun 17, 2016 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The class went well. The students were fairly advanced, and a few had only slight accents. Complex vocabulary was of major interest to them, so we did significant work on concepts such as people-first language, marginalization, and reconciliation in a Canadian context (it's Aboriginal Day next week). Part of the lesson involved the storywriting, as well as differences between fairy tales, fables, morals, and infering conclusions. Overall, a fun class!
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fluffyhamster



Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 3292
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Glad the class went well. Mind if I ask what the views and possible conclusions were regarding people-first language?
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

fluffyhamster wrote:
Glad the class went well. Mind if I ask what the views and possible conclusions were regarding people-first language?


Thank you. For the most part, the students did not believe (personally) that people-first language was relevant. Terms such as "retarded", "handicapped", and "XYZ diagnosis" as a label for a person were, they thought, appropriate in English (since it is in so many other languages and cultures).

As a group primarily composed of health care professionals, we talked about how these terms may create problems in the workplace (imagine a nurse talking about caring for "retarded people" in a job interview). It also gave way for some practice in politely interrupting, clarifying, summarizing another person's opinion, and so on.

An interesting debate came about when I mentioned that most adults in the Autism community prefer to be called "Autistic", not "people with Autism", as many groups suggest they should call themselves. It led to some good commentary about how English speakers can be too far up their own ass with labels. Laughing
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 5:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good stuff, santi84. I enjoyed teaching advanced students because they can handle deeper, intellectual topics.

You mentioned fables and morals. I hope you'll be able to incorporate some ethical problem solving (dilemmas and social issues) into your lessons.
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fluffyhamster



Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 3292
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, I can understand them not being into people-first language (cos as you say, the people it is meant to be being used in reference to may not actually like such language!), but we've definitely moved on from terms like 'retarded'. Anyway, interesting, thanks! Smile
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johnslat



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

PostPosted: Sat Jun 18, 2016 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm doing a summer conversation class and the two areas we're covering are common idioms and moral/ethical dilemmas.

When we split into groups for the moral/ethical dilemma part, the students can't wait to talk. I've never seen such spirited classroom discussions before.


Regards,
John
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