Search found 14 matches

by Donnetta
Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:08 am
Forum: Secondary School Education
Topic: HS ESL Beginners
Replies: 1
Views: 5146

AWESOME! Talk this teacher up and praise them to others. It isn't often that you find a teacher who is willing to do the modifications themselves. Usually I had to do the test/project modifications for all of my ESL students' content area classes. Needless to say that is a TON of work in addition to...
by Donnetta
Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:47 am
Forum: Texts
Topic: Texts for Middle Schoolers
Replies: 1
Views: 5077

Try Longmans' Shining Star series for your middle schoolers. I have used it on the high school level and now utilize it on the middle school level. I have found it to be a nice series. It has lots of differentiation ideas in the teachers' manual for the whole book. It not only has literature antholo...
by Donnetta
Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:59 pm
Forum: Pronunciation
Topic: Total Physical Response - methodology.
Replies: 4
Views: 8769

TPR is AWESOME! Definitely give it a try. I have used it to teach ESL and to teach Spanish to English speakers and have had nothing but SUCCESS! It is fun and interactive and the students learn at a rapid fire pace. And most of all, they enjoy it! Make sure that you read up on it thourallly first so...
by Donnetta
Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:50 pm
Forum: Pronunciation
Topic: Pronunciation Resources
Replies: 5
Views: 10264

I am so sorry to hear that your Chinese ESL student is "ashamed" of her accent. Erroneously many learners of other languages feel that their ultimate goal in pronunciation should be accent-free speech. Such a goal is not attainable for most adult learners. I would advise you to help her to understan...
by Donnetta
Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:30 pm
Forum: Assessment
Topic: Standardized Tests with ELLs
Replies: 1
Views: 6260

As an ESL teacher I do not feel that standardized testing is fair to most ELLs. Just because they do not understand the wording/words of the test questions and thus get the answers wrong does not mean that they do not have knowledge of the subject area being tested. There is often a language barrier...
by Donnetta
Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:27 pm
Forum: Assessment
Topic: Alternative Classroom-Based Assessment
Replies: 2
Views: 5500

I am in total agreement. Assessments should be varied. Too much of any one thing (no matter how good) is overkill and thus becomes ineffective. Porfolios are good; but they shouldn't be the only form of assessment. I am a HUGE fan of IPA's (Integrated Performance Assessments) and use them a lot; but...
by Donnetta
Tue Jun 05, 2012 7:15 pm
Forum: Computer Assisted Language Learning
Topic: Is it possible to teach English with a computer?
Replies: 4
Views: 8064

CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) is naturally big in the 21st century. And for adult learners there is a wonderful, FREE web-based program that is very nice. www.usalearns.org is a self-paced program that allows adults to learn English and/or improve their basic reading, writing, speaking,...
by Donnetta
Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:56 pm
Forum: ESL Management
Topic: Classroom Management troubles with adults
Replies: 6
Views: 14519

Some great suggestions were given in the previous posts. I would add that listening comprehension activities also work well. If the students have to listen to a CD audio recording and complete some kind of written activity as they listen, they will naturally have to stop talking in order to do so. S...
by Donnetta
Tue May 29, 2012 4:41 am
Forum: Video in the Classroom
Topic: Teaching How to Use Movie DVDs to Improve Language Skills
Replies: 3
Views: 8921

Using DVDs is indeed an excellent teaching technique. One thing that I have tried recently is using video clips to teach grammar. It puts a new and exciting twist on what could be a boring and dry lecture. Also, as you have said, it is excellent as a self-teaching tool. Students can learn a lot by t...
by Donnetta
Tue May 29, 2012 4:28 am
Forum: Computer Assisted Language Learning
Topic: How to make CAll effective in middle school teaching?
Replies: 6
Views: 9547

I agree with you. Your response was dead on. CALL has numerous benefits. To elaborate on your answer even more. It is an excellent means of providing optimal modified input to learners, great multimodal practice, immediate, personalized feeback, individualization in a large class, self-pacing, a pri...
by Donnetta
Tue May 22, 2012 2:49 am
Forum: Secondary School Education
Topic: Recommendations for High School ESL Literature Textbooks
Replies: 1
Views: 4818

You mentioned that you are in need of a literature textbook to use while teaching ESL on the high school level. What you did not mention was the proficiency level of the students you are teaching. And proficiency level along with age is one of the two major contextual variables in learning and teach...
by Donnetta
Mon May 21, 2012 1:52 am
Forum: Elementary Education
Topic: Grammar for elementary school students
Replies: 1
Views: 2718

When teaching elementary age kids, a key thing to remember is that grammar rules, explanations, and other abstract talk about language must be approached with extreme caution. Children are focused on the here and now, the concrete; they think about the functional purposes of language. They have litt...
by Donnetta
Tue May 15, 2012 5:53 pm
Forum: Pronunciation
Topic: Bilingual Education
Replies: 2
Views: 6669

You are right. These are slight problems that are miniscule compared to the fact that you are one of the rare people who is bilingual. Forgetting a word here or there or mispronouncing one is of little importance. Communicative competence (attention to fluency not just accuracy, language use and not...
by Donnetta
Mon May 14, 2012 4:21 pm
Forum: ESL Management
Topic: The Importance of Group Learning in Language Teaching
Replies: 2
Views: 12991

I agree that cooperative learning is a wonderful method to use with ELLs. First it is an excellent way to foster learner-centered instruction which is a technique that by using group work, allows for student creativity and innovation and enhances a student's sense of competence and self-worth just a...