Welcome to the June 2011 Session!

Welcome to the MTSU June Session and YOED 6020!

This blog is set up as an example for students enrolled in YOED 6020 / Reading, Writing, and Learning Methods in ESL.  This class focuses on literacy, methods, and strategies for developing literacy in second language learners.

This is the last semester that the class is being offered under the "old name."  Beginning Fall 2011, the ESL Add-On and M.Ed. program will offer revised classes to meet the new Tennessee Department of Education Professional Standards for ESL.  The content of the class (Summer 2011) has been revised, so, in essence we will be covering material that complies with standards and which will be in the new version of the course, YOED 6020 / Literacy Instruction for ELLs!

To begin our session, here is a great video showing how one ESL / Bilingual teacher encouraged writing development.  Be sure to check back for more!

Blog Explosion!

My students are blogging!  Graduate students enrolled in YOED 6020 set up ESL Teaching and Learning Reflective Blogs.  My goal for the assignment was to encourage beginning, personal blogging in the hopes that blogs would be incorporated into graduate students' classrooms in the fall.

Check out the awesome work!

• Blogging in Clinton
• goenglish-saywhat
• Jill's Education Blog
• Georgia's Reflections
• Me in the English Town
• ESL Student Fun
• Aprender ingles chicos
• davaberz
• Classroom Fun-Second Grade Blog
• ellathhs
• Learning English Together
• Anna's ELL Bloganza
• Kindergarten Language Blog
• ELL Kinder Kids
• Reflecting Pool
• My ESL Blog 2010

Web 2.0 for ESL!

We have been using several Web 2.0 tools in YOED 6020.  ...but, how would you use these in teaching second language learners?

Recently I joined the online community, Classroom 2.0.  Although mostly for classroom teachers (PreK-12), I find it to be informative as well as "community-based" in that the posts, tools, and resources encourage sharing and learning.

Check out this post related to ESL:

Web 2.0 and ESL

Consider joining Classroom 2.0!

Pura Belpre Award Winners!

Looking for great books for ESL students?  Check out the Pura Belpre Award Winners!

The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA), an ALA affiliate.

The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. As a children's librarian, storyteller, and author, she enriched the lives of Puerto Rican children in the U.S.A. through her pioneering work of preserving and disseminating Puerto Rican folklore.

The award is now given annually. It was given as a biennial award from 1996 through 2008.

For a full list of the present and past winners, visit the PB Award web site at:

Pura Belpre Award Winners

Bloggedy-Blog!

I found a Language Blog sponsored by Education Week that might be of interest to those new to blogging. Check out this blog for more information:

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/

Happy blogging!

Working with adult second language learners...

It is always difficult for those working with adult second language learners to apply some of the current methods to adult populations.  The difference between pedagogy and androgogy comes into play.  Therefore, it is the effective teacher or instructor who is able to synthesize the information and adapt methods and materials to adults.

Keeping in mind, also, the adult learner has many more issues with the affective filter!  Also, consider the adult second language learner to be a high school student who is being forced to learn English as well as cultural norms of American pop culture!

Here's a great article which is posted on the CAELA site:

http://www.cal.org/caela/tools/instructional/esl_methods.html

ESL Methods...Over the years!

I found this great article that presents a "timeline" of methods used for ESL.  As I read the information I was reminded of how things have changed with regard to pedagogy and second language acquisition.  Of course I feel strongly that the change from "Designer Methods" to theory and research-based methods stems from the focus on individualizing education and also the fact that our ESL populations are not always literate in the first language.  Hence, we see the difference between ESL and EFL!

Here's the link:
http://www.yourdictionary.com/esl/about-esl/esl-teaching-methods.html