First and Second Language Acquisition Commons^™

Error Analysis And Curriculum Development In An Efl Classroom In Taiwan, Meng Teh Wu

MA TESOL Collection

It is the premise of this paper that errors provide invaluable information for guiding teachers and learners in the process of language acquisition. They offer insights for the teacher in constructing curricula and help the students with their ingerlanguage development. Errors should not be regarded as negative indicators. They are significant guide posts in the learning process. When and how to correct errors and what errors to correct has been the focus of Error Analysis studies. In this respect this paper is no exception. Special emphasis has been laid, however, on how to translate theoretical concepts into the author’s classroom …

Esl Mentoring: An Empowering Tool, Maria Cristina Tur

MA TESOL Collection

The purpose of this IPP will be a qualitative case study of the mentoring program at Hostos Community College, City University of New York. I will learn the working of the mentoring program. I will examine the mentor’s role and strategies in helping her two protégés. I will reflect upon the relevance of a Mentoring Program as a tool in facilitating the acquisition of ESL. Finally, I will explain the advisor/advisee program at Intermediate School 184 in the South Bronx in whose pilot program I participated.

The Importance Of Community Building In The Efl Classroom, Svitlana Trofymenko

MA TESOL Collection

This paper argues that success in the EFL classroom depends less on techniques and materials, and more on the relationships between the class members and the educational climate. It asserts that, because the creation of a sense of community facilitates learning in different ways, the most important talk of a teacher is to foster a sense of community between students in the language classroom as well s to challenge them with linguistic tasks. A classroom community can increase student motivation and self-esteem. It can reduce extreme anxiety and maximize student-student interaction in the EFL classroom. It can also facilitate co-operation …

Comings And Goings: Considerations And Reflections On The English Program In Korea (Epik), Kiama Robinson

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines both practical considerations for sojourners who are planning to work overseas in South Korea’s English Program in Korea (EPIK) and reflections on the author’s experiences with this program. The first section of the paper presents pre-departure, arrival and descriptions of what the school and housing might consist of, followed by reflections on the author’s direct experiences through three paradigms: world view, intercultural adjustment, and culture shock. While the main focus of this paper is on native English speakers participating in EPIK, the practical considerations and discussion may also be generally helpful for hosting organization as well as …

The Evolution Of A Reflective Practitioner: One Teacher’S Story, Anne K. Reagan

MA TESOL Collection

Becoming a reflective practitioner requires and active, disciplined process as well as support from colleagues according to the experiences of one elementary school Spanish teacher. This paper provides an overview of the learning experiences in a MAT graduate program that shaped this teacher’s initial thoughts about reflective teaching. It also reviews several experts’ ideas on reflective thought and teaching. Finally, it narrates and analyzes her experience of creating a reflective teachers’ group using a text as the impetus for discussion. The conclusion offers ideas for future development of a reflective teachers’ group.

Written Feedback In The Classroom And Beyond, Karen Gould Peltola

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is an in-depth look at the experimentation with and use of written feedback with middle school foreign language students and their parents. It includes my own learning about giving written feedback, the process by which I have trained my students to give written feedback, and finally the extensions of written feedback beyond the classroom, to the parents. Examples of written feedback forms and formats are included, as well as completed examples.

Motivating Adolescents To Be Active Participants In The Language Learning Process, Kier Merill

MA TESOL Collection

Motivating adolescents to be active participants in their own language learning process is a challenge faced by all middle and high school language teachers. This paper provides and overview of tone teacher’s experiences in the struggle to motivate her own students. it also supplies some useful ideas on activities that work to motivate students both inside and outside the classroom. The appendices include step by step plans to help guide other teachers in carrying out some of the activities in their own classes.

“Pass The Remote…! Interactive Classroom Review For The 21st Century: Bringing Remote Response Pads Into Your Classroom, Lisa Michelle Lucas

MA TESOL Collection

This project describes a form of computer-assisted interactive classroom instruction, which is particularly useful in the ESL context. Not only does this project show how to integrate instruction with ever advancing technology, it also demonstrates how to integrate interactive class work with the diverse and relevant learning styles of each learner in the classroom. This project will show how easy it is to use this technology in conjunction with thematic units or projects-whatever the level of the ESL student. Enclosed are examples of instructional materials, created for the ESL High Beginner and examples of how they relate to the paper …

Rising Off The Plateau In Learning Arabic, Daniel Scott Linquist

MA TESOL Collection

Experiencing plateaus in second language learning is a common experience, especially for language student studying Arabic or one of the other languages considered more difficult. Some of the causes for the plateau experience in Arabic are its complex grammar, its vast amount of vocabulary, and the different roles of Modern Standard Arabic and the spoken dialects of Arabic.

Rising off the Plateau in Studying Arabic is a thesis project, which analyzes this second language learner’s attempt to make significant progress in studying Modern Standard Arabic. The project was based on a self-directed, semi-intensive Arabic language program, which prioritized the reading …

The Effect Of Educational Kinesiology On Second Language Acquisition, Tina Lynne Haverstick

MA TESOL Collection

This thesis is a summary of my experience working with the theory of Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K) in the foreign language classroom environment. It may serve as a guide for anyone who is interested in tapping into the full potential of students’ brains within a structured learning environment.

A case study is presented here examining the effects of educational kinesiology on two groups of kindergarten students I taught simultaneously in my EFL classroom in Taiwan.

I chose to assess their attitudes toward different classroom activities, including those geared toward improving listening, speaking, reading and writing, as well as the overall attitude …

Drama Methodology And Its Usage In Removing Barriers To English Language Acquisition In Japanese University Students, C Malcom Barry Duff

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines how drama methodology can be used to remove barriers to English acquisition and to encourage English language production in Japanese university students. The effect of the affective filter and Monitor use in language production will be covered. The use of drama methodology will be analyzed and its usage in the classroom evaluated. The use of drama techniques to create lessons will be demonstrated.

Unleashing The Writer Within: A Workshop Based Writing Course Designed To Release Student Fears, Cultivate Creativity And Develop Editing Skills, Kimberly Sue Connelly

MA TESOL Collection

Establishing a community of learners in a language classroom produces a fertile environment in which to teach any and all language skills. Building community was the focus of the Writing Workshop that I designed and taught to large classes of high beginner to advanced immigrants, refugees, and international students in a college level ESL program. The activities I developed for the first weeks connect students to each other through creativity, music and art, authorize students to set their own goals, encourage them to examine their writing anxieties, and allow them to explore their identities as writers. By breaking down fears …

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 …

African Film: A Dynamic Medium For A High School French Class Cultural Curriculum, Denise Elizabeth Dunn Barstow-Girel

MA TESOL Collection

Culture can be an integral part of the French foreign language class when students learn French language and Francophone culture through a content-based approach using the medium of African films. Founded on the pedagogical value of a thematic study of issues aimed at raising linguistic, cultural, and global awareness in adolescent, fourth or fifth year high school French students, I developed this cultural curriculum focused on Francophone African culture. While learning the French language, students will gain knowledge of West African cultures including historical aspects, and the role of the French language in this region.

Tenant Partners For Community Education: A Family Literacy Project, Pamela J. Anderson

MA TESOL Collection

The purpose of this paper is to discuss, describe, and evaluate a family literacy program I developed as a pilot project for Southeast Asian immigrant families with elementary school-aged children living in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco.

I will give an overview of this project and review recent research on the different approaches to family literacy. Using a working definition of family literacy based upon current research and implementation in the field, the Indochinese Housing Family Literacy Project-a description of its structure and expected outcomes, lesson plans, and useful findings from current working programs-will be explored and described. Finally, …

Building A Teacher Education Program For Efl Teachers: From Process To Product, Eliana Santana

MA TESOL Collection

This IPP contains a teacher education program for a school in the north of Brazil. It also shows the process I used in order to construct it. It shows the context for which the program was developed, the state-of-the-art in TESOL teacher preparation, as well as my own beliefs and assumptions about how learning teaching takes place. Then, it presents the needs analysis as well as the curriculum designed for the program.

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 …

The Transition To A Project-Based Curriculum, Cheryl Hoffman

MA TESOL Collection

This paper examines the initial stages in transforming a grammar-based English as a Second Language curriculum into a project-based one that aims to develop learners’ communicative competence. Included is a definition of project-based learning and communicative competence. The background and setting of the curriculum project are described. The emergence of project-based courses and the transition to these courses is also discussed. Implications for future curriculum projects are considered in terms of managing change within an English language program.

English Teachers In The Former G.D.R. Ten Years After The Wende: What’S New?, Renée Flibotte-Lüskow

MA TESOL Collection

English teachers who work in public schools in the eastern part of Germany are doing a very different type of job than they were ten years ago. Although the physical setting and the subject matter is still the same, they are teaching in a new school system based on the West German model. Their personal and professional relationships with the people they work with are different now, and attitudes toward the language they teach have been altered by the political and social changes. This paper seeks to identify interviews conducted in a certain region during a short time span. It …

Adapting The C-L/Cll Approach To A Conventional Textbook Setting: A Novice Teacher’S Reality, Laura Fleher

MA TESOL Collection

This paper is an analysis of the Counseling-Learning/Community Language Learning Approach’s adaptability in a conventional textbook setting. My second internship experience which takes place in a college summer ESL program is the testing ground for my development as a novice C-L/CLL teacher. Questions, doubts, and concerns about the value of a new and an old teaching method are discussed. The importance of distinguishing between approach, method, and technique is advocated. Utilizing the classic cycle of activities is necessary to a novice teacher’s internalization of the C-L philosophy. However, the conventional teaching method, the textbook, is familiar and valued by students …

Language Learning Strategies: A Primer, Carol Lindenbrock Fujii

MA TESOL Collection

The question of why some learners acquire a second language more quickly than others has long been a problem for language teachers. Even when students seem basically equal in terms of opportunity and intelligence, progress can vary greatly. Variations in the language learning strategies students employ could explain why some students do better than others. Students can profitably explore the areas of language learning strategies to become more aware and successful learners. This paper begins by defining language learning strategies as the tools learners use to plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning and to make that learning more efficient. …

Toward Student-Led Reading Discussion In The Classroom: A Teacher’S Journey With Reader Response, Judy Davis

MA TESOL Collection

This paper traces an ESL teacher’s learning curve with student-based reading discussion, both teacher-guided and student-led. It comments on her pre-teaching experience with formalist and reader response theory as a reader, student, writer, editor, and then as teacher experimenting with student-led discussion in three consecutive terms. Special attention is given to the strategies that were used to build a reading community and to facilitate the release of students’ voices in the reading discussions. The taped, transcribed discussions are summarized for their intellectual content and examined to assess the social and linguistic benefits to the students. Also evaluated are the uses …

Timed Conversation: One Routine For Engaging Large Classes Of Non-Motivated Learners In Meaningful Oral Communication, Bradley J. Deacon

MA TESOL Collection

This paper will explore an activity called “Timed Conversation” that I use in large classes of relatively unmotivated first and second year non-language majors in a Japanese university setting. Timed Conversation is designed to help students to communicate in native-like and incrementally longer sustained dialogues in the target language. In the activity, the students interact with many partners and practice conversations while practicing various language expressions. In every lesson over the course of a semester they speak in conversations about a number of topics for a set limit of time. The goal is to be able to speak more fluently …

Just Like The Dutch Kids: A Sociolinguistic Study Of A Child's Early Acquisition Of Dutch As A Second Language, Judith Marlow Herby

MA TESOL Collection

opportunity for my family to spend a year in the Netherlands provided me with the occasion to observe my son’s acquisition of Dutch and to discover with him what it is like to become bilingual. This study of his progress begins in the U.S. with his introduction to Dutch as a foreign language at the age of 3 years, 1 month, and continues through his eighth month in the Netherland (age 4,5). Special attention is given to sociolinguistic factors as well as behavior and cultural adjustment. A journal of his verbal and behavioral progress was kept during this time and …

Ways; Socio-Cultural Aspects Of Tesl In Japan, Linda Hiroko Enga

MA TESOL Collection

The objective of this paper is to present aspects of the Japanese society and culture which may directly or indirectly affect the ESL class, specifically in a Japanese college or university. An analysis of these facts and their relevance in the ESL class and teaching techniques which have been used to meet the specific needs of the Japanese ESL students are also given.

A Supplementary Reference Guide For Non-Native English Speakers On The Communicative And Cultural Aspects In The Esl Miscellany, Joanne Ching Chao

MA TESOL Collection

This is a supplementary guide designed especially for non-native ESL users to be used in conjunction with The ESL Miscellany. It covers two parts of the book, the Communicative Aspect and the Cultural Aspect. In the Communicative Aspect this guide includes the definitions of all the idioms under the different categories, such as food, music, colors, and religion which appear in The ESL Miscellany. In the Cultural Aspect, six areas have been explained and defined. These are “Famous Americans”, “heroes”, “Historical Sites”, “Dates and Holidays”, “Famous Quotations”, and “Proverbs”.

A Handbook For Esl Teacher Training At Okinawa Christian School, Dan Jerome

MA TESOL Collection

The handbook has been designed for use as the text in a two or three day teacher-training course as well as a reference book of information useful throughout the academic year of the school. Because many of the ESL teachers at the school are inexperienced and/or untrained in the field, the information and suggestions have been written in non-technical language using a question/answer style that attempts to deal with the practical issues with which new teachers are most concerned. More than a “how-to” book, however, the handbook suggests matters of philosophical importance that will help teachers see beyond the immediate …

Teaching And The Boarding School Environment At Tasis England, William Bradley Stevenson

MA TESOL Collection

This paper discusses my 1981 summer teaching experience at TASIS England, an American boarding school located outside London. In this environment, there were personal constraints both on the students and on myself. I increased my knowledge of the shape and structure of English and how to teach it. In the classroom there are always discipline problems. I look at one way I found to deal with them. In this boarding school environment, I had additional duties that gave me the opportunity to learn about teenagers. I also gained some insight into culture and how to relate to these international students …

Facilitating The Learning Of How To Learn: The Development Of Active, Resourceful, And Responsible Learners In An Experiential, Cross-Cultural, Academic Program, Teryl Lee Lundquist

MA TESOL Collection

A primary goal for education is the development of learners who know how to learn actively, resourcefully, and responsibly in the changing and complex environment in which they find themselves. Based on my own experiences as a learner and an educator , and most specifically on my experience as Academic Director of two College Semester Abroad groups to Ireland, I have formed five priorities for myself as a facilitator of such learning. These priorities are - (1) To encourage the learner first to view him or herself as the most valuable resource available, and then to look to other human …

Communication Modules: Student-Generated Language Arts Projects For Bilingual Education, Annie Katherine Hawkinson

MA TESOL Collection

The materials consist of nine curriculum units designed for use with bilingual students at 4th, 5th, and 6th grade levels. Although originally developed for French-English bilingual students, they can be used with any language group, since the learning activities are themselves not language-specific. The language used for each communication project is collected from the students themselves: hence the units themselves can be used with any bilingual group.

The learning activities are also designed to be used in multilevel classes, i.e. classes where students' language proficiency may vary. They of course may also be used in classes where such variation does …