How can you encourage your advanced ESL students to develop their speaking skills and tap their interest in our rapidly changing world? Create compelling classroom assignments that respect their intelligence, engage their curiosity, and model great speaking skills. Let your students be hunters, gathers, and presenters of new information to their classmates!
Adding a homework assignment that requires ESL students to go the “ideas worth sharing” website at www.TED.com accomplishes all these goals. For the last four years, I have asked both college and international graduate students to select a short TED.com video, watch it, and prepare to share their impressions in class. Since many students have evolving English language skills and the course is an advanced oral skills class, they just take notes. What’s the title? Where was the lecture given? Who gave the lecture? Date? How did they open the presentation? Was their a significant quote? What sources were orally cited? How would they rate the video on a scale of 1-5? Why did they choose this TED video? Why do they recommend we watch it too?
Students will often watch several TED videos before choosing a favorite one. This advanced ESL homework assignment seems to capture their imagination as they explore the TED website. The next day, students discuss the TED video that they selected in small groups of four. Afterwards, I ask for “brave volunteers” to share their impressions – i.e., review – with the class. Usually everyone wants to present so we extend the lesson to a second class where I videotape all the presentations. The class sessions are always illuminating, engaging, and surprising as I learn more about students, their interests, our evolving world, and their English language speaking skills. This democratic speaking skills activity creates an atmosphere where “everybody is a student, and everybody is a teacher.” Result: the entire class creates compelling classroom conversations!
As the old American cereal commercial used to say, “try it – you’ll like it” – at least with more advanced English students!
Sometimes a simple, flexible question can create compelling conversations.
“What brings you here?” remains one of my personal favorites.
Many job interview experts like this question because it allows applicants to explain their motives. In fact, the open-ended question almost forces applicants to clearly focus on their goals. The question works even better for far less stressful situations ranging from social gatherings and casual chit-chats to informal introductions. “What brings you here?” indicates curiosity and openness.
The question encourages the listener to take control. They can give a short answer such “I’m looking for information/a quality position/new friends”. They can also give a longer, more personal response. On job interviews, managers sometimes use the question to see how if applicants can confidently assert their career ambitions.
That’s one reason I also like to use the question during mock job interviews in my ESL classes. Plus many adult immigrants and ESL students misunderstand the question. Result? Many ESL students give a far too-literal response such as “a car” during mock job interviews! That’s a “good mistake” nobody wants to make on a real job interview.
Natural conversations often require understanding this sort of distinction. Therefore, English teachers should try to convince English language learners to practice conversation skills outside the classroom. It’s also worth reminding adult students that conversation starters don’t have to be clever, witty, or complicated. Sometimes just breaking the ice works. Sharing a smile and being friendly can create many opportunities to practice English – at least in the United States.
Yet some conversation starters clearly do work better than others. Here are some of my favorite conversation openers that I recommend English language learners study and practice. Shy people – and many Americans do sometimes feel awkward – can also benefit from practicing these conversation starters.
Bottomline: English teachers should provide their English students with the skills and common phrases so they feel more comfortable speaking more English inside and outside the ESL classroom. Sharing simple conversation starters is one effective technique to achieve this core goal.
As the decade ends, this 2008 Did You Know videofor a Sony conference seems more relevant than ever. With quick factoids and fast edits, it shows how radically our world is changing. How do we prepare students for a world full of new technologies, new jobs, and new challenges? 2008 Sony Conference Video on Change
Did you notice how dated this celebration of technological possibilities felt with the MySpace reference from just 14 months ago? “Nothing is constant except change,” observed the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus in 500 B.C.E!
From my perspective, this new high ultra-high tech world will demand more attention to “high touch” interpersonal social skills. The ability to critically think, creatively imagine, and deeply reflect will be more important than ever. Our English classrooms should provide space for students to develop their speaking and thinking skills.
One simple method is to make change a topic in our classes. Cities, products, families, schools, and people change. This moment also allows us to ask some “big” questions.
• What changes have you seen in your hometown this decade?
• What changes have you seen in your family this decade?
• How has your country changed this decade?
• How have you changed this decade?
• What changes would you like to see in your country?
• What changes would you like to see in our world?
• What changes would you like to see in your family?
• How would you like to change in the next decade?
Yet change is always relevant in the 21st century. How will our classes change in the next decade? How will the field of teaching English change? How can we, in President Clinton’s classic phrase, “make change our friend”? Here’s change, a free chapter from Compelling Conversations, for you and your English language learners. Visit http://www.compellingconversations.com/pdf/change.pdf
Happy new decade! Let’s make sure the next decade provides more smiles and fewer sighs.
From assigning audio journals and monitoring classroom conversations to videotaping mock interviews and analyzing YouTube videotapes, Indiana ESL teachers heard presenters share practical tips and favorite lessons at an outstanding INTESOL conference today.
Several INTESOL presenters also lead workshops and shared materials and techniques to incorporate the internet, radio, and other authentic materials into ESL classrooms. Further, several speakers – including keynote ESL guru Randall Davis – emphasized the need for appropriate technology and “less is more” when designing classroom lessons. As ever, we discussed ways that technology could help English classrooms become more student-centered and provide additional critical thinking activities. More English teachers, at least at this Indiana English Teachers convention seem eager to adopt practical classroom tools like videocameras, MP3 recordings, and websites. Another consistent theme: administrators need to spend more money on staff training and less on technical hardware to realize these technological tools!
On a personal note, both of my presentations were quite well-received with over 50 people attending my “Creating Autotelic Learners” presentation. Based on the number of questions and feedback forms, the presentations made a meaningful contribution. Guiding students toward becoming self-directed, or autotelic, learners seems natural, and these exercises provide students with a choice of topics.
Here are three handouts that I shared today INTESOL workshop. Use or lose.
Ask more. Know more. Share more.
Create Compelling Conversations.
Visit www.CompellingConversations.com
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This I Believe Homework Worksheet
Links: This I Believe
Please select one radio segment, based on a personal essay, and read by writers. Find a story that resonates with you. Listen carefully. Take notes. Fill out the worksheet below. You will be asked to share your selection with classmates in both a small group and the entire class.
Student:
This I Believe Title:
Author/Reader:
Length:
Who is the author?
What’s the main idea?
Why did you choose this podcast?
Did you hear any new words or phrases?
1.
2.
3.
Who do you imagine is the audience for this podcast? Why?
What is your reaction? Why?
————————————————————————————————————
PRESENTATION
PEER REVIEW
TOPIC:
PEER:
GOOD TO SEE
POINTS TO WORK ON
BEST PART
WEAKEST PART
OBSERVATION TIPS
Please circle the appropriate overall rating 1-10 (10=BEST)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Getting Job Interview Advice from YouTube!
Student Name:
Class:
Teacher:
School:
Date:
Please find an YouTube videoclip that helps people successfully interview for jobs – in English – that you would like to share with your classmates. Watch the video, take notes, and review it for your classmates.
Video title:
Web address:
Length:
Creator:
Please describe the video.
What interview tips did the video provide?
Where do you think the video was produced? Why?
How practical did you find the advice? Why?
What was the strongest part? Why?
What was the weakest part? Why?
Who do think is the target audience for this video?
Why did you choose this video?
How would you rate this video 1-5 stars? Why?
Do ESL teachers want a more democratic classroom? Perhaps the workshop description discouraged English teachers, the title seemed too bold, or the other two dozen workshops held at the same time appeared more practical.
Techniques and Methods for a More Democratic Classroom
A more democratic classroom encourages student speech, features student created content, allows student choice of assignments, reflects student interests, and includes peer evaluations. Democratic classrooms create autotelic students where we learn by making good mistakes. Handouts.
For whatever reason, my CATESOL workshop on “Classroom Techniques and Practices for a More Democratic Classroom” only attracted around 20 ESL teachers – and a few left early after taking the 12-page handout of reproducible lessons. Yet the ESL teachers who stayed asked good questions, shared examples to support my thesis, and several expressed gratitude. Consider me basically satisfied.
Several other CATESOL presenters also lead workshops and shared materials and techniques to incorporate the internet, radio, and other authentic materials into ESL classrooms. While few other presenters used the word “democratic”, many other ESL professionals noted the need to be “student-centered” and include “critical thinking.” More and more English teachers, even the pseudo-Luddites, have become aware of teaching potential of 21st century technologies – and the ability to tailor instruction to individual student needs.
I still wonder, however, why the idea of a more democratic classroom where students hunt and gather their own source materials to develop their language skills seems strange to so many English teachers. To me, it seems absolutely natural to guide students toward becoming self-directed, or autotelic, learners. Here are three handouts that I shared at my CATESOL workshop on Friday toward that goal. Use or lose. You choose.
Please select one radio segment, based on a personal essay, and read by writers. Find a story that resonates with you. Listen carefully. Take notes. Fill out the worksheet below. You will be asked to share your selection with classmates in both a small group and the entire class.
Student:
This I Believe Title:
Author/Reader:
Length:
Who is the author?
What’s the main idea?
Why did you choose this podcast?
Did you hear any new words or phrases?
1.
2.
3.
Who do you imagine is the audience for this podcast? Why?
Please circle the appropriate overall rating 1-10 (10=BEST)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
————————————————————————————————————
Getting Job Interview Advice from YouTube!
Student Name:
Class:
Teacher:
School:
Date:
Please find an YouTube videoclip that helps people successfully interview for jobs – in English – that you would like to share with your classmates. Watch the video, take notes, and review it for your classmates.
Video title:
Web address:
Length:
Creator:
Please describe the video.
What interview tips did the video provide?
Where do you think the video was produced? Why?
How practical did you find the advice? Why?
What was the strongest part? Why?
What was the weakest part? Why?
Who do think is the target audience for this video?
What are your core beliefs? More importantly, what are your students’ core beliefs? How can you help English language learners improve their listening skills while exploring their own personal philosophy? Do you use radio podcasts in your English classrooms or ask students to write personal essays? If so, you might want to visit www.thisibelieve.org for excellent, fascinating authentic listening materials.
This I Believe, originally a radio program hosted by legendary American journalist Edward R. Murrow, has been resurrected by National Public Radio. Here is a sample podcast and personal essay by Jim Haynes that should appeal to ESL teachers, EFL tutors, and English students everywhere called “Inviting the World to Dinner”.
The “This I Believe” website includes a tremendous amount of free resources for teachers and students. Naturally, I also have a simple reproducible worksheet that allows students to find, summarize, and share their own favorite podcasts. Students can choose between thousands of essays and hundreds of podcasts on dozens of themes. In my oral skills class, students will present their own “This I Believe” presentation for the final assignment. Consider me curious about what they will choose to share.
English teachers can sign up for the free mailing list and download an exceptional discussion guide at the www.thisibelieve.org website. Check it out if you are looking for quality, reflective materials to enliven your ESL classes. Feel free, as usual, to use the worksheet below for your English classes.
—————————————————————————————————- This I Believe Homework Worksheet
Please select one radio segment, based on a personal essay, and read by writers. Find a story that resonates with you. Listen carefully. Take notes. Fill out the worksheet below. You will be asked to share your selection with classmates in both a small group and the entire class.
Student:
This I Believe Title:
Author/Reader:
Length:
Who is the author?
What’s the main idea?
Why did you choose this podcast?
Did you hear any new words or phrases?
1.
2.
3.
Who do you imagine is the audience for this podcast? Why?
