TESL-0130 - Unit One Reflection
Summarizing the readings in this unit
The first reading this week came from a website called
English Club. The website provides information for both teachers and students.
The information is about developing the four language skills (listening, speaking,
reading, and writing) and improving grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The
information is contained in articles and learning activities. The article that
we were assigned this week defines reading as “the process of looking at a
series of written symbols and getting meaning from them” (English Club, n.d.) The
symbols include letters and punctuation marks and are converted into words,
sentences, and paragraphs that our minds understand as language and derive
meaning from. The article explains that reading is a receptive skill because we
receive information when we read and that it is a productive skill since
transmit the received information. Reading is important because it improves
other language skills by increasing one’s vocabulary. My friend is an example
of this. He credits most of his success in learning English to the amount of
reading he did while growing up. One thing that I had not considered was the
relationship between speaking and reading. The article states that speaking skills
are important for reading because it helps us pronounce the words silently in
our minds when we read. This has been true in my experience. I think that
everyone has had experiences when they have tried to pronounce unfamiliar words
in their minds as they read but do not have a point of reference since they
have never heard the correct pronunciation in real life. This can lead to embarrassment
if they try to pronounce the word incorrectly while engaging in conversation
with someone else.
The next reading was written by Gretchen McCulloch
(2016) in her blog called “All Things Linguistic.” The blog has articles about
linguistics that are written for a general audience. It contains links to similar
blogs, YouTube Channels, news articles, and articles in other sources that are written
by the author. Many of the articles comment on other sources and integrate
current events to appeal to readers who are unfamiliar with linguistics or its cultural
relevance. Teaching English to speakers of other languages relates to the study
of linguistics through concepts that include language acquisition and the
building blocks of language. The original article that McCulloch comments on is
written by Marco Benevides and provides a visual demonstration about what it is
like to read in another language when you have a limited vocabulary. The article
has examples of written excerpts at 98, 95, and 80 per cent comprehension. McCulloch
(2016) relates the exercise to her experience trying to learn French. She writes
that she often used a language dictionary to look up unfamiliar words but that
doing so made her reading experience less enjoyable. She also relates the
exercise to reading A Clockwork Orange, where even though it is written in English,
it is a challenging read because it contains many words that the author
created. As a result of this experience, McCulloch started to read chapters in
French books without referring to a language for every unfamiliar word. She made
educated guesses about the meanings of unfamiliar words and focused more on reading
as an activity. She only looked up words that were used multiple times (McCulloch,
2016).
I thought the reading exercise was helpful in creating
empathy for students learning English because they were effective at creating the
frustration that readers of any language feel when they are trying to read
materials that contain large amounts of words that are unfamiliar to the
reader. I have had similar experiences with reading academic articles and books
when I first started university. Each discipline contains its own specialized
language and is written for different audiences who are accustomed to the use
of certain language and texts. It took several years of study before I felt
like I was able to understand the literature and develop a foundation of
knowledge that I could connect different concepts and ideas to in my mind. The
blog article also helped me to understand the importance of extended learning
for English language learners. The high school students who are part of the
homework help group that I volunteer with have had trouble with assignments
that require reading. Many students avoid directed reading and try to guess the
answers to assignments based on what they have discussed in class. This reading
has made me consider the level of frustration that they might feel when they
try to read their books. As someone who is hoping to become a teacher of
English language learners, this has made me interested in finding ways to inspire
students to read. I want students to see that reading is fundamental to
learning a new language and that it becomes easier as their vocabulary grows and
as they become more familiar with different types of reading texts. I want them
to enjoy reading and not feel like it is time-consuming and tedious.
The last reading was a chapter within the class text
by Brown and Lee (2015) called “Teaching Reading.” The chapter provides
information about aspects of written language and texts that are important for
English language teachers to know and understand before trying to instruct and
develop lesson plans to help students read in English. The first section
discusses research that has been conducted over the last 50 years about reading
in a second language. The research includes information about information processing
and how people learn by breaking down complicated subjects into specific
examples and by connecting a variety of inter-related concepts into broader
ideas. The authors argue that good teaching methods combine both types of
information processing. The research also shows that readers make sense of
texts by comparing and contrasting the information contained in them with their
own knowledge and beliefs in a process known as schema theory. This means that
two individuals will likely have different understandings of the same text.
Likewise, students may understand reading texts in ways that differ from how
the teacher anticipated when they created their lesson plans based on factors
like culture, beliefs, and personal experiences. This is also related to the
role of affect and culture and how they affect learning. The authors explain
that successful language acquisition goes beyond cognitive factors and is
affected by emotional factors like ego, self-esteem, self-motivation, empathy,
and cultural attitudes towards learning. In addition, students improve on their
reading abilities when they gain enjoyment from reading and have healthy
self-esteem. This portion of the chapter has helped me understand the way that
information is processed through reading and some of the factors that affect
students’ reading abilities. I plan to use this information in my volunteering
and work as a teacher by taking into account their unique backgrounds and
perspectives and encouraging students to share their understanding so that we
can all gain from their insights.
This section of the chapter also discusses research
about instruction and metacognitive strategies for efficient reading. These
strategies include students being taught to use self-planning and monitoring techniques
and to evaluate their own approaches to reading. Anderson (in Brown and Lee,
2015) argues that fluency is a “combination of both reading rate and reading
comprehension” (p. 394). It includes using reading strategies like skimming,
scanning, predicting, and identifying main ideas. There is also research that
advises students to read without employing the use of reading strategies.
Students should expose themselves to different types of reading texts and read
for leisure in their L2 so that they can improve their language abilities. This
is called extensive reading and helps students acquire new vocabulary and
increase their language proficiency. However, barriers exist for some students
learning an L2 who are unable to use these strategies and who are not at the
language level in which they are able to read on their own. This is common for
adult students at the literacy level who may also lack literacy skills in their
L1.
This is true for the students who I volunteer with who
are at the foundations level in the literacy program. It is difficult to teach
language skills like reading to students who we do not know how much education
they have received and the level of language proficiency they have in their L1.
As such, they probably lack reading skills that they can apply to learning a
new language. It can also be difficult to locate reading texts for these
students to read for the purpose of learning new words and expressions in
English. It also applies to the teenage students who I volunteer with in a
homework help group for newcomers. These students will come across the reading
strategies and often need someone to help them apply them to the reading texts
they have been assigned for homework. In one experience, I suggested a student
to re-read a story she was assigned and to look through her questions that she
was asked to answer to see what information she needed to focus on. I helped
her skim and scan the text and to underline information that answered
questions, so she could refer to it later. These tips helped her take away more
from the story. I will try to incorporate these strategies and knowledge of
learning obstacles into my experience as both a volunteer and as an English
language teacher.
The last part of the chapter lists genres of written
language that English speakers will encounter. It includes reading texts that
are fictitious and non-fictitious, as well as written, printed, and digital. Each
of these genres has their own characteristics and purpose. Fluent English
speakers are familiar with these genres and understand their structures and the
messages that they convey. Sometimes these genres are unfamiliar to English
language students because they are less common in their L1s. As such, English
language teachers are advised to explain these genres, how they can be
recognised by these features, and their purposes so that students can
understand their messages and when they are used. The chapter also contains
strategies that English language teachers can incorporate in their lessons to
improve their students’ reading skills. These strategies include the following:
Sharing the purpose of reading activities with
students; teaching spelling patterns and silent reading techniques; training
students how to skim texts for main ideas and scan texts for specific
information; using semantic mapping and identifying discourse markers to draw
connections between concepts and ideas; instructing students how to make educated
guesses about meaning and use word analysis when they encounter unfamiliar
words; and teaching students how to distinguish between literal and implied
meanings.
I think that it is important to teach students about
different types of texts so that they can recognize, understand, and use them
when they encounter them in real life situations. I did not realize that some
types of written texts might not exist in other languages and cultures, so I
feel like the textbook has helped prepare me for teaching in an ESL classroom and
equip students with skills that they can use in their daily lives. I also found
the teaching strategies very useful for developing my own methods for when I
volunteer and move further into my teaching career. I think that this will be particularly
helpful as a volunteer who works with high school students who often encounter
new words in reading assignments. I already try to help them scan texts for
specific information to answer questions in their assignments and to try to
infer the meanings of these words by looking for root words and context.
However, it is difficult to teach students how to skim the text for main ideas
when they are unfamiliar with a large percentage of words within the text. This
problem was also illustrated in the blog reading that was used to simulate what
it is like to read when vocabulary is unfamiliar. I have suggested that
students look up unfamiliar words using their phones, but they do not see the
need to do so. Hopefully the ideas presented in this chapter will be something
I can incorporate in ways that these students will be receptive towards.
Summarizing the activities in this unit
In this unit we were introduced to a website called
Coggle that allows people to build mind maps and other visual diagrams. Mind
maps are a way that people can visually organize information and show
relationships between concepts and ideas. Coggle users can connect bits of
information without worrying about structure and order. These connections are
indicated using colours, lines, and other shapes. The website also allows users
to incorporate other forms of media such as pictures, videos, and links to
other websites. It is particularly useful for people who are visual learners
who process information more efficiently when it is presented in visual forms
like charts, tables, and graphs. It also helps with both top-down information
processing where users work to expand from major concepts and ideas to specific
examples and bottom-up information processing where users connect specific
examples to larger concepts and ideas and the overall course. I find Coggle to
be a good tool for summarizing and drawing connections between the main ideas
and concepts of the course. I plan to continue using it as a way of reviewing
and recalling information that I have read and shared with my classmates. I
also think that it can be used by teachers in ESL classrooms to create webs to
visualize connections between ideas.
The other activity instructed us to choose one of four
scenarios where we would find and assess written texts that we could
potentially use in an ESL classroom. The scenarios included teaching different
age groups including adults and university-aged students. They included
newcomers, international students in a university, international locals, and
nursing students. I chose the first scenario where I was supposed to find
vocabulary and other information pursuant to newcomers who are beginner level
English learners and are looking to buy or rent different forms of housing. I
chose this scenario because it is the one that is the most relevant to my
volunteering experience and long-term teaching goals. I found websites, guides,
and other publications that were written for newcomers looking to buy or rent
housing, classroom activities, and websites that list housing available for
rent and to purchase. The scenario involves teaching newcomers in a LINC level
3 classroom. I discovered that the reading level in LINC level 3 is the same as
the reading level in CLB level 3. As such, I assessed the resources according
to how well they corresponded with the CLB Can Do Statements for this level.
Some of the resources used complex and specialized language and were better
suited for higher level English language learners. These resources required
different types of modification to be suitable for the students in the
scenario. I learned that it is quite difficult to find resources specific to
adult tasks that are written for lower level English learners and contain
simple English. I also learned that it can be challenging to modify reading
texts to use in classrooms for newcomers at this learning level, especially in
a way that goes beyond the basics and prepares students for these tasks. I hope
that the material in this class will teach us more about adapting reading texts
since I expect to do this often as an ESL teacher.
Reflecting on the role of self-esteem in learning a
new language
One of the ideas that I found interesting that I came
across this week is the role of self-esteem in learning a new language. This
idea was discussed in the Brown and Lee (2015) reading where the authors claim
that instruction is more effective when students have high self-esteem. This
idea interests me because building healthy self-esteem is something that I have
struggled with personally and I had not considered how it might affect students
who are learning a new language. I decided to research this topic so that I can
reflect on it further this week.
Rubio (2007) states that low self-esteem causes
imbalances to one’s emotional and social wellbeing. Students with low self-esteem
may avoid taking risks in a classroom setting that are necessary for building
competence in a new language. The author argues that addressing self-esteem in
the classroom requires more than having students reflect on their own
worthiness and competence. He asserts that teachers need to have a broader
understanding of the components of self-esteem and model it for their students.
An effective understanding of self-esteem can be found in Reasoner’s model,
which includes the concepts of security, identity, belonging, purpose, and
competence. The author says that the components in a self-esteem model must be integrated
into language learning curriculums (Rubio, 2007). I have trouble picturing how
these ideas would translate into tangible lesson plans.
I think that English language teachers can address
needs for security and belonging by creating inclusive classrooms where
students feel free to make mistakes. Teachers can stress that mistakes are to
be expected and are part of the learning process. The need for identity can be
supported by incorporating a variety of activities into lessons to reflect the different
skills and abilities of their students. Teachers can support their students’
needs for competence and purpose by helping them reflect on their goals and the
progress they have made to achieve them. However, I think that Rubio was
advocating for the tangible integration of these concepts. I have trouble
picturing how this would work, specifically with government-funded ESL
classrooms where they need to follow specific-guidelines. Aside from private
classrooms, I think this type of integration would require the redevelopment of
curriculum by researchers which might not be feasible.
Habrat (2018) connects the concept of self-esteem to attitudes,
beliefs, and motivation. The author states that a learner’s beliefs about themselves
reflect the confidence they have in their L2 abilities and competence. Supportive
and positive beliefs help students overcome difficulties and motivation.
Students who place value in academic achievement will be highly motivated to do
well at language learning. In comparison, the author says that negative beliefs
can produce anxiety, frustration, and decreased motivation. She argues that negative
beliefs also make it more difficult for students do achieve their potential
since their energy is split between working on language learning tasks and their
preoccupation with self-doubt. In these situations, the author suggests that one
strategy that teachers can try is to reframe the negative beliefs that students
hold about themselves and their language learning abilities (Habrat, 2018).
I think that this shifts the responsibility from
students to teachers, which undermines the self-agency of students. I think
that it would be extremely difficult for teachers to reframe the ideas of
language learners, particularly those who have minimal English language skills.
These students have difficulty expressing themselves in English and understanding
spoken instructions. I do not think it is realistic to expect English language teachers
to address these negative beliefs that some students hold. I think it would be
more effective for teachers to show students the progress they have made over
time to build their confidence and help them question whether the negative
beliefs they hold about themselves are true. Teacher and student-directed
assessments are one way that this can be accomplished.
References
Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching reading.
In Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy
(4th ed., pp. 389-425). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.
English Club. (n.d.). What is reading? Retrieved
October 26, 2018, from https://www.englishclub.com/reading/what.htm
Habrat, A. (2018). The role of self-esteem in
foreign language learning and teaching (Second language learning and
teaching) (M. Pawlak, Ed.). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International
Publishing.
McCulloch, G. (2016). What 80% comprehension feels
like [Weblog post]. Retrieved from
https://allthingslinguistic.com/post/155043761501/what-80-comprehension-feels-like
Rubio, F. (2007). Self-esteem and foreign language
learning: An Introduction. In F. Rubio (Ed.), Self-esteem and foreign
language learning (pp. 2-12). Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
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