Brown Chapter 23 &24

In Brown’s chapter 23 it was interesting to see his viewpoint on assessment in comparison to what we are learning in ENG 345. When he brought up the question about whether there is ever teaching without assessment since at one point or another everything that is taught is assessed, it really made me reflect on my learning experience. There is a long standing argument that is fundamentally based on whether or not grades should be given and I am constantly changing my position in this argument. I think that grades can be a very important motivator and tool to gauge the learning of students, but on the other hand students should be intrinsically motivated and want to learn for their own benefit. This directly correlates with testing because tests are often a large sum of points and they motivate students to learn the material more specifically so that they may pass the test instead of for their own learning. Also the concept of wash back comes into mind because often teachers tend to teach to the test so that their students score highly, but skip out important or beneficial material that students would need to know in order to function appropriately in a real setting.

I think that in terms of practicality, criterion referenced tests are more beneficial for the learners because it specifically tests the material that is from the curriculum and students may see where they need more help. Norm-referenced tests can prove unfair at times because instead of grading the students based on their individual performance, a teacher could compare the results as a whole without any type of helpful feedback. Validity is another important factor in testing because with its various types it shows how easily a test can go from being valid to invalid if it is not designed appropriately.

In terms of classroom based assessment, I think the concept of alternatives in assessment is really important because it shows a more authentic demonstration of student’s language ability. For example, some students find it difficult to take tests and often score poorly but may have a great understanding of all concepts of the language. It is also very important to have alternative assessment in the language classroom because some assessments tend to limit the different domain skills that are necessary to have proficiency in a language (ie. speaking, listening). Among the examples of alternative assessment, I think that portfolios and observations are the most beneficial because they are unique and authentic demonstrations of the student’s abilities and improvement is really clear when comparing work from various times throughout the semester.

Week 13: Brown ch 9-11 and Kumar ch. 13

I always tend to get somewhat overwhelmed when discussing curriculum or even unit designs so I think that Brown’s chapters were really helpful to show me how it is a manageable task as long as I take it one step at a time. Remaining optimistic is key, so when I took the first chapter section by section it made me creating curriculum much more approachable. The comparisons between both objective and subjective needs were interesting to me because I hadn’t really noticed a difference until Brown stated that subjective needs are almost more important because they focus on the needs through the eyes of the learners. Meeting the needs of the students is ultimately our main goal and it is important to remember to accommodate their attitudes, expectations, perceived purposes, learning preferences and the specific language skills students wish to focus on.

Although we all like to hope for the best for all of our future lessons, I appreciated that Brown made sure that we also are prepared for the possible problems that could come out of curriculums. I think this is especially important in a culturally diverse setting because many respect issues can come about, altering the message that was originally intended.

It was interesting to get yet another perspective on lesson planning although Brown’s seemed to be pretty spot on with the methods I have previously learned in many of my C&I courses. I think among all the aspects that go into a lesson plan, I think that the most important concept from Chapter 10 was the idea of variety, sequencing, pacing and timing. As a teacher it is extremely important to be flexible and especially when it comes to lesson plans. Not every day will they go according to plan and it is essential to learn to go with the flow and reflect on the day afterwards so that you can improve yourself for the next time.

I thought that the list of language-teaching techniques on page 185 was really helpful because it was written proof of how many different approaches teachers can take in order to accommodate the needs of each individual learner. I personally thought the list of free techniques seemed the most fun and rewarding since they were more personable and life like because for example the “role play” activity can most always be taken directly outside of the classroom and used in day to day speech.

Kumar’s concept of M&M or macrostrategies/mismatch observational scheme was unlike anything I had heard before and I thought he had some unique ideas towards the approach of monitoring teacher acts. I feel like I can really relate the ideas he mentioned (preobservation, observation and postobservation) to my experience as a student teacher because all these steps will help me improve and get to the next level in my teaching experience. I also feel that it is extremely important to constantly be reflecting on my behaviors in the classroom setting so that I can regularly be improving and thus benefitting my students and my success.

Thoughts on the progress of my final paper

After our meeting about the final paper, I have decided to change course and focus on a topic that would be more beneficial to me as a possible future adult ESL teacher. In the upcoming semester I will be volunteering at in an adult ESL community that meets twice a week from 6:30-9:30. There are levels 1-6 that the learners are placed in and I would like to better prepare myself through my research for this paper so that I can be most helpful to the learners. I would like to address how to best teach older or adult learners by incorporating integrating learning skills.

I think it is important to explore how to best support these students and I will be focusing on this for my final paper. It seems that the goal of this program is to help the learners move from each level until they have reached level 6 and through my observation over Thanksgiving break, I will be able to apply the research I do to what I see helps progress the learners in the classroom. I would like to see how advanced the learners can develop their communicative competence passed the critical period.

A similar article that would help me is “Cooperative Learning, Collaborative Learning, and Interaction: Three Communicative Strands in the Language Classroom” written by Rebecca L. Oxford. I also think it is important to read “Developing Communicative Competence: a practical model” written by Richard C. Helt among with other articles more specifically written regarding adult ESL learners so I can compare my findings with  my research in the classroom.