Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Teaching More Than Writing: A Writing And Community Building Project For Liceo Internacional Quito, Ecuador, Lucia Jarrin

MA TESOL Collection

This paper presents a proposal for a writing program for the Elementary School at Liceo Internacional a school a k-12 school in Quito- Ecuador.

This proposal is the result of the process that the writer underwent during the second summer at the School for International Training in the Summer Master of Arts in Teaching Program (SMAT) and her assessment of the needs at Liceo Internacional School.

It includes a brief description of the mission that the writer has in teaching, then, an account of the context in which the program will be applied and the rationale behind this proposal. It …

Something Fishy: Cultivating Children’S Sense Of Place Through Literature, Anne Rone

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Environmental Education (EE) has become increasingly important in Australian public and governmental discourse in the past decade. In its most recent national environmental education statement (2005: 7) the Department of Environment and Heritage lays out a new model of sustainability education that is “about,” “in,” and “for” the environment. This governmental framework includes variety of programs for school children in and out of the classroom. Within the realm of EE, sense of place has re-emerged as an important issue. The study of place fosters a sense of wonder and appreciation for the environment in children and leads to concrete, transformative …

Teaching With Systematic Phonemic Awareness: The Effects Of Group Learning And Oral Instruction At The Operation Restoration Christian School, Laura Nichols

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The current study was conducted to investigate the effects of oral instruction and teaching with systematic phonemic awareness at the Operation Restoration Christian School of Trench Town, Jamaica. To do this, the researcher taught a class of five low level readers, using teaching methodology provided by the Sadlier Phonics Teacher’s Manual and outside literature concerning phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle. For a five week, with a total of 15 days, student progress was monitored using daily observational notes and through a comparison of test results conducted at the beginning and the end of the research period. In this period …

La Otra Camina Educativa: Being A Change To Teach A Change At Siidenofal/Cideci In San Cristóbal, Chiapas, Kailee Brickner-Mcdonald

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Eighteen years of my short life have included attending school, and it would be difficult for me to define myself and my interests without involving some sort of illusion to the world of formal learning or my primary occupation of being a traditional student. I was born with a teacher as my mother and since then I have lived in a town with one of the best school systems in New Jersey, chosen to take several classes on topics related to education at The College of William and Mary, and planned to work in a field of education in my …

Investigating Culture Through Story, Jennifer Jabareen

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is a description and discussion of a project which incorporates the design for a story-based cultural investigation, based principally on the synthesis of teaching methodologies such as Collaborative Learning, Reader Response Theory and Alternative Assessment and their application to a series of stories. The cultural investigation relies on the application of a five-point graphic model, adapted from the book Teaching Culture: Perspectives in Practice by Patrick R. Moran, which analyzes culture in terms of persons, products, practices, perspectives and community. The paper presents the process by which this project was developed, piloted and assessed, as well as detailed …

Using Tv News To Integrate The Four Skills: A Guide For Efl Teachers, Christina Evans

MA TESOL Collection

These materials were developed to help guide an EFL teacher’s approach to incorporating TV news stories in an intermediate or advanced level course. An introduction and rationale are presented, the role of the instructor is explored and teaching suggestions are offered. An extensive checklist of four skill core activities and a demonstration on incorporating them into a lesson plan are also integrated into these materials.

Exploratory Learning: The Digital Recorder Project: An Investigation Into A Student Designed Project For Finding And Addressing Esl Students’ Listening And Speaking Needs, Joel Cooke

MA TESOL Collection

The Digital Recorder Project was designed to present students with an opportunity to design and implement, as a class, a project that would address speaking and listening issues they experience as ESL students. Each student was required to observe their own speaking via a self-created digital recording and in conjunction with the class, design a unique, individualized method to work on issues he or she identified. This document will present the observations and conclusions about the nature of such a project from the teacher’s perspective. In addition, the paper will use transcripts of class recordings as a means of placing …

Academic Content Instruction And The High School English Language Learner: A Series Of Lessons That Model An Approach To Content Instruction In Science In A Multi- Level English As A Second Language High School Classroom, Juliet M. Parry

MA TESOL Collection

This paper presents a series of lessons on biology that model an approach to content instruction Biology in a multi-level English as a second language high school classroom. It includes background information on the course, lesson plans, explanation of and rationale behind them, historical perspective on the shift from content instruction in the native language to content instruction in the new or target language.

Peer Interaction In The Haitian Public School Context, Fenel Pierre

MA TESOL Collection

The purpose of this paper is to define peer interaction and its major components. It identifies and examines the major challenges that language teachers in Haiti will face in incorporating peer interaction within the Haitian public school context. It explains the advantages of using peer interaction as a way to generate knowledge. The author concludes by providing practical guidelines and strategies of how to cope with these challenges and describing what he has learned from his research.

Since language is learned mainly through interaction with other learners and speakers of that language, this paper aims at persuading Haitian language teachers …

Teaching Value Concepts In South Korea, Marilyn Anne Schick

MA TESOL Collection

This paper presents a course that was developed to teach value concepts in an English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language (EFL/ESL) classroom. Six values were used: Love, Peace, Happiness, Freedom, Cooperation and Honesty. Lesson plans were prepared with the students’ focus on speaking; however, listening, reading, writing and grammar were taught as well. Details of why those values were chosen, six specific lesson plans, plus students’ feedback are included.

Circles And Letters: I Do; I Understand, Thomas Kitchen

MA TESOL Collection

How do we writing teachers respond to our students’ writing? How does our response affect both us and the students? Is it irresponsible to mark only a few recurring errors? Or is irresponsible to mark every error? Do students learn better when the errors are labeled or not? What about positive feedback?

This thesis explains an action research project I conducted with my reading/writing students. In the project, I explored many methods of responding to student writing, and I documented how one of those techniques affected me and my students. That technique called the reduced grammar technique focuses on recurring …

Using Music And Song In The Second Language Classroom: A Description Of The Many Ways Music And Song Can Enhance The Teaching Of French, Christine Geueke

MA TESOL Collection

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Teen Efl Classroom: The Students, Their Teachers, And The Tangles Of Dealing With Discipline And Motivation, Anna Burbridge

MA TESOL Collection

This paper discusses specific elements of teaching teens in an EFL context, in particular the areas of teen motivation and discipline. This was a teacher’s development project involving six teachers (including the writer), and lasting for one semester in a Brazilian bi-national language institute. The project was built on videotaped class observations, readings, group meetings, and journal writings. The result was a deeper reflection into the developmental stage dubbed “teenhood”, followed by subsequent considerations of motivation and discipline of teen groups, the role of the teen teacher, the importance of knowing and connecting with the inner teacher, and practical implications …

Mending The Broken Windows: A Curriculum Development Project Using Cooperative Learning Methods To Teach The Concepts Of Short Stories While Building A Community In The Classroom, Nicole Meltzer

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the purpose, process and results of using Cooperative Learning methods to study the elements of short stories in an intermediate English as a Second or Other Language high school class. The goal of this project was to create and build community in the classroom to alleviate the pressures felt by at-risk and immigrant students, while also meeting their academic needs. The project was conducted over three months time and was assessed through qualitative and quantitative methods.

“O.Henry’S American Scenes” And The Accompanying Language Activities To Use In The Efl And Esl Classes, Tamila Mehtiyeva

MA TESOL Collection

“O.Henry’s American Scenes” is a Ladder Edition book at the 1,000-word level published by the English Language Programs Division in Washington D.C. The Ladder Series of books are specially prepared editions of well-known American books. They have been shortened and simplified to use for ESL and EFL students. Though the stories have been shortened, they remain enjoyable and engaging to read. The author uses these stories in her classes at Baki State University.

This thesis shows how the teachers of ESL and EFL can use these stories as an effective teaching tool in their classes. Included are 7 stories taken …

Using Students' Written Feedback As Classroom Content To Promote Community, Nora Mckenna

MA TESOL Collection

This paper describes the collection of written feedback from students and an attempt to to impact class atmosphere by publishing back anonymous excerpts to students. By using these excerpts as content for language learning activities, students could enjoy themselves as they warmed up for their weekly lesson in English and at the same time learn about their classmates' perceptions of previous shared learning experiences. This created a type of ongoing written dialogue (correspondence) to articulate the joys and frustrations of learning another language. Meanwhile, students were also learning to trust the feedback cycle and one another as they became aware …

Project-Based Learning: Five Projects That Stimulated Student Learning, Asuka Kitano

MA TESOL Collection

This paper, based from a classroom research project, examines a variety of projects which can help students become positive learners. The first chapter gives relevant background information and introduces the reasoning behind and implementation of five particular projects, which I used in the classroom. The following five chapters each focus on one particular project (skit festivals, textbooks, poster presentations, class visuals, and response papers), and each chapter describes and analyzes each project, and also includes student feedback. The appendices, which follow each of the five projects, include photos of the students and their output, and this should help demonstrate the …

Actividades Prácticas Para La Enseñanza Del Curso De Ubicación Avanzada De Literatura En Español (Ap Spanish Literature), María José González

MA TESOL Collection

In my two years as a teacher of Advanced Placement Spanish Literature, I have developed a variety of activities intended to help my students form a lasting connection with the depth and magnificence of literature written in the language of Cervantes.

In May 2003, the College Board presented a new AP Spanish Literature exam and program that requires the study and analysis of a widely expanded list of works. The challenge of covering this enormous volume of material in one school year inspired me to be both practical and original in my instructional planning. By making the activities both useful …

Teaching Adult Efl Learners In Japan From A Japanese Perspective, Patricia Jean Gage

MA TESOL Collection

This paper presents teaching materials that were developed for adult EFL learners in Japan. The author’s primary purpose for developing these materials was to create lessons that would utilize content from a Japanese perspective and the students’ personal interests. The author asserts that students are able to communicate more effectively when the topic and the content of the lessons are familiar to the students. Developed around topics chosen by the students, these lessons contain anecdotes written by the students along with activities that integrate listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The five lessons and the rationale for designing them are included …

Enhancing A Student Exchange With A Day-By-Day Activities Folder, Anne Cottagnoud

MA TESOL Collection

This paper reviews the use of a Folder to document series of activities designed to enhance and maximize learning during a student exchange. Swiss high school students visited their American partners and conducted activities before, during and after the exchange. The Folder was a teacher-prepared booklet that engaged students in the four phases of Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Cycle: experience, observation and reflection, abstract thinking and generalizing, and testing learned concepts. It also encouraged the Swiss students to ask questions of American host families and American students in order to learn more about American culture. The Folder made use of …

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.

The Din Theory Revealed: Theoretical, Professional, And Personal Reflections Concerning The Socialization Of Language, Dana Elise Arends

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is a written analysis of my personal experience with the "din in the head" theory proposed by Dr. Elizabeth Barber and Dr. Stephen Krashen (Barber 1980; Krashen 1981). I experienced this din firsthand during a three day trip to Montreal, Quebec in Canada and a subsequent three day trip to Roma, in Italia. I will propose that the language din suggested by professors Barber and Krashen does exist. Furthermore, I will show how the Spanish din with which I had become familiar with from my classes at the School for International Training hindered, and at times prohibited, my …

Building Community With Adolescent English Language Learners, Jill Antal

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines a year of teaching in which the author used social and emotional learning strategies to build community in her classroom of English Language Learners at Macfarland Middle School in Washington, DC in 2001-2002. The author’s adaptations to components of Northeast Foundation for Children’s Responsive Classroom model are discussed. The conception and implementation of the author’s own project, Passport Partners, is included. The major research supporting Social and Emotional Learning is briefly presented, as well as the wider implications of addressing or not addressing students’ social and emotional needs.

Connecting Language And Culture Through Storytelling: A Materials Development Project, Sarah M. Anderson

MA TESOL Collection

This materials development project presents a Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS) unit created around an authentic Mexican legend. The author wrote and taught ten mini-stories in preparation for using the legend as the main story of the unit.

The author first discusses the theory behind the TPRS approach and its effectiveness in regards to language teaching and learning. An overview of how the TPRS process works, including examples specific to the author’s teaching context, is also described.

The paper then presents the rationale and design of the project itself. The author incorporated an authentic legend with the intention of connecting …

Writing Poetry With Esol Students, Molly J. Haines

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is the result of a unit of study on the topic of poetry as used in two ESOL classrooms in Kentucky and Ohio. It begins with some basic questions and definitions. The paper shows the benefits of poetry in everyday life and especially in the language classroom. The bulk of the paper outlines the way in which poetry was presented and many student samples are included. The conclusion shows how some of the original questions were answered and how new questions arose during the process.

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.

Praxis: Do I Practice What I Believe? A Course In Research In The Language Classroom For The English Language Teacher Education Program At Universidad Centroamericana, Nicaragua, Sarah Renata Wright

MA TESOL Collection

I have asked myself to describe my teaching beliefs and analyze my teaching practice in order to see if the two are congruent and if in fact I do have a teaching praxis. This is a professional paper about course development based on a classroom research project. First, through a discussion of theories, experiences, and observations I describe my teaching beliefs. Second, I describe the Research in English Language Teaching course that I designed and taught to a group fourth year student teachers at the Universidad Centroamericana in Nicaragua. This description is based on a selection of student writings, lesson …

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 …

Designing And Teaching A Culture Course In Korea: Developing Cultural Awareness In The Korean University Classroom, Melanie Van Den Hoven

MA TESOL Collection

This Independent Professional Project outlines my process of becoming aware of the interrelationship of language and culture in the Korean University language classroom and the issues surrounding teaching culture in Korea at the turn of the millenium. My decisions, reflections and realizations made as an expatriate EFL teacher based in Seoul, Korea, which helped to address these concerns, are fully presented. This paper reflects on the “culture bumps” inherent in my living and teaching context, and the cultural adjustments made both in the classroom and out. It also explores the major theoretical influences that have been helpful in designing a …

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.