I started reading a book about multicultural teaching. I am trying to get a bit ahead for the upcoming semester. I know if I don't do a little prep now the summer will come and go before I realize and I will start off behind in my work.
I was reading through the preface; the book is a new edition and I wanted to get an idea of what changes had been made. The author made a point about instructors needing to realize that there is also a culture of gender. I never thought of gender as a culture, but her point made a lot of sense. We seem to see the obvious differences of race and ethnicity. However, within these broader categories there is also a distinct issue of gender. This is most especially apparent when dealing with an Islamic culture. In my last post I wrote briefly about the two young Muslim women who received awards at the local university. After reading through the beginning of this new book, I came to realize that in addition to the challenges to overcome stereotypes that these young women had to face; their instructors had to work equally as hard overcoming their own biases. I thought about how I might overcome some of the religiously based gender issues when preparing a lesson plan. Of course, female students from other cultures have issues to overcome, but it is most glaring in the case of Muslim women. I admit I am not an expert, but there has to be topics and even types of drills that might simply be offensive to a woman of Islamic faith. I know in the strictest sense there are cases where Muslim women and men simply do not participate in classes together. So, the question is, how do I accommodate something like this and still teach to my other students; especially males from the same background or from backgrounds diametrically opposed to Muslim culture? It become a very fine line. I like to think that any good instructor can and will adapt. Yet, what is our requirement to do so and to what degree? In the end do we go with gender based classes. I know when I was a child we would separate for our annual "sex" talks. Boys always seemed to get a coach and I have no idea who taught the girls. I think there may come a period of time when something like this is done for more types of classes than just sex education. Until then we seem stuck between the proverbial "rock and a hard place".
The text also mentioned the increasing rise in the immigrant make-up of our educational population; especially in public schools. I think we will approach about 40% of K-12 students being from immigrant families by 2020. I don't have the text here, so I may be off a bit in my numbers. I will try to look it up and correct the number when I get a chance.
The beauty of blogging is that one can do it on one's smart phone as I am doing with this post. However, I don't generally carry texts with me while doing normal, routine tasks.
Anyway, back to the topic. I thought for a few days about how I might accommodate a student from a unique cultural background? The simple answer is that I don't know. I do know that I would try my best and perhaps seek out some help from a more experience educator. Ideally, I might go to an educator of the same cultural background. It might be easiest to do that, but I doubt if some small town teacher from a rural area would have as easy a time finding help as I might. I think the first step is to simply be aware that this type of situation is on the rise and try to educate ourselves before it happens to us. From there I would try to adapt lesson plans to meet the needs of the student or students in need. Again, I think there might be significant work involved, but it is certainly something that can be done.
The next big question for me is how far would I go to accommodate a single student over a class of say 20 other students. This is where the "fine line" comes in. I truly think it is a potentially messy situation to go too far in one or the other direction. Obviously experience helps, but in the end the individual teacher has to make some choices.
Perhaps ask yourself the same question. Would you be able to change from what has worked well for you in the past and accept the challenge to adapt?
Sunday, May 14, 2017
Monday, May 8, 2017
Musings of Harmony and Pronunciation
I have a couple interesting, but short items I would like to write about in this post. I hope they will be interesting to some of you as well.
I had a chance to attend an awards ceremony at the local university. My wife received a scholarship and an award for community engagement. I am, as always, proud of her work. However, what struck me as a bit ironic was another situation. There were two sisters who seemed to steal the show from all the other award winners. Both of these young women were awarded multiple scholarships, won several awards and were generally praised throughout the ceremony. The interesting fact was that they were adherents of the Islamic faith. I have lived in the Middle East and I am aware of some of the issues of Islam as it relates to other faiths and cultures. What I found a bit ironic was that the news is overloaded with instances of racism and a general xenophobia in America, especially with regards to Islam. Yet, in the midst of all the hate and jingoism here were two Muslim women who were not only accepted by their peers but generally overwhelmingly praised by them as well. Sadly, I looked around and saw no television crews. I guess instances of peace and cooperation are just not as newsworthy. I also found it interesting that in many Muslim dominated countries these young ladies may not have even had the opportunity to attend a university. I like to think that most Americans would have been as proud of their recognition as I was and that they would have seen past race, religion and sex. America is truly a unique and wonderful country at times.
Another issue that came up recently was a question brought forth by a student of mine. He asked me why Americans get to mispronounce their English, but he, as a ELL student had to practice proper pronunciation. I honestly had no real answer for him. I told him that some of it was a simple laziness of use and ownership. "It is our language, so we can mispronounce it if we wish," I laughingly stated. This, of course, is not a great answer and not the answer to give. I felt that there was really no adequate answer to give him. However, I do have to think that my flippant response was probably the right one. Between, the regional patterns of American English, the lack of pronunciation training, and yes, the general laziness of American English speakers, we have sort of allowed pronunciation to slip and take a back seat to general usage. I think that I am now more certain I should endeavor to present my own speech with an ear towards proper pronunciation. I will tell you, it is not as easy as it sounds. I also want to encourage all my fellow instructors to be mindful of this issue as well. I think we owe our students a bit more in this area.
I had a chance to attend an awards ceremony at the local university. My wife received a scholarship and an award for community engagement. I am, as always, proud of her work. However, what struck me as a bit ironic was another situation. There were two sisters who seemed to steal the show from all the other award winners. Both of these young women were awarded multiple scholarships, won several awards and were generally praised throughout the ceremony. The interesting fact was that they were adherents of the Islamic faith. I have lived in the Middle East and I am aware of some of the issues of Islam as it relates to other faiths and cultures. What I found a bit ironic was that the news is overloaded with instances of racism and a general xenophobia in America, especially with regards to Islam. Yet, in the midst of all the hate and jingoism here were two Muslim women who were not only accepted by their peers but generally overwhelmingly praised by them as well. Sadly, I looked around and saw no television crews. I guess instances of peace and cooperation are just not as newsworthy. I also found it interesting that in many Muslim dominated countries these young ladies may not have even had the opportunity to attend a university. I like to think that most Americans would have been as proud of their recognition as I was and that they would have seen past race, religion and sex. America is truly a unique and wonderful country at times.
Another issue that came up recently was a question brought forth by a student of mine. He asked me why Americans get to mispronounce their English, but he, as a ELL student had to practice proper pronunciation. I honestly had no real answer for him. I told him that some of it was a simple laziness of use and ownership. "It is our language, so we can mispronounce it if we wish," I laughingly stated. This, of course, is not a great answer and not the answer to give. I felt that there was really no adequate answer to give him. However, I do have to think that my flippant response was probably the right one. Between, the regional patterns of American English, the lack of pronunciation training, and yes, the general laziness of American English speakers, we have sort of allowed pronunciation to slip and take a back seat to general usage. I think that I am now more certain I should endeavor to present my own speech with an ear towards proper pronunciation. I will tell you, it is not as easy as it sounds. I also want to encourage all my fellow instructors to be mindful of this issue as well. I think we owe our students a bit more in this area.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Chickens!!
My wife and I decided to try and raise some chickens. We have both decided to try and become a little more Earth friendly and this is one of the ideas we came up with. How does this pertain to teaching ELL students? I am glad the question is in your mind as you read this post.
One of the biggest challenges an instructor faces in a multicultural classroom is making the initial connection to one's students. It can be a huge impediment to learning. I would suggest that many Americans, in general, have little knowledge of life in the rest of the world. Sure, there is Europe and some parts of Asia that most Americans could be comfortable residing in for a period. But, how do you relate to a student from a third-world country; chickens!
Chickens are ubiquitous in most poorer countries. I can't even remember the number of places I have visited where chickens were underfoot and everywhere. Now that I am raising chickens myself, I have a perfect place from which to open up a discussion. I would be shocked if in a class of ELL students I wouldn't find someone who had chickens around at some point in their lives. There is a wealth of material in just this one simple connection.
There is all manner of vocabulary just about food; eating chicken for a meal or eggs. What are some good recipes for chicken? What do chickens themselves eat? From there one could talk about raising chickens or raising animals in general. Did anyone have a pet or have to do work related to chickens or other animals. The list of potential topic is as endless as one's imagination.
The point is that making that initial connection is key to getting a class moving in the right direction and stimulating participation and conversation ... so, don't discount chickens when it comes to ELL learners.
One of the biggest challenges an instructor faces in a multicultural classroom is making the initial connection to one's students. It can be a huge impediment to learning. I would suggest that many Americans, in general, have little knowledge of life in the rest of the world. Sure, there is Europe and some parts of Asia that most Americans could be comfortable residing in for a period. But, how do you relate to a student from a third-world country; chickens!
Chickens are ubiquitous in most poorer countries. I can't even remember the number of places I have visited where chickens were underfoot and everywhere. Now that I am raising chickens myself, I have a perfect place from which to open up a discussion. I would be shocked if in a class of ELL students I wouldn't find someone who had chickens around at some point in their lives. There is a wealth of material in just this one simple connection.
There is all manner of vocabulary just about food; eating chicken for a meal or eggs. What are some good recipes for chicken? What do chickens themselves eat? From there one could talk about raising chickens or raising animals in general. Did anyone have a pet or have to do work related to chickens or other animals. The list of potential topic is as endless as one's imagination.
The point is that making that initial connection is key to getting a class moving in the right direction and stimulating participation and conversation ... so, don't discount chickens when it comes to ELL learners.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Strangers in a Room Full of People
So, this is just a short bit of humor for all those who have been in foreign country and felt lost in a crowd.
I may not have written this before, but my wife is not a native speaker of English. She is ethnically Korean but is Chinese by birth; think of Mexican-American but replace it with Korean-Chinese. As such, she is fluent in both Korean and Chinese. Occasionally she has her Chinese friends over for a meal or just to visit. Naturally, they converse in Chinese rather than English. However, the other night she invited a very dear Korean friend to join us for a big dinner with some of her Chinese friends and me. I am sort of used to the conversation being predominantly in Chinese and just sit quietly or try to engage someone in English. However, I noticed that our Korean friend was sitting quietly and not talking much. It hit me that she also did not speak Chinese. I was guilty of just lumping her in with our Chinese guests and assuming she spoke Chinese. I felt badly for her and for my assumption, so I quickly engaged her in a very pleasant conversation; first with my very limited Korean vocabulary and then in English, of course. I was rewarded with a big smile and a look of relief at not being the only outsider in the crowd
We are truly living in a multi-cultural world and it may be the other person who is lost in a foreign culture and not always you. You just never know and it speaks to the need for any professional language instructor to try and pick up a few words in every language they can to help someone who may be that lost person.
I may not have written this before, but my wife is not a native speaker of English. She is ethnically Korean but is Chinese by birth; think of Mexican-American but replace it with Korean-Chinese. As such, she is fluent in both Korean and Chinese. Occasionally she has her Chinese friends over for a meal or just to visit. Naturally, they converse in Chinese rather than English. However, the other night she invited a very dear Korean friend to join us for a big dinner with some of her Chinese friends and me. I am sort of used to the conversation being predominantly in Chinese and just sit quietly or try to engage someone in English. However, I noticed that our Korean friend was sitting quietly and not talking much. It hit me that she also did not speak Chinese. I was guilty of just lumping her in with our Chinese guests and assuming she spoke Chinese. I felt badly for her and for my assumption, so I quickly engaged her in a very pleasant conversation; first with my very limited Korean vocabulary and then in English, of course. I was rewarded with a big smile and a look of relief at not being the only outsider in the crowd
We are truly living in a multi-cultural world and it may be the other person who is lost in a foreign culture and not always you. You just never know and it speaks to the need for any professional language instructor to try and pick up a few words in every language they can to help someone who may be that lost person.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Book Review - Visible Learning for Teachers
Hello again! I want to thank all of you who are reading my blog. I hope one day that more and more people enjoy my writing, but I never want to lose sight of the fact that a few of you have been loyal readers from the beginning.
I wanted to address a second point. One of my colleagues called me out on my off and on poor syntax. It made me laugh. "Healer, heal thyself ....." Yes, I admit that I make mistakes. Even we mighty teachers of English are not perfect when it comes to using English. I had one of my Chinese students actually explain grammar to me a couple nights ago. I explained to him that sometimes grammar is just intuitive and maybe I couldn't explain the rule, but I knew right from wrong. As an American, English speaker and writer my ability is sometimes clouded by my enjoyment of pop culture and basically my lack of attention at times. I am not using it as an excuse. I am merely stating that sometimes I am just in the "zone" writing and not paying attention, so poor language use creeps in and haunts me. I apologize to all of you out there and perhaps I will endeavor to edit a bit more before I post.
Okay, the book I want to briefly talk about is a particular favorite of mine, John Hattie's Visible Learning for Teachers Spoiler Alert! This book breaks down into one easy statement; intervention works. Essentially Hattie has synthesized over 15 years of research and produced his best practices; which he details in the book. The meat of the book is a guide to preparing, delivering and reflecting on a lesson. This all occurs in part two of the book, approximately 100 pages of a book of slightly more than 160 pages in total. In this section Hattie talks about preparing the lesson, starting the lesson, how a lesson flows, where feedback is needed and used, and ending a lesson. As stated before he makes use of his extensive research to provide examples of what has worked well before based on the data. One term he uses that always gets me to the point of why I teach and that is when he terms teachers as activators. We are what begins the process of learning much like a catalyst in a chemical reaction.
The first section reinforces this as it talks about where we get ideas for our teaching methods and how important a role teachers play in the overall learning process. The final section discusses "Mind Frames". He speaks to the mind frames of teachers, school leaders, and administration. Again the point is that good teachers are an important asset, but they have to be backed up by good leaders and good administration. We all make up a part of a team.
The book also has a great section on data for those that like to see the numbers. In the appendices Hattie breaks down his data for all to see. For example he rates the effectiveness of different influences on achievement. One of the highest is student expectations. Hattie's studies show that students generally achieve to their expectations. With this in mind it is necessary as a teacher to raise those expectations.
I highly recommend this book to any teacher looking for some breakdown on preparing and delivering lessons. It is a short but thoughtful read and full of great ideas.
- Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. London: Routledge.
Monday, April 10, 2017
Teaching Philosophy
I had an interesting discussion today, brief but interesting, about teaching philosophy. I wanted to share my thoughts before I got involved in another task and 12 days had passed before I remember again. We've all had a week like that, right? I keep meaning to write a bit more frequently, but life seems to get in the way.
My teaching philosophy has evolved over the years and continues to evolve as I become more knowledgeable. I actually don't remember what I first developed as my initial teaching philosophy but I am sure I have it saved somewhere on a thumb drive. I was actually meeting with the professor who first forced me to write it down and we discussed that many students, hoping to teach, have never developed a teaching philosophy. Yet, they want to teach just as I did when I realized that I did not have any thoughts on a teaching philosophy of my own.
To me, the basic tenet of my teaching philosophy is that I want to try and deliver the best material to my students that I can. I feel that as a professional I owe them nothing less than my best. This is what motivates me to continue to learn and to even start writing this blog. It is a little hard to put oneself out there and become open for criticism. However, without being challenged, we tend to stagnate. In all my years of work, not just teaching but any kind of work, the most hated two phrases I hear are, "Because that's how we've always done it." or any phrase with "can't." I am not sure why people repeat those types of phrases but they seem to be the go to excuse for not making change. Usually they have been espoused by the mysterious "they." I once asked someone to, "Give me they's phone number." It made me smile when they became so flustered that they did not realize my mistake in pronoun usage. I am always seeking to change things. I figure at my age the worst that can happen is I get a little embarrassed by my failure. Who cares! So, give the students your best, even if it ends up being a bit of a bomb. They will appreciate the effort.
My next basic tenet is to use real material. If you understand that language evolves then you have to understand that the materials we use to teach; the language, the texts, the exercises, etc. all have to evolve as well. I will find some old exercises floating around and realize they are no longer valid but still in use for some reason. Why not change them out for newer material? Plus you have to become technically adept and try some different techniques for delivering your material. There is nothing wrong with using some technology if it is applicable. Believe me, the students definitely use tech.
Finally, be flexible. As I stated in an earlier blog, I was forced to do some radical rethinking when faced with a class that I just didn't seem to be reaching with my stated syllabus. I had to try a few different and new things, and I was able to incorporate a little class observation into my thinking. There is nothing wrong with taking part of a class period and just chatting with your students. Find out what they are looking for and what interests them. And, as I stated above, try some new techniques.
I want to close with just a bit of generic advice that was offered to me. Don't always feel you have to teach to the now. Sometimes you are teaching to the future. What I mean to say is that if you give your all and it seems things are not working out, just continue to provide your best and I assure you that a few weeks down the road the class will click and all that information will come flooding back to the students that you thought they were missing.
My teaching philosophy has evolved over the years and continues to evolve as I become more knowledgeable. I actually don't remember what I first developed as my initial teaching philosophy but I am sure I have it saved somewhere on a thumb drive. I was actually meeting with the professor who first forced me to write it down and we discussed that many students, hoping to teach, have never developed a teaching philosophy. Yet, they want to teach just as I did when I realized that I did not have any thoughts on a teaching philosophy of my own.
To me, the basic tenet of my teaching philosophy is that I want to try and deliver the best material to my students that I can. I feel that as a professional I owe them nothing less than my best. This is what motivates me to continue to learn and to even start writing this blog. It is a little hard to put oneself out there and become open for criticism. However, without being challenged, we tend to stagnate. In all my years of work, not just teaching but any kind of work, the most hated two phrases I hear are, "Because that's how we've always done it." or any phrase with "can't." I am not sure why people repeat those types of phrases but they seem to be the go to excuse for not making change. Usually they have been espoused by the mysterious "they." I once asked someone to, "Give me they's phone number." It made me smile when they became so flustered that they did not realize my mistake in pronoun usage. I am always seeking to change things. I figure at my age the worst that can happen is I get a little embarrassed by my failure. Who cares! So, give the students your best, even if it ends up being a bit of a bomb. They will appreciate the effort.
My next basic tenet is to use real material. If you understand that language evolves then you have to understand that the materials we use to teach; the language, the texts, the exercises, etc. all have to evolve as well. I will find some old exercises floating around and realize they are no longer valid but still in use for some reason. Why not change them out for newer material? Plus you have to become technically adept and try some different techniques for delivering your material. There is nothing wrong with using some technology if it is applicable. Believe me, the students definitely use tech.
Finally, be flexible. As I stated in an earlier blog, I was forced to do some radical rethinking when faced with a class that I just didn't seem to be reaching with my stated syllabus. I had to try a few different and new things, and I was able to incorporate a little class observation into my thinking. There is nothing wrong with taking part of a class period and just chatting with your students. Find out what they are looking for and what interests them. And, as I stated above, try some new techniques.
I want to close with just a bit of generic advice that was offered to me. Don't always feel you have to teach to the now. Sometimes you are teaching to the future. What I mean to say is that if you give your all and it seems things are not working out, just continue to provide your best and I assure you that a few weeks down the road the class will click and all that information will come flooding back to the students that you thought they were missing.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Better Late Than Later ... More About Star Magazine
I took a bit of vacation the last week and found it a bit hard to get a chance to sit down and post something. However, I am back and ready to do some free writing.
I got asked to describe more about how I make use of Star magazine with ELL students. So, I am going to revisit that topic for those that asked. Because the magazine is very visual, I have included a scan of the article for reference.
Generally the magazine has three or four really good articles; each of one to three pages in length. Also, every issue has a couple sections that repeat through every issue. This is one of those repeated sections; "Star Buzz". When I am preparing a lesson, I like to start off by developing some background for the readings. This article provides a good place to start. Jimmy Fallon is a well-known personality and most ELL students will have some idea of who he is or you might be able to show a clip to sort of introduce him to those who don't.
After a short discussion, which also stimulates conversation, I will introduce five to ten new words that I would like the students to learn. I try to use words that share something, to sort of keep a theme for the lesson. For this article I would probably only go with five and I would try to group them around divorce or perhaps argument. And, in some cases the list of words might include some idiomatic phrases as well. With this in mind, I would select 'mend the rift', 'acrimony', to 'argue', 'moody', and 'frustrated'. Obviously there a couple others that would fit in this group as well, and I might be inclined to have the students try and hunt those words down on their own.
The next step would be to have a couple students read the selection including the side bars. I also like to have the students try to explain what they read in their own words and to try and puzzle out the meaning of the vocabulary words as well. I will often have the students try to figure out the overall tone of the article by using the pictures as clues. I might do this as a pre-reading exercise. And, finally I would end the lesson with a few comprehension questions as a check on both subjective and objective understanding. For example I might ask about their ski trip for a subjective response and maybe something about how his wife might feel in search of a more objective understanding of the article.
There is so much more one can do with this article and I am just giving you a short look at what I might try. Other ideas might be to try and explain why it is called "Star Buzz" or to use it as a prompt for some writing, or to stimulate even more conversation about marriages and divorces. In fact a whole unit could be built around marriage and divorce using this article as a portal.
As you can see the Star may be a bit simplistic for an American who has seen it in the grocery line for years, but for an ELL student it is a look into our culture and it is a great tool from which to learn.
I got asked to describe more about how I make use of Star magazine with ELL students. So, I am going to revisit that topic for those that asked. Because the magazine is very visual, I have included a scan of the article for reference.
Generally the magazine has three or four really good articles; each of one to three pages in length. Also, every issue has a couple sections that repeat through every issue. This is one of those repeated sections; "Star Buzz". When I am preparing a lesson, I like to start off by developing some background for the readings. This article provides a good place to start. Jimmy Fallon is a well-known personality and most ELL students will have some idea of who he is or you might be able to show a clip to sort of introduce him to those who don't.
After a short discussion, which also stimulates conversation, I will introduce five to ten new words that I would like the students to learn. I try to use words that share something, to sort of keep a theme for the lesson. For this article I would probably only go with five and I would try to group them around divorce or perhaps argument. And, in some cases the list of words might include some idiomatic phrases as well. With this in mind, I would select 'mend the rift', 'acrimony', to 'argue', 'moody', and 'frustrated'. Obviously there a couple others that would fit in this group as well, and I might be inclined to have the students try and hunt those words down on their own.
The next step would be to have a couple students read the selection including the side bars. I also like to have the students try to explain what they read in their own words and to try and puzzle out the meaning of the vocabulary words as well. I will often have the students try to figure out the overall tone of the article by using the pictures as clues. I might do this as a pre-reading exercise. And, finally I would end the lesson with a few comprehension questions as a check on both subjective and objective understanding. For example I might ask about their ski trip for a subjective response and maybe something about how his wife might feel in search of a more objective understanding of the article.
There is so much more one can do with this article and I am just giving you a short look at what I might try. Other ideas might be to try and explain why it is called "Star Buzz" or to use it as a prompt for some writing, or to stimulate even more conversation about marriages and divorces. In fact a whole unit could be built around marriage and divorce using this article as a portal.
As you can see the Star may be a bit simplistic for an American who has seen it in the grocery line for years, but for an ELL student it is a look into our culture and it is a great tool from which to learn.
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