Owning Vocabulary

"John, what it the best way to study for the TOEFL?"

          I actually get asked this question often, or I get asked some variation of it when studying English language in general.  My answer is always the same.  You have to increase your vocabulary. To truly learn a language or in the case of studying for the TOEFL to achieve a great score, you have to own the necessary vocabulary.  I tell all of my TOEFL students within a few minutes of beginning any preparation class that they must increase their vocabulary by a few thousand words to truly achieve success on the exam.  I think this is true for any endeavor which requires skill to achieve success.  A surgeon must own the ability to effectively use surgical tools and techniques or it might be a sad day for their patient.  I am sure a competent surgeon could pick up a new tool and perhaps puzzle out its use, but I don't want them doing that while they are operating on me!  Language is no different.  One needs to understand the words they are using and when to use them appropriately. When specifically speaking about the TOEFL, every section involves knowing the meaning of specific words.  In fact, I would say about one-quarter or more of the questions are specifically vocabulary questions.  Either the question ask for the specific meaning to a highlighted word or a question might ask for the meaning of a passage which requires knowing what the words making up that passage means.  So, despite the sad faces that often follow my giving the answer, that learning more vocabulary is key; I stick by my thoughts.  I am sorry, I don't have any cute, innovative, or even interesting answer other than the one I give.

          I admit, here and now, that even I am horrible when it comes to the English language.  After all my time studying, I often time still don't understand syntax, basic grammar, or even spelling when English is involved.  I used to not believe when a teacher would answer my question with, "John, that's just how is ... ".

          To all my TOEFL students out there; study your vocabulary!  I will hopefully have a chance to give you some methods to make that easier when I next post.

         Lotus Learning Center

ESL and Star Magazine

          First, I want to thank those of you who have taken a look at and/or have read my blog.  I hope I am providing you a good read and maybe giving you a bit of information to think on as well.

          So, what does the Star Magazine have to do with ESL learning?  Without question, it is one of the best resources I have ever found when instructing adult learners.  There are plenty of resources out there for younger learners; annotated readers, online worksheets, and other items to help any instructor.  I have discovered that the same is not as true when looking for resources targeted towards ELL adults.

          My first experience teaching English outside of the Army was an adjunct position at a fairly large community college.  I was excited to get the opportunity and was surprised to learn that the entire ESL department was me.  I would be teaching four classes; ESL Reading, ESL Listening, ESL Speaking, and TOEFL.iBT Prep.  My new boss left the curriculum basically, completely up to my whims. Please don't misunderstand.  She was a great mentor and so very willing to help, but just did not have the time to babysit me through setting up my curriculum.

          I was confident that I was prepared and relied a lot on my own experiences teaching through my time in the Army.  Young Soldiers or young students, could they be that different?  Surprisingly they are markedly different.  My first class of the new semester, ESL Reading, was a class of 18 students, all female, all but one from Central and South America, and with an average age of about 35.  These were not typical college students nor were they typical Army students.  The majority had lived in the U.S. for several years and almost all were looking to improve their English skills as a means to better their lives.  They wanted practical, every day language not an ESL version of Charlotte's Web. There is nothing wrong with Charlotte's Web, but reading it won't necessarily get you a pay raise at work.

         To say the least, I was dumbfounded.  I muddled through my first day's lesson but knew I would have to "up my game".  I communicated my helplessness with every friend, colleague, and mentor I could contact.  Several offered great suggestions, but none of the suggestions seemed to be the right fit for this class. Then, I remembered that while waiting for class to begin, some of the students had been discussing a reality show they had been watching.  I don't remember the exact show, but it sparked an idea.

         My mother was sort of addicted to Star Magazine.  We actually had it delivered to our house when I was younger and naturally I soon became sort of addicted to it as well.  The magazine is basically a collection of gossip and rumors about entertainers and other notable, "pop" culture figures.  I knew without a doubt that my new students would probably recognize some of the content simply because they watched television, listened to radio, and had access to the internet.  I knew this type of content would interest them.  Plus, for those who don't know,  Star Magazine is extremely visual. Every article is accompanied by numerous photos and splashy colored text.  Furthermore the articles are generally short, only a page or two long, which would keep the text fresh and new as we read.


          What I discovered after reading through several issues is that the magazine has a few other surprises in it that proved valuable for my ESL adults.  First, the language is simple and current.  It is the same language one would hear at the mall or on television.  Second, the syntax is current as well. Third, often the photos represent the exact text.  For example, if the article is about someone being angry, the photos show that person being angry.  What this does is strengthen the contextual clues in determining the meaning of unknown words.  If one didn't know what the word "angry", meant it would be clear from the picture.  Finally, Star Magazine has a unique style of using multiple synonyms in the same article.  Again, one might see the word "angry", see an angry picture, but also perhaps see the words upset, disgruntled, or perturbed in the article as well.  I found it not unusual to see an average of three synonyms each for one or two key words in almost every article.  The Star Magazine was my goldmine.  The students loved reading it and I found it merged well with the speaking class as well; serving as a conversation/discussion prompt.

          Take it from me, the Star Magazine is a great resource for adult ESL students.  If you are looking for something different as a teaching resource, why not give it a try.

Reading Manga and Comics to Improve Literacy

Reading Manga and Comics to Improve Literacy

          I am an unashamed "fanboy" when it comes to both Manga and Comics, or as we "fanboys" say; we read Sequential Art.  I won't delve too deeply into the differences between the two, but there are some very obvious aspects that do differ. Any casual reader will spot them right off.  On another occasion, perhaps I will write a short piece specifically comparing Manga and Comics.  However, at this point, I would just rather discuss how they generally may or may not be effective in literacy improvement.

          First, I do believe that a competent literacy professional should make use of any and all tools that are available for their craft.  To this extent, by all means, use Comics and Manga.  Heck, use the back of food boxes!  Use whatever you can to get a student to read. 

          Those that know me, even slightly, know that I am a huge crusader for increasing the literacy of boys and male readers in general.  I am often perplexed by the fact that boys don't seem to read anymore.  I am just a bit saddened when I try to talk with a boy or young male and they have no literary background in common with me.  I should also add that as a "fanboy" I read many current titles, so I don't think the issues is that we have nothing in common due to age.  I can speak Pokemon and Ninjago with the best of them!  

          Second, as I do advocate the use of Sequential Art for improving literacy, I do think both Manga and Comics and Sequential Art in general can be used to help improve a person's reading ability and overall literacy.  However, there are a few things to keep in mind if one does decide to use these tools, and so we get to the point of my blog.

          I want to look a bit more closely at Manga.  For a novice "fanboy" or reader, Manga can be difficult.  The first thing one might notice is that it is backwards.  Manga books are written from right to left and generally from top to bottom.  Manga is traditionally from Japan and reading in what we consider a backwards direction is quite normal in Japanese culture.  This style will throw many readers off simply from a comfort standpoint.  Manga is also much more visually and theatrically oriented.  Again, Japanese culture is arguably more visual than ours.  Their alphabet makes use of visual characters to represent letters and words.  I am keeping this a bit basic and not trying to generically analyze Japanese culture in any way, so please bear that in mind.  A typical Manga book might contain several pages of just images with little or no words.  This is akin to a visual scene in a movie where the director is setting up a following shot or sequence in which there will be interaction between characters and thus dialogue; or words in the case of Manga.  Additionally, most Manga is done only in black and white or with only a few color pages at best. This will also detract from their appeal to many American students.  Lastly, I must say that some Manga are very daunting when seen sitting on a shelf.  They can be several hundred pages in length and resemble a more traditional paperback book.  However, once one starts to read a Manga book, one will find they are very easy to process and flow quickly.

          On the whole Manga use very current phrasing, or at least current to the Japanese authors who are writing them.  One will find a few actual Japanese words thrown into them as well.  Of course, we are speaking about reading translations so occasionally there are just some words that stay in Japanese. There is a good connection between the art and what is being said.  The real key is to look at the character's eyes.  This can often give a novice reader a good indication of the meaning of what a character is saying and help with understanding word meanings.  I think Manga's strength as a reading tool is that they are really easy to follow and can give a novice reader a good sense of completion when they finish such a large book. 

          The ease of flow with which Manga can be read, as it were, is also the biggest detractor from Manga being a truly effective tool for literacy improvement.  There are just cases where there are not many words in the books.  Obviously reading engages much more than just reading words on a page, but for someone trying to learn or trying to improve their reading skills, they would kind of need words to read.  For this reason I feel Manga is more suited for a beginning reader and probably more specifically for a beginning teen or adult reader.  There are Manga books for all ages and Manga genres for all readers, but most tend to be for a bit more mature audience.  I will add that Manga can be a great jumping off point for someone wanting to write though.  Using some of the art as a form of brainstorming for ways to begin or steer a potential work of prose is a great technique.

          Also, off on a bit of an interesting tangent; the biggest readers of Manga seem to be females.  I have spoken to many book store owners and employees anecdotally and they all seem to corroborate this fact.  From young teens to college age, women seem to be buying Manga more than their male counterparts.  In my opinion this is due somewhat to traditional Comics in America being the cultural domain of males.  Yes, I realize I am being a bit sexist and very general here, but the casual evidence seems to support this notion.  I might go with a Comic over a Manga book for a male student.

          So, what about Comics.  I won't get into the debate about what is and what is not a Comic. When I use the term, I am solely meaning the traditional Comic book of American culture.  The average American would have no problem picking one out at their local BAM or Barnes and Noble. For the record my personal favorite has always been Luke Cage a.k.a Hero for Hire.  

          I wholeheartedly support using Comics to aid in literacy development.  My friends and colleagues all know that I credit Classics Illustrated with my own entry into a lifetime of reading.  In third grade, I purchased, with my own money, and voraciously read the Classics Illustrated version of Jules Verne's Michael Strogoff: A Courier of the Czar.  I swear to people that I read that Comic a thousand times.  It was just such a great way for a novice reader to read a true classic.  I think it was integral in me making the leap to more challenging literature and to me enjoying reading to this day.

  

         Most readers will find comics visually stimulating and if they choose some of the more engaging Graphic Novel style Comics they will find them a good read overall.  No one who reads a Frank Miller comic can say they are just picture books.  I have a personal friend who actually teaches a class, at a major university, on superheroes and he uses, almost exclusively, Graphic Novels as his texts.  Traditional Comics are just a bit easier to sell to a novice reader.  The text is usually current and well-written.  It takes no small amount of skill for a Comic writer to flesh out a complete story in such a limited format, thus the text of a good comic is well written for the author's purpose. They must choose good words that really convey their message.  

          As with Manga, there are a few detractors from using Comics for building reading skills.  Some people will just not like them or think them a bit juvenile at first glance.  Unlike Manga, traditional Comics are quite short and may not be enough of a challenge for some more advanced students.  I tell my stepson that a good novel is like a good dinner and a Comic is like a good dessert. I am paraphrasing that from a Sean Connery line from the movie Finding Forrester, but it is a true statement.  Finally, the opposite is true with Comic readers than with Manga readers.  Most Comics are done by males for male readers, so female readers might not find them as interesting.  

          Please do use Comics and/or Manga to help improve literacy for anyone.  Obviously some people will just not like them or may just not be able to process the visual aspect of their stories but for many they will enjoy the break from more traditional reading exercises.  I do feel that many learners are visually oriented as well, and Sequential Art can help get a person reading where another sort of text might not. 

          I want to close my rambling by making mention of a couple academic texts which might help a literacy instructor gain some background about these, often bizarre and esoteric, tests. I have listed them below.

Schodt, F. L., & Tezuka, O. (1988). Manga! Manga!: the world of Japanese comics ; 

          includes 96 pages from Osamu Tezuka's "Phoenix", Reiji Matsumoto's "Ghost 

          warrior", Riyoko Ikeda's "The rose of Versailles", Keiji Nakazawa's "Barefoot 

          gen". Tokyo: Kodansha Internat.

Coogan, P., & OʼNeil, D. (2006). Superhero: the secret origin of a genre. Austin: 

          Monkey Brain Books.

          

          

Humble Beginnings

       Humble Beginnings

        About seven years ago, I was nearing the end of my Army career.  It struck me one day that I had not done much planning for my future.  I like to think I am young at heart.  At that moment perhaps I was thinking too much about being young and not enough about growing older.

        I have really only enjoyed a few activities in my life; the Army, reading, games of all kinds, and exploring new cultures.  I was sure there was a potential future career there somewhere.  But, still in that "I'm young with plenty of time" mindset, I decided to sort of table my thoughts for awhile; sort of the "non" plan plan.  I decided to become a Senior ROTC instructor.  Being from Texas, I had hoped to find a position near my home of Lubbock.  Saving the main story for another time, suffice it to say, I was sort of gently coerced into moving to Maine to teach at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.  It became a wonderful choice as I fell in love with the city, the school, and all of my students.  I also made the decision to go back to school and complete another graduate degree.  As I mentioned, I have enjoyed reading since very early in life.  I was currently enjoying teaching, so I decided to major in Literacy with an emphasis in teaching English Language Learner (ELL) students.  That way I could also fold in my enjoyment of other cultures.  My brilliant "non" plan was coming together.

       As a quick sidebar, I would like to mention that I met one of the finest mentors I have ever had in life while working through my course of study, Doctor Andrea Stairs-Davenport. I first met her online and quickly concluded from her emails that she was a matronly professor long experience.  Well, to my complete shock, when we met in person a few months later, I instead met a young, enthusiastic, passionate, and caring professional.  I actually think I am older than her by several years, but being a gentleman I never asked for confirmation of that thought.

       Fast forward a few years and here I am trying to start a second career as an English language instructor.  My wife and I, oh I met here in Maine as well, have embarked on a new venture we have chosen to call, Lotus Learning Center.  Basically we have a desire to become a full-service language instruction and cultural exchange center here in Augusta, Maine.  We would love if you stop by and take a look.  I have stuck a link below.

       I hope to continue to write posts about all things ELL, TOEFL, and whatever else I might find interesting.  I hope you return for frequent visits and to share your comments.


Lotus Learning Center