Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

Instructional Practices That Hinder And Support Esl Students In The Self-Contained Esl Classroom And The Mainstream Classroom, Ebru N. Bozburun

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes the academic challenges that many English Second Language (ESL) students must deal with from the moment they start attending a bilingual program at elementary school until they finish the last step of their academic experience. These students continually struggle to keep up with their peers, often fail the state mandated tests, and eventually, drop out before receiving their high school diploma. For the past three years, both as a self-contained ESL teacher and an ESL certified co-teacher in the mainstream classroom, I taught ESL Language Arts to Spanish- speaking students at a public junior high school in …

Using Technology In The Efl Classroom In Saudi Arabia, Neil Oby Morris

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores the ways that technology, specifically the use of laptop computers and cellular phones, may be incorporated in the EFL classroom to enhance learning and lower the affective filter of male Saudi Arabian university students.

Saudi Arabia presents the EFL teacher with many challenges that are unique to this gender-segregated Islamic kingdom. Meeting these challenges and turning them into learning opportunities that other EFL teachers may find useful within their teaching contexts is the purpose of this paper.

The appendix includes a writing rubric and a 40-day materials introduction calendar. The calendar illustrates the day-by-day introduction of material …

Cognitive Load And Its Major Pedagogical Implications, Focus On Education In Jordan, Bassam Kutkut

MA TESOL Collection

Through my teaching experience in Jordan, I noticed the amount of work students had to do. I noticed the tremendous amount information they received from their teachers on a daily basis. I also noticed that students forgot most of the information they learned in class right after their exams. I was wondering if that’s the right way of teaching. Then, after my study at SIT, I learned that this is a cognitive overload that can impair the learning process.

Cognitive load refers to the information processing abilities in the human memory system which has limitations. When these limitations are exceeded, …

Effective Vocabulary Teaching Strategies For The English For Academic Purposes Esl Classroom, Joseph Mukoroli

MA TESOL Collection

Vocabulary learning is an important and indispensable part of any language learning process. The author of this thesis focuses on effective vocabulary teaching strategies in the English for Academic Purposes ESL classroom. Drawing on findings obtained from observing three English for Academic Purposes ESL classrooms across the U.S.A, several current databases and his personal experience as a teacher and learner, the author discusses various effective vocabulary teaching strategies in the English for Academic Purposes classroom which could greatly assist English language learners in their journey of language acquisition and therefore expedite the language learning process.

Perceptions Of Access To Education: Inclusion And Exclusion For Non-Karen Refugees In Mae La Camp, Matthew Gross

Capstone Collection

Mae La refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border is the largest of the seven “Karen” refugee camps in the area and is considered the center of education for refugees. Continued fighting inside Burma between the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the ethnic armies as well as the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis in 2008 have greatly altered the demographics in Mae La refugee camp. Perceptions of Access to Education: Inclusion and Exclusion for Non-Karen Refugees in Mae La Camp attempts to understand, through qualitative data, how non-Karen speaking refugees perceive their access to education. Is education in Mae …

Digital Storytelling: Enriching Reflection And Reentry For Princeton In Africa Fellowship Participants, Stephanie C. Hooper

Capstone Collection

Princeton in Africa’s digital storytelling reentry project was designed to fill gaps in reentry programming by encouraging returned fellowship participants to reflect on their experiences living and working in Africa and by helping them identify areas of personal growth and transformation. This project also aims to strengthen the connection Fellows feel to the Princeton in Africa community and their cohort of Fellows. The digital storytelling project will assist the organization with marketing, recruitment, attracting attention from potential partner organizations, engaging donors and other program needs. A pilot digital storytelling project took place at the end of the 2010-11 fellowship year …

Building A Learning Community Within The Constraints Of Open Enrollment, Megan Pugh

MA TESOL Collection

            This paper introduces the ways in which the challenges of open enrollment ESL programs affect both students and teachers and the importance of group cohesion in adult learning.  The effects caused by open enrollment can be abated by building a strong community of learners through involving new students to build a sense of belonging to the class, meeting the needs of individuals within the group, having a supportive learning environment, and using selected best teaching practices to build community.  With the solutions proposed in this paper, teachers can meet student needs and the negative effects of open enrollment will be …

El Fin De La Xenofobia: El Plurilingüismo, George Wendell James, Jr.

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Teaching foreign languages starting from primary school has been a topic of discussion in the European Union for the past twenty years. The European Union unanimously decided in a recent proposal The White Book that every student who attends a public school in the European Union must be proficient in at least three languages. This mandate was formed to prepare Western Europe for a growing global market and to increase understanding of different cultures. In Andalucía (Southern Spain), despite methods taken to prepare its students for the future, still lags behind the majority of the countries in the European Union

Una Investigación De La Cultura Y La Identidad Mapuche En La Escuela Municipal G-539 Chapod, Jessica A. Howard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Durante una estadía de tres semanas en la localidad rural de Chapod se realizaron observaciones y entrevistas con alumnos, padres y profesores de la Escuela Municipal G-539 Chapod, además de entrevistas con estudiantes en práctica de la Universidad Católica de Temuco, realicé una investigación sobre la cultura e identidad Mapuche en este establecimiento educacional. Encontré que aunque los estudiantes dicen ser Mapuches, ellos no tienen una cultura ni identidad Mapuche y, por tanto, la cultura e identidad Mapuche no permanecen  en la escuela de Chapod. Este establecimiento educacional está incorporando algunos elementos de la cultura Mapuche, pero a mi manera …

España Y El Buen Ciudadano: El Debate Educativo, Thomas Mcafee

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the spring of 2010 I volunteered in the Colegio Cristo de la Yedra as an English language tutor. My original plan was to work in a human rights organization, but this fell through and I therefore decided to help students learn English. While volunteering at this school, I taught four English classes every week, with students whose levels ranged from beginner to intermediate. During the first week, one of my students told me that he did not like the football team Barcelona F.C. because he thought it was just a tool of the Catalan government and that it promoted …

Análisis De “Proyecto Mirlo”: Aprendiendo A Acoger Al “Desconocido”, Abigail Bissette

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

During the fall and early winter of this year, I volunteered with a program called, “Proyecto Mirlo,” which is a small part of a larger organization, “Caritas,” whose focus is providing support to marginalized groups of people in Spanish society. Proyecto Mirlo is a subsection that provides free language classes for immigrants, as well as food and, in extreme cases, financial help. In my volunteer work, I taught basic Spanish classes to an eighteen-year-old immigrant from Senegal. As my student grew in his language proficiency, I grew in my teaching proficiency, especially on the discovery of teaching resources that I …

Toward An Action-Oriented Approach To Global Citizenship: Tools For The Young Global Citizen, Siena Fleischer Ma, Manager Of Administration – Latin America And Europe, Vikas Budakoti Ma, Manager Of Administration – Asia & The Pacific

Fostering Multicultural Competence and Global Justice: an SIT Symposium

We have reached a point in the evolution of global citizenship where the call to action is no longer critical, it is imperative. Sustainable change is the cornerstone of the effort to bring communities together to prioritize needs and implement intelligent growth. Development must be transformative, not palliative. Those who engage in education abroad have the unique and promising opportunity to address global issues and become active participants in the development process. Younger citizens often choose to pursue opportunities both small and large that contribute to safeguarding dignity while advancing growth. Students are often better positioned and more effective than …

Teaching English To Children With Adhd, Natalia Turketi

Sandanona

How to teach English to highly distractable and hyperactive children? How does the process of the Second (Foreign) Language acquisition for such students look like? I will highlight these issues in my presentation and demonstrate a few activities that can be helpful in teaching ADHD kids.

Acting Out In The Classroom, Kim Noel Daelhousen

Sandanona

The use of theater strategies and activities in the language classroom provides a space for students, like actors, to play and thus more deeply incorporate elements of the target language. Participants will be “playing” along with the presenter to explore various theater-based activities.

Language Learning Through The Lenses Of An African Adult, Muchumayeli (Ishmael) Bhebhe

Sandanona

Do you know that indigenous Africans are essentially pragmatic and/ or anthropocentric beings? Do you desire to meaningfully impact their lives through language learning? This session seeks to address such questions thereby showing why English language learning is most effective for African adults when directed towards meeting real needs.

Extending Community: Stories, Culture & Technology In The Classroom, Ginna Allison

Sandanona

How can cultural experience help to develop language skills? How can we reach beyond the classroom to create a sense of community? This session explores the spheres of personal narrative and technology and how they intersect with ESL to open rich opportunities for teaching and learning.

Differentiation: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Dena Konneker

Sandanona

When is differentiation helpful and when it is harmful? What are common pitfalls? What is the balance between meeting learners’ needs and holding them to equally high expectations? What are a few positive strategies that teachers should focus on? Participants will examine case studies around these issues.

Visual Arts: Its Place In The Language Classroom, Regina Valentino

Sandanona

The presenter will explore visual arts with respect to language learning. She will provide information about learning styles and multiple intelligences, and how they affect student learning. She will share activities that show how the visual arts can enhance students' learning and will, along with the audience analyze their effectiveness. Regina Valentino has a background in visual arts and personal experience with language learning.

One Of The Adjustment Challenges For Newly Arrived Iraqis, Sabah Al Adlai

Sandanona

Many Iraqi refugees have a higher proficiency in English than other newcomers groups but still need or want classes to improve their skills. Classes that meet these refugees ‘needs may be difficult to find because language classes for new refugee arrivals are often geared toward those with little or no English.

Cooperation &Collaboration: Interactive Ways Of Learning, Tatiana Garasyuta

Sandanona

The presenter will investigate the efficacy of cooperation to facilitate learning in the EFL classroom. She will share the findings of the Russian educators working in this field. The presentation will highlight several interactive activities, which can be used to capitalize on cooperative learning.

Nest & Non-Nest Teachers’ Relationship With Global English, Hilary Pearson

Sandanona

This interactive workshop will explore various issues concerning the ever-changing dynamics of teaching global English by comparatively examining perspectives of NEST and Non-NEST teacher case studies as well as global English educational trends and their effects on English teaching by way of dialogue.

Teaching Pronunciation As A Core Skill Using The Silent Way Approach, Jordan Cael

MA TESOL Collection

These materials were developed as part of an exploration of how to interweave the study of pronunciation together with the study of the meaning and structure of the language in a way that makes pronunciation practice a central, present, and prominent part of every lesson. Within the framework of teaching pronunciation with the materials, techniques, and principles of the Silent Way Approach, the focus was placed on creating activities that would (1) help students to notice and practice the essential pronunciation elements of the language, known in the Silent Way as the ‘melody’ (i.e., intonation, stress, phrasing, rhythm, etc.), (2) …

Acting For Transformation: An Esl Teacher And Her Adult Immigrant Students Dramatize The Students’ Life Stories, Dana Horstein

MA TESOL Collection

This paper documents the implementation of a year-long drama project that was conducted with adult immigrant English as a Second Language (ESL) students at Asian Human Services, a community-based organization in Chicago. Throughout the year, during the fall, winter, and spring terms, three classes of students dramatized their life stories. This paper provides background for the project by explaining the history and role of drama in language education. It also considers the teacher’s motivations for the project and its design; its ultimate challenges and successes; as well as the insights that it provides about what it means to be a …

Teaching English To Children With Adhd, Natalia Turketi

MA TESOL Collection

The focus of this paper is primarily put on enhancing the ESL teaching process and making foreign language learning successful and manageable for every student. The paper explores the process of teaching English to children who experience difficulties in learning languages due to their attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder problems. The author considers the process of second language acquisition for children with ADHD in terms of input and output speech issues, motivation problems and learning preferences. The ESL methodologies that can be applied effectively in addressing such learners’ needs and the rationale of their choice are then argued for. Examples …

Using Games In A Foreign Language Classroom, Amy Talak-Kiryk

MA TESOL Collection

This independent professional project researches the value of games in a classroom setting. The research focuses on the educational benefits as well as on recommendations how to incorporate games into a learning environment. Also included are games that can be used in a foreign language classroom to enhance student learning. The games were developed by various sources and used in a Spanish classroom in an American high school with teenagers ages fourteen to eighteen.

For Better Or Verse – Poetry In The Esl Classroom, Fredrick Schroeder

MA TESOL Collection

This Independent Personal Project considers the use of poetry with regard to reading, writing, listening, and speaking in the English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. The first part of the paper deals with the author’s background in poetry and journey to using it in class. The next part is concerned with the reasons for using poetry in the ESL classroom. Then the paper focuses on general concerns using poetry in class, which segues into a more specific discussion of assessment and correction. The final part of the paper presents twenty activities that can be used in the classroom. The …

Grounding Theory In Practice: A Reflection On Designing And Delivering A Workshop On Intercultural Sensitivity For Korean Public School English Teachers, Kevin Giddens

MA TESOL Collection

In this paper I will use a process of rigorous reflection to explore the design and implementation of a cross-cultural simulation workshop as a means of developing intercultural sensitivity among Korean public school English teachers in Daegu, South Korea. After introducing the workshop design I will describe in detail my experience of delivering the workshop. I will overlay Milton J. Bennett’s model for developing intercultural sensitivity (1993) with participant reflections as a means of grounding theory to practice and exploring whether or not participants were able to demonstrate observable movement within Bennett’s model. I will then highlight some possible modifications …

Dance Your Way Into Culture: A Teacher’S Experience Using Dance In The Foreign Language Classroom, Jannely Almonte Ortiz

MA TESOL Collection

Although dance is an expression of culture, it has seldom been used in the foreign language classroom as a teaching tool. Using Patrick Moran’s Cultural Knowings Framework as an organizational foundation throughout the paper, the author shares why this topic became of great interest to her. She also addresses research and perceptions on movement and dance in an educational environment, and attempts to describe benefits and ways of including movement and dance in any foreign language classroom. Though this paper focuses on the author’s experience using merengue music and dance in the teaching of Spanish, it is intended for any …

How Esol Teachers Become Aware Of Communicative Peace, Josette Leblanc

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the implications that the relationship between teacher language awareness and communicative peace may have on educational programs for teachers of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The evaluation begins by analyzing proposals set out by the applied peace linguist Francisco Gomes de Matos, who suggests that ESOL teachers should teach communicative peace as an element of communicative competence, and also that education programs should provide training to support this approach. By juxtaposing current literature on structural and linguistic violence with Gomes de Matos' classroom techniques, the hypothesis is made that teachers who would teach communicative peace …

Extensive Reading In The Classroom, Petulla Domenica

MA TESOL Collection

In this paper I explore the advantages and benefits of extensive reading in an ESL classroom. The purpose of my paper is to further my understanding of reading in a second language and to start the process of implementing an extensive reading program for my particular teaching context. In the first half of the paper there is an overview of reading in a second language, the benefits of extensive reading and Louis M. Rosenblatt's aesthetic and efferent reading stances. The last two chapters focus on particular challenges, issues and questions I must resolve before I am able to implement extensive …