Education Commons^™

An Academic Writing Curriculum And Materials For A1-B2-Level Learners In A Turkish University’S English Language Preparatory Program, Matthew Champlin

MA TESOL Collection

This IPP combines a literature review and a materials development project. The literature review outlines and supports the approach taken throughout the curriculum and the materials that were developed. First, it lays out the nature of Turkish universities’ ELPP’s; then, it deals with the basic philosophy of the curriculum including individualization and standardization, the role of joy in education, the necessity for an integration of skills in teaching academic writing, the use of models, and the necessity and purpose of feedback. In the second half of the literature review, the key features of academic writing are discussed in advance of …

Guided Discovery Grammar Instruction: A Review Of The Literature With Original Teaching Materials, Marcella Caprario

MA TESOL Collection

Although grammar instruction is a hotly debated facet of language teaching, a review of Second Language Acquisition, Foreign Language Instruction, and Educational Psychology literature reveals that inductive explicit grammar instruction is a viable method, which can generate positive learning outcomes. Studies have shown that learners tend to learn grammar more accurately and faster through explicit instruction. By utilizing inductive techniques, teachers can create a student-centered classroom that encourages critical thinking and problem solving, in addition to language study. With these principles in mind, I have created a series of guided discovery grammar worksheets, accompanied by the procedure and teaching notes …

Building Lexical Awareness Through Sustained Authentic Text, Jeff Puccini

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes an experiment to implement a lexical approach in the context of a High-intermediate ESL classroom. The vehicle for building students’ lexical awareness was Sustained Authentic Text (SAT). SATs, a term I coined, refers to texts like newspapers, TV programs, etc. covered for a prolonged period—a month or more, as opposed to one-off lessons, or traditional textbooks. The students were young adults studying in a non-credit Intensive English Program (IEP) in San Francisco and the paper focuses on one two-month period during which time the SAT was the TV sitcom, Two and a Half Men. The paper …

Language And Cultural Learning Through Student Generated Photography, David M. Cosgrove

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines and discusses the unique teaching context and the inherent problems faced by foreign English teachers in the Japanese University System. It contains a personal account of the process the author went through to develop a new and interesting curriculum to overcome these problems. This curriculum is based on student-generated photographs of their lives and is an effective method of both language learning and culture learning. Included in the paper is a step-by-step course description of twenty-four lesson plans based on the photographs.

Making Connections With Dialogue Journals, Catherine Elliott

MA TESOL Collection

This paper makes a case for the use of dialogue journals in the second language classroom. In Part One the author examines the research of experts in the fields of second language acquisition and writing instruction and presents their findings as a rationale which supports the use of dialogue journals. In Part Two the author draws from her own experience in the classroom to illustrate how dialogue journals can be used effectively with second language learners.

Let’S Play Cards. Grammar Is Fun. (How And Why I Have Taught English To My Students), Tomi Yukimune

MA TESOL Collection

In Japan, most students have to memorize grammar rules to pass entrance examinations to high schools as well as universities. As speaking skills are not required in those exams, many students regard grammar as nothing but rote learning. However, grammar is not dried bones but a vivid creature, which can be formed by students. Grammar can be learned with the four skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing), which is addressing diverse learning styles. It can be taught with stories, poems, plays, songs, games, puppets, picture books, and playing cards. Once students learn the rules of grammar, they will be able to …

Their Own Best Resources: Students And Real-World Interaction, Observation, And Reflection, Brenda Ferreira

MA TESOL Collection

Students can use their experiences outside the ESL classroom to facilitate their own learning of culture and communicative competency. In a course I continue to design, students prepare for real-world interactions and learning. They practice communication strategies and discuss topics largely of their own choosing in a multi-cultural context. They then go out into the community to make cultural and communicative observations, and interact with native- and non-native speakers of English. This IPP presents various definitions of culture and communicative competency and gives suggestions for in-class and real-world activities, including communication tasks, observations, and reflections through journal writing.

Catering To Learner Needs Using Cards, Lisa M. Corbin

MA TESOL Collection

Catering to the needs of a learner is of great concern in a whole learning approach to language instruction. This paper will explore what is intended by whole learning, outline the needs of a learner, and provide a series of tasks and activities to use with cards. The first chapter introduces the topic and briefly describes the author’s classroom situation. The second chapter describes my initial experiences and discoveries while using cards in the classroom. The third chapter outlines the theoretical principles behind whole learning, details the needs of a learner and parallels how cards comply with these needs. The …

The Moorish Influence On Spanish Language, Civilization, And Culture, Tommy Genoris Erwin

MA TESOL Collection

This project examines the vast contributions made by Moors to the Spanish language, civilization and culture. The project will also try to clarify as to whom the Moors were, where they came from, and the specific contributions that they made during lengthy rule of Spain. This project is divided into five major sections. The introduction explains why this topic was chosen and the audience for whom the information is intended. The second section explores the background, achievements and contributions that were made by the Moors during their 800 (eight hundred) year domination of Spain. The third section addresses more specifically, …

Second Language Acquisition In A Content-Based Web Building Course, Scott Degalis

MA TESOL Collection

Content based courses have been shown to provide an effective environment for second language acquisition (Snow, Met and Genesee 1989). In this content based course students learn how to make a website in 48 hours of class time. In doing so, they improve their English in the skill areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking for an authentic need (Sterns 1990). Learners are motivated and enthusiastic about their projects, leading to more success in language acquisition (Gardner 1985). They are given an opportunity to express themselves creatively and artistically using the target language. Graduates leave with a published portfolio that …

Publication Projects With Esl/Efl Students:A Handbook For Teachers, April A. Minerich

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is based on my experience teaching courses in which students created publications. I frequently teach both newsletter classes and memory book classes to students of other languages who are studying English in an intensive program. I have also taught classes in which ESL students produced student directories. I have participated in developing cookbooks. I also publish student work in certain classes that I teach.

It describes the process I use to do publication projects. I include theory to support the soundness of this idea in ESL/EFL instruction. The strategy for implementing the class is described. It then moves …

Suggestions And Activities To Increase Oral Production Of Students In The Fl/Sl Classroom, Violeta Mack-Donovan

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

The Affect Of Writing On The Internet, Jane Hoelker

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is a description of the development, objectives, implementation and results of an advanced composition course conducted on the Internet with IWE (International Writing Exchange) of the Helsinki University of Technology. The purpose of the course was to motivate students of English who were discouraged during the difficult IMF era in Korea in 1998. During the 90's the majority of English Education majors at Pusan National University in Korea had studied and/or traveled overseas for extensive periods of time during their undergraduate career. But, in 1998 opportunities for overseas travel and study had been greatly curtailed due to IMF …

Using Innovative Language Learning Methods With Mombusho Textbooks, Janet Melinda Beane

MA TESOL Collection

This paper shows how chapters from two different textbooks at different levels might be taught using several different methods. The paper begins with a discussion of my reasons for choosing this topic and goes on to lay out what I feel a method needs to consider in order to be a good method. In the next section, I go on to introduce various innovative language teaching methods such as ALM, TPR and the Silent Way. For each method I include a short section of background information including the principles and techniques of each lesson. Then I contrast a typical lesson …