Classroom Observation 9/14

On Tuesday, September 14th, I conducted my first field observation of Ms. T's ESL class at Oakland Middle School. I had visited there briefly last week to introduce myself, and I was eager to roll up my sleeves and to really get started. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting my mentor and was excited to observe a different ESL classroom from my own at ELS. I brought along with me: my field journal, a voice recorder, and camera to take note of all the things that I would see, hear, and learn.

TEACHING

What was the purpose of the lesson?

CLASS: High/Intermediate ESL Reading and Writing Class.

The purpose of todays's lesson focused on the following objectives:

• Reading comprehension
• Making predictions
• Chronological Order (time sequence)
• Vocabulary (synonyms)
• Writing: Journal writing (critical thinking)

How was the lesson structured -- methodology, appropriateness, materials for second language learners, adapations?

Student population: 7 Hispanics and 1 Chinese

MATERIALS:

• The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
• Student journals

METHODOLOGY and APPROPRIATENESS:

Ms. T has a very unique method of instruction in her ESL classroom. She begins the lesson formally and moves from a formal to informal structure throughout. Immediately after the students get settled, she begins to read aloud a chapter from the novel The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. (She asked me prior to beginning the lesson if I enjoyed reading, and if so, if I liked juvenile literature. She had a tone of excitement in her voice, so I knew that whatever this book was about -- she liked it.)

The students had read the current chapter for homework the previous night, so they followed along as Ms. T read aloud. She used an emphatic tone while reading and kept the students on track by asking questions while she read. She also walked around the room -- staying in close contact with the students to make sure that they were listening and on task.

She has a dynamic presence in the classroom, and the students find her engaging. At one point, I noticed that out of the 8 students, only 3 had their books open and were actively following. I wondered why she didn't demand that the other students who were not following open their books to join in? I know in my own classroom I would have. I reflected a little bit on my own teaching style here and realized that I have such a formal nature in my own instruction. (This situation would have severely irritated me, and I would have demanded participation.) However, as I continued to observe, I realized her methodology. In the back of the room, sat a hispanic boy, who to me, looked like he was clearly not paying attention. She approached his desk and asked him a question in regards to the reading selection. "What season is it?" asked Ms. T. I was sure he would get it wrong. "Winter," he said. In this situation, she was assessing two things: student listening and reading comprehension skills. It didn't matter that the boy's book wasn't open. It didn't have to be for him to meet her objectives.

As soon as the read aloud segment ended, a student-centered response session proceeded. and the focus moved on to time sequencing and reading for main ideas. Students were assigned to write 7 main events from the story in their writing journals. She also included some foreshadowing and asked them what they thought might happen next. They answered orally and reviewed their answers as a group.

The class concluded with a vocabulary exercise. Ms. T wrote the focus words on the board and asked the students to come up individually to the white board to write synonyms for each word. If the students were unsure, their textbooks included the vocabulary word along with the definition of each word and a picture for visualization and guide.

All of the objectives for this class were successfully met.

ADAPTATIONS FOR ELLs

Adaptations in learning for the ELL students were noted in the following 2 ways: textbook and spelling exceptions.

New vocabulary includes pictures within the text to help students visualize new words for word building.

When the students were invited to share the synonyms for word building, one of the students responded, "Ms. T, you know I can't spell." Ms. T replied, "You know that's okay for now." For this lesson the objective was word acquisition, not spelling. She adressed the importance of spelling, but let the students know that what they were trying to learn now were new words.

How did the second language learners react and interact?

The students interacted very well as a group, with the teacher, and independently. They clearly listen to Ms. T's instructions and highly respect her as their teacher. For example, at one point of the lesson, the students became excited (like 12 year olds do) and started conversing with eachother about something off topic. (Wednesday is supposed to be a half day, so they were very concerned about where they'd be eating lunch since dismissal is at 11:15.) Ms. T gave instructions to get them back on track with the phrase, "Eyeballs on me, so I know that you're listening." At this point, I found myself in a silent monologue revisiting the days when I taught middle school Social Studies. What a nightmare. "Not gonna work," I thought. However, Ms. T triumphed. All of the students immediately stopped what they were doing and their "eyeballs" were on her. They began their journal writing projects and worked very quietly in their "thinking time."

COMMUNITY

What evidence of "community" in terms of the second language did you observe?

Ms. T's morning high/intermediate classroom is a dynamic community. It is clear that for many students, this room is their niche --the place where they feel most relaxed when the mainstream English world seems stressful or overwhelming.

The ESL students are excited when they walk into Ms. T's classroom. I noticed immediately that Ms. T keeps up with the reading interests of the students and is a big advocate for literacy at home and in the classroom. A new series of books, which the students referred to as "The Bones" books apparently seem to be popular amongst middle schoolers these days. Today, Ms. T had brought in a crisp new collection to share with her students. These kids were definitely excited, and they shared that excitement with the group. "LOOK! Ms. T's got the Bones books!" The students interacted intimately with eachother and shared a real sense of belonging.

I also observed that in the ESL classroom, they comfortably were able to ask questions about school events and random miscellany they might have missed or didn't understand in the morning announcements, such as: lunch for tomorrow, early dismissal, etc. The students in Ms. T's classroom don't feel aprehensive at all in asking her to clarify information.

What is required to become a member of this classroom or learning environment -- consider language, literacy, content instruction, materials, etc.?

The requirements to join this classroom are simple: need for ESL instruction. Each student plays their own role in the community. I observed some students as leaders, others participating simply because everyone else was, and it seemed like the thing to do. However, the thing I noted most was: THESE STUDENTS WERE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING AND ACTIVE IN THE SLA PROCESS.

Another thing I noticed was the presence of cultural acceptance. The one Chinese student, who culturally by nature is known to be a quiet participant in class, is respected by the teacher and the students. The hispanic students who are culturally conversationalists are respected and taught in accordance to their strong points. At one point of the class, one of the hispanic students was interested in borrowing a book from the classroom. Ms T said, "Wait! I am saving that book for one of my students in the next class who speaks Chinese, and I think that this book would be really good for him. I want him to be interested in reading." The student said, "Oh, ok. I'll pick something else. Maybe he'll like that one."

In order to be a successful participant in this community, the main requirement is a desire to improve and to succeed; however, not only wanting it for yourself, but your fellow classmates, as well.

ETHNOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

What events occurred during your observation - formal interactions and informal interactions?

There were many events of both formal and informal interaction that occurred during my observation. Below are a few instances of note:

INFORMAL

Students keep their journals for safe-keeping in the ESL classroom. At the onset of the lesson, Ms T. quickly passed them out to students and said, " Does everybody have their junk?" I thought this was interesting. Again, it made me rethink my own teaching formalities and lack of the latter. By using street talk and other vocabulary at the student level, the teacher was connecting with the students and engaging on a personal level. She then quickly changed into formal teaching and officially began the lesson. Throughout the lesson, this would happen many times. Ms. T changes from informal to formal with ease.

During the student question response, Ms T would ask questions and students would call out the answers without raising their hands. For example, in one instance the teacher said, "What do you think is going to happen, now?" Students jovialy shouted out answers, and it was not a problem. They were all engaged in the lesson.

FORMAL

During independent journal writing time, Ms T said, "Oh, I have to take attendance!" One student replied, "Why, Ms T? You know we're all here." She again replied, "I know, but the office needs it for their records." This was representation of teacher duty to maintain records - an administrative duty in the classroom.

I also noted classroom procedure. Students who lacked supplies such as pencils or erasers knew the protocol. When necessary, each student in need politely raised his/her hand to make the request even if group classroom conversation was in progress.

What can an observer see if he/she entered the classroom at this particular time?

An observer entering this room during this class period would see a classroom in ACTION. The teacher, Ms. T, is the dominant presence and guide, but it is an interactive place. Students interact with the teacher and with the eachother. There is an excitement and enthusiasm for learning in the air. Learning is fun. As an observer, I wanted to participate.

There is also an evident stress on the advocacy for literacy. This is shown in the classroom decor. Bookshelves overflow with books. The word "READ" is displayed on the walls, and the quotation "Reading is an adventure that never ends," hangs for students to see and to imagine the possibilities. Ms. T has made the lesson today an adventure, for sure. Her emphatic tone in the read aloud and enthusiasm behind her questions, helped the students embark in the Magician's Elephant's journey.

Another thing to note is the "newness" of the classroom. Oakland Middle School just opened in August, 2010. This is its first year it is operating as an academic instution. The floors are shiny and clean, and the smell of fresh paint is still in the air.

What evidence of "acceptance and welcome" would a second language learner see?

Ms. T's ESL classroom is a comfortable and welcoming environment, but it is not the room that makes it so, but the teacher. Each student is welcomed into her classroom and it is shown from their demeanor and active participation that they feel comfortable and safe there. The golden tones in the room help to make it warm, but there appears to be a true love of reading present and an acceptance of language and diversity.

Methods and Materials

Literacy development in the L2 classroom is a crucial component of second language acquisition, especially in regards to CALP. As studied this past semester, I have realized that in order to teach literacy development successfully, I must promote literacy not only to my students themselves, but also go beyond the classroom and reach out to their families and their communities. I must educate myself more in my students' L1 backgrounds if I hope to teach phonemic awareness and phonics successfully. If I have an understanding of their language, it might help me to help them understand the L2 language with more accuracy.

Phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, and reading comprehension are the key components in achieving literacy. There are many strategies that are available to meet the varying needs of ELL students; however, each classroom environment is unique and each student has his/her own varying level of English language proficiency and comfort in varying teaching methods.

In my classroom, I believe that in order to be successful, reading materials should be chosen wisely. They should be complimentary to language level, contain relevant vocabulary, and include content that is of interest to the student. In instruction, incorporating word building activities, writing prompts, and anticipatory guides that promote metacognition and demonstrate comprehension in the L2 language guarantee results. My students like to know that they are acquiring acquisition and that their language skills are progressing. Including organizers and building off background knowledge that help students come to new conclusions helps them to see that they are in fact learning. It is my responsibility as an instructor to create language learning strategies and to develop materials successfully for second language acquisition.

I have noticed that a lot of instructors who begin teaching English as a Second Language begin this journey naively. They think, "I speak English. This'll be easy." However, teaching ESL is one of the hardest subjects I have ever taught. It is more than standing in a classroom and lecturing on content area subjects. You can't do that with ESL students because first they have to understand the language with which you are using to communicate. Memorize the Theory of Gravity! That's easy to say, but not to an ESL student. You have to provide the structure and components to help the ESL student understand the sounds, the words, the sentence structure, etc. to comprehend that. Teaching someone a whole other way language system can be frustrating and exhausting. However, I say don't give up. The key is educating yourself in methods and strategies and learning how to do implement them successfully.

This course has been useful in teaching methods that facilitate to work along with the language backgrounds of ELL students. In the future, I plan to work harder to familiarize myself with other language structures while utitilzing multiple approaches of ESL instruction in my classroom. I plan to create guides that promote literacy that not only recall reading content, but which also call for more reflection from behalf of the student. Also, I plan to create materials promoting comprehension in a more visual style by using word maps and utilizing various types of graphic organizers.

What should we read?

I've noticed that in teaching ESL, reading comprehension is one of the most difficult skills to teach. I struggle with it daily. Where I teach, our curriculum uses books that as the levels of acquistion progress, reading incorporated into the coursework is intended to promote Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) -- meaning vocabulary becomes more difficult and students are asked to use reading comprehension skills to answer questions which compliment the text, both literally and reflectively.

I run into a variety of problems here. First of all, I really do not care for the readings that the textbooks provide. They don't at all help my students due to lack of relevance and interest. For example, one unit is themed "Have all the heroes died?" The unit begins with introductory reading materials taken from books, and magazines; however, they are always dated - extremely dated. This particular chapter focuses on Lou Gherig and Babe Ruth and their "heroic" deeds. Personally, I don't really think Babe Ruth was any kind of a hero. I know it doesn't matter what I think, but it does matter what my students think. They don't care about Babe Ruth because they don't know who Babe Ruth is. They are not interested to know who Babe Ruth is. My students are internationals --they don't play baseball. The next reading talks about Lee Iacoca. Okay, enough said! The first point I think that should be considered when choosing reading material is: INTEREST! When it's interesting, students are more likely to pay attention. If they're paying attention, they're engaged in what they're learning.

Next, the vocabulary in these texts is obsolete. Units include content that includes things like: pushing their wares, feet of clay, junkies, etc. This type of vocabulary appears at the advanced intermediate level. It's just at the point where the doors of English are opening up to them. This material frustrates and closes the doors for many. It takes me a long time to reach them again. I notice that when we're reading in class, they're just reading the words. When I ask them to respond about what they've just read, they have no idea. The second point that should be considered is that reading materials should use vocabulary that we are likely to see or hear in our EVERYDAY speech. I can honestly say that in my life, I have, if ever, only once heard someone use the words, "pushing their wares." By the way, that statement in the text is used in an article that's not even talking about drugs or places where it is more commonly used and likely to be heard, but with Native Americans in gambling casinos. Seriously!

When they get to master's level, they start reading Newsweek. There really is nothing wrong with Newsweek, but it's a hard read. I think it's good to choose literature that includes current events, but why not maybe The Tennessean, or maybe even Time? Periodicals that use more simple text.

The reason I believe this is is from my own experience. I grew up speaking Lithuanian fluently at home. I studied it academically in my primary and secondary years at a Saturday school, but that was 15 years ago, and it wasn't enough. I only have Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS). I struggle reading the newspaper and writing intelligently. I can have conversations. I understand everything someone tells me, but I read and write like a 6 year old. I see this in my students. At masters level, I have students who read and write like 6 years olds, too. It's frustrating for them because they think they know English, only to discover that they don't. The curriculum we use uses content that doesn't do much in helping them overcome this hump.

I believe language materials should primarily be interesting and use vocabulary that is relevant. In my situation, my primary goal is to teach them the language first, not content, so I believe materials should be chosen in this manner.

Promoting literacy in Second Language Aquisition is extremely important, especially if the goal is promoting CALP, which in my case it is. Choosing effective and relevant materials needs to be considered in order to make that happen. While I was taking SPSE 6800 last Spring, I was at a point of frustration with the reading materials, and the fact that my students weren't always getting it. They weren't always going to have someone like me standing there -- exhaustively interpreting the texts for them. Reading aloud definitely was not working. It was just then that I had read a text advising that L2 learners are more likely to be comprehend texts when reading silently, rather than aloud. So, I did a test. We read one text aloud, like I had been doing, with comprehension questions that followed. The chosen text was one of the required course texts I had described above. Result: none of the students had any clue about what they had just read. Next, I had them read a reading silently with comprehension questions that followed. Result: they at least got some of the questions right.

In conclusion, I think with proper material and effective implementation literacy is a necessary and achievable goal for all L2 learners.

Welcome to my blogspot!

I started teaching ESL in 2005 when I worked as a Social Studies teacher in Rome, Italy at AMBRIT (American British International School). I picked it up for extra money.

When I retured to the States, I moved back to Cleveland and started teaching Social Studies again in the inner city, but I missed my international life. I missed the international students. I liked history and still do, but wasn't particularly interested in just teaching about the Oregon Trail anymore. I wanted something more.

Later, I moved to Chicago and started working in publishing again. (I used to work as an editor for Thompson and Gale before becoming a teacher.) I also went back to tutoring ESL for extra money and started teaching ESL courses at Xilin Chinese School to Chinese speaking students. I loved it! I loved my students! I loved the curriculum. I loved the rewards in teaching someone how to understand and communicate in a different language from their own.

Currently, I teach ESL at ELS Language Centers at MTSU. All of the students are academic bound. Classes range from beginner to masters. It is such a great thing to run into a student who had spoken little to no English upon arrival that is now a proficient and fluent English speaker. I got to take part in that journey.

My students are older. They are expats basically, and often times they need help adjusting in this new world. For example, I just had a man come in here whose wife is studying here. She is depressed, and he asked me if maybe I could talk to her. Another student asked me if I could go to the hospital with her because her husband is there, and she doesn't understand what the doctors are telling her.

Is all of this a drag? Sometimes. Is teaching them frustrating? Sometimes. However, I love it.

I love this program I am studying in now because it's teaching me how to be a better teacher. It's making me more aware of my students and their situations. It's helping me practice patience when I feel I have none.

Teaching ESL is really the only thing I can imagine doing anymore. I still travel, but I prefer living stateside and vacationing elsewhere in my freetime. I like the international students and the rewards it brings. I like when I close the doors to my classroom, not much else matters. I have an important job to do. I feel the students need the skills that I am teaching them in addition to the basic knowledge they learning about the Oregon Trail.