TESOL 2008

Here are Lila's comments about TESOL 2008

I attended many sessions, but because of the overlapping nature of the sessions I missed some others that appeared interesting. Like many of us, I couldn’t get to the 5th floor of the Sheraton and so I missed a few sessions up there. I also feel it will take some time to fully assimilate the information and make it an automatic part of my teaching.

The two plenaries I attended were “Worlds of Practice” by Suresh Canagarajah and “Correctness and Correction” by Penny Ur. They have been discussed by others, but I’ll add some impressions. The first plenary was fascinating and amusing, but also instructive about one teacher coming to terms with the “experts” and finally honoring “local practices.” Although this may primarily apply to EFL, it encouraged me to follow my instincts. Then it was a treat to listen to Penny Ur and see her data on what kinds of correction students want and which are effective. She definitely urged teaching correctness, while at the same time respecting variants. The message I got was to correct, but point out the variants students might hear or already know (for example, British spellings).

I attended two sessions on pronunciation “Pronunciation in Every Class at Every Level” and “Integrating Pronunciation and Grammar and Vocabulary.” Both presenters believe it is more important to teach word stress and intonation than individual sounds and that those aspects of pronunciation can be incorporated into any class. The first presenter suggested clapping, snapping fingers, or stretching rubber bands to emphasize the stressed syllables. The second presenter urged practicing sentences aloud to become aware of the differences between written and spoken forms. She urged choral practice with the grammar sentences you are already teaching. She pointed out that some grammar forms get less stress and perhaps that’s why students find it hard to learn them. This seemed to be very practical advice that could be incorporated easily into grammar lessons. However, as I said above, I think it will take me some quiet time to assimilate her advice. (I have handouts for both if you’re interested.)

Another excellent session was “Effective Reading-Speaking Activities for Multi-Level Classes" by Laurel Pollard. The presenter had several good suggestions, but here are my favorites. Here’s a way for students to read to practice fluency. Using something the students have already read, two students sit together and one reads aloud for 1 minute (timed by the teacher) and marks the place where she stopped. Then the second student goes to the beginning of the passage and reads for 1 minute and marks the place he stopped. Then the first student goes to the beginning of the passage again and reads for 1 minute, marking the place she stopped. Student 2 does the same. The purpose is to show them that they will read further each time they read because they are familiar with the words and therefore reading aloud is smoother and faster. I tried this with my class and they did indeed get further in the passage and they seemed to feel good about that. It is certainly a simple thing that requires no planning and accomplishes something valuable.
The presenter also suggested ways for good readers and poor readers to work on the same passage but do activities at their own level. The good readers stay in the room and read something for enjoyment. The poor readers go out of the room and take dictation of several questions about the reading (either from the teacher or from another student.) Then the poor readers return to the room and pair up with good readers and ask the questions. Thus the poor readers practice asking questions, writing down the answers, and learn about the content. After that the poor readers could read the passage with greater ease. (I have the handout.)

“Extensive Reading in the Adult ESOL Classroom” was about the value of lots of extra reading for students to do to develop fluency. The teachers brought in books from the library on many different topics. The books were slightly below the students abilities. (They suggested no more than 3-5 unknown words per page.) Special time was set aside in class for students to read for pleasure. In small groups students discussed what they were reading. Other students got interested in the books and wanted to read them too. The data the presenters collected showed that students enjoyed this reading and did improve their reading capability. Although they suggested intermediate level or above, I think some very short articles/stories could be collected for a low-level class.

A very different session was “How Effective Is Self-Assessment in Writing?” This was a paper by a professor from the United Arab Emirates about a study in four classes. She began her project because students were throwing out their assessment sheets because they didn’t understand them. She simplified the very complicated rubric, trained them to do assessment by giving them some samples to assess and then edit. Then they had to assess their own writing. After the students took their midterm, she asked them to assess themselves from memory. Then they saw their grades. The results were that although many of her students underestimated themselves, their assessments were close to the official essay readers. She said the whole process gave the students more confidence. Certainly the key to this was the extensive training she gave them in how to assess writing.

One session that I think will help me to teach Level 1A was “Creating Memory Quilt Art to Encourage Language.” The presenter said he uses this technique for students 18 years old and up. The teacher provides crayons or markers and gives a prompt (or not) (happiest day of life, favorite family celebration, memory of past generations). Students draw something related to the prompt. Stick figures are okay. Then the teacher posts all papers on the wall like a quilt and students gather in front of the display and tell about what their picture means. The presenter said this often leads to emotional exchanges and certainly unites the group. It can be a lead-in to writing although he doesn’t always have his students write. This seems like fun and an easy way to get into writing.

“How to Be a Benevolent Dictator” was definitely one of the better sessions. Natalie Hess had many interesting ways to dictate. She seemed to be less interested in correction than for speaking afterwards. One techniques was to have students divide a paper into three columns: Agree / Disagree / Don’t Know. Then the teacher dictates some simple sentences about a single topic. (She used New York, but of course it could be any topic, including your book.) As she dictates, the students write in the column appropriate for their opinion. Then they walk around and tell each other what they agreed with and ask for the other student’s opinion. She also recommended Mario Rinvolucri’s book about dictation.

I look forward to reading about other people's favorite sessions.