How do you help your ESL students recognize their errors in speaking English? What techniques do you use to make their mistakes “psychologically real” to them?
One technique I’ve found effective may seem rather counter-intuitive: encourage them!
While I have never consciously “celebrated” mistakes, I do consistently encourage students to make “good mistakes”, defined as natural errors that we can learn from, so we can continue to improve and new, different, and better mistakes. Creating a classroom atmosphere of tolerance, understanding, and constructive criticism remains a constant challenge.
Yet modern technologies, such as video cameras and smart phones, make video recordings of English language learners an accessible, affordable option. As 21st century English teachers, we can deploy some practical tools in our ESL and EFL classrooms. Videotaping English students certainly helps here since they can watch their own presentations or discussions. Sometimes having students transcribe their own speech yields surprises, but often you don’t even need to resort to such rigorous examination. Students can often see where they have made verb tense errors, searched for vocabulary, or used the wrong word form on their own. Uploading videos to a class website encourages self-awareness and reflection. Seeing, in this case, is often believing.
Further, videotaping student presentations makes our classrooms more democratic since our students can speak – and share their words with friends and relatives beyond the classroom if they choose. Sometimes English language learners, recognizing that they can share their work outside the classroom and reach core peer audiences, will practice more than usual. As ESL students step up their game and perform for the camera, they sometimes make fewer mistakes – and excel!
And if students, as usual, do make mistakes? Let’s call that a learning opportunity. “Don’t be afraid to make a mistake, ” advised legendary Sony Chairman Akio Morita. “But make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice.” While learning English requires us to be more understanding and patient of “good mistakes”, this quote emphasizes the value of making mistakes – outside and inside our English classrooms.
How many good mistakes must English students make on the road to English fluency? I have no idea, but students will get to their linguistic destination sooner if they start more making good mistakes in our English classes today. Staying silent out of fear of making mistakes almost guarantees students will never become fluent English speakers.
The videotape allows our students to see – and learn – from that bad mistake too.
Why do you want to learn English? What are your interests and priorities? Why not create your own, independent English language program this summer – for free?
Learning English, on your own and according to your own wishes and needs, has never been easier. Everyone with internet access can become autotelic, or self-directed, in creating their own educational program. Naturally, ambitious English students, innovative ESL educators and EFL schools have embraced these possibilities. Why not you?
The endless web continually offers pleasant surprises. This weekend I spent time on four more exceptional free websites for English teachers, tutors, and students: ESL video; USA Learns; BBC Learning English; and YapPR. You might find them valuable too.
ESL Video - This relatively new site allows you to watch short video clips, take an online quiz, read the transcript, and improve your listening comprehension. This smart, effective approach makes the site valuable for you, English teachers, and tutors.
BBC Learning English – The BBC takes its once imperial obligations to spread English seriously. This outstanding website includes the latest news in audio, transcripts, and sometimes video in clear English.
USA Learns – The popular U.S. Department of Education website for adult immigrants and future American citizens also offers video lessons for lower level English students. The new citizenship, for worse or for better, only requires a second grade English level. As an American educator, consider me disappointed that the expectations and standards for our new American citizens is so very low. By the way, one way the administration can build support for immigration reform is demand higher standards for citizenship and expand adult education ESL and open more EL/Civics classes. As Obama used to say, “yes, we can!”
YapPR – This innovative public relations site highlights short music videos, amusing commercials, and AP news stories with English transcriptions for English language learners. Designed for English students from around the world, it also includes materials in several languages. Does the public relations element bother me? Not really. The transcription feature provides valuable information for students which outweighs the apparent “pay to play” selection bias.
This is the best time – so far – to learn and teach English. We have never had so many resources available – often for free -to explore and experiment with new technologies. So be the captain of your own lifeboat, pick your English goals, and become an autotelic English student today.
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?
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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?
A broad consensus exists among adult educators, especially ESL instructors, that we should take every possible opportunity to focus on job interview skills in our English classes.
During these difficult economic times, however, I would suggest that ESL and even EFL instructors working with college and university students also should focus on practical employment skills. Videotaping practice interviews – and longer is better – remains an invaluable tool.
Yet ESL teachers can also help ESL/EFL students conduct research for possible jobs with information interviews. A common practice in the United States, informational interviews allow job seekers to meet working professionals in their field, collect detailed information on working lives, and expand their network of valuable contacts. Sometimes it also leads to job leads, internships, and even jobs.
More About Informational Interviews on the Web
Vanderbilt University, an elite private university in Tennessee, has compiled an impressive list of 60 informational interviews from a wide variety of disciplines and professions. (Peabody is a leading school of Education within Vanderbilt University). These provide illuminating examples of real-life informational interviews. Note: some speakers have a strong southern accent. http://streams.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/hod1210/sort_field.htm
Here’s a solid collection of typical informational interview questions from About.com, a fairly reliable New York Times-owned website. Questions are divided into Occupational and Functional categories. http://jobsearch.about.com/od/infointerviews/a/infointervquest.htm
Naturally, many students hope to find job leads from their informational interviews. ESL students can always use more practice job interviews. This chapter of potential job interview questions and quotations comes from Compelling Conversations that I have used with community college, adult education, and university students. http://www.compellingconversations.com/pdf/practicing_job_interview.pdf
From my perspective, holding both long mock job interviews and hearing trip reports of information interviews are practical, effective uses of precious classroom time.
Have you added informational interviews to your advanced ESL class yet? If not, why not?
Like so many other English teachers, I begin teaching with student interests and habits in mind. Of course, I also want to take them from the old and familiar to new and unfamiliar while improving their English language skills. You Tube remains a powerful classroom tool to achieve that goal.
I’ve used YouTube to have students research job interview tips, stress patterns, pronunciation problems, and informational interviews. The results have been consistently positive as I have students write concise video reviews and email me their reviews for homework before the next class.
Then I slightly edit the reviews, watch the videos and add my own comments in blue ink, and combine the reviews into a single document that is emailed to all class members. “Use or lose” I say, but here are the reviews from your classmates. Result: almost every student watches every video recommended and spending far more time on the topic than I could allocate in class. It’s both popular and quite effective.
As English teachers, we are truly blessed to be working in the YouTube era.
