Teaching English as a Second Language with Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 626-648
Author(s):  
Kate Mastruserio Reynolds ◽  
Ingrid Schaller ◽  
Dale O. Gable
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
Technology Standards ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Technology Instruction ◽  
Integrate Technology ◽  
K 12 ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Standardized Curriculum ◽  
Standards Integration

All U.S. states have standards that require the inclusion of technology into the classroom (Rodriguez & Pelaez, 2002; Abdal-Haqq, 1995; Wright, 1980). Kindergarten-12 teachers face bourgeoning state-mandated curricula that they are required to teach each year. These curricula leave little room for specific computer literacy or technology instruction. Therefore, teachers must achieve both sets of expectations, (i.e., standardized curriculum and technology standards integration), simultaneously and without losing sight of the main content-area focus. This situation is more complex for ESL teachers. ESL instructors’ goals are two-fold: (1) the content or subject of instruction, and (2) language acquisition.This chapter will outline the various constraints and challenges that K-12 teachers face when attempting to include technology into their classrooms. Then, a variety of ways to integrate technology while maintaining a content and language acquisition focus by providing practical, accessible, and user-friendly resources, activities, and tips for inclusion will be proposed. Finally, learner encountered resulting from a productive mixture of content and technology in English as a second language (ESL) classes will be shared.

scholarly journals Teacher and Student Evaluations of Project-Based Instruction

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulbahar Beckett
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
General Education ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Student Independence ◽  
Subject Matter Content

Project-based instruction has gained some popularity in general education and in second-language (L2) education. However, a review of the literature shows discrepancies between teachers' and students' evaluations of this activity. For example, general education teachers and students find that project-based instruction creates opportunities for in-depth learning of subject-matter content, which fosters student independence and problem-solving skills. However, English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers' and students' evaluations show mixed results. Although some anecdotal reports and one systematic research study show ESL teachers endorsing project-based instruction because it provides opportunities for comprehensible output and integrated language teaching, there is evidence that ESL students and at least one ESL teacher are frustrated by this form of instruction. These students felt that project-based instruction prevented them from learning from the teacher and textbooks and from focusing on language skills. The ESL teacher felt a loss of student respect and noted a drop in student attendance. These discrepancies are discussed from philosophical, cultural, and linguistic perspectives. Recommendations for research and pedagogy are proposed. For example, it is suggested that a framework be developed to aid ESL teachers in assisting their multicultural students to understand the benefits of project-based instruction in L2 learning.

scholarly journals Affect, Empowerment and the Complexities of Belonging: Cultivating a Humanistic Atmosphere in the ESL Classroom

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Momoye Sugiman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Esl Programs ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Esl Classroom

In this paper, I focus on the affective atmosphere of the Adult English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom. I argue that a humanistic learning approach can be a form of strategic resistance against the bureaucratization and standardization of publicly funded ESL programs for adult newcomers in Canada. Given the growing, top-down trend in our economically driven and technologically dependent society, there is a need to humanize the Canadian ESL classroom as a space for empathy and critical thinking. Through a literature review and semi-structured, in-depth interviews with former ESL learners and former ESL teachers, this paper reveals the psychological and political complexities of second language learning and cultural identity, as well as the pivotal role that an ESL teacher can play during the first few years of settlement. In this context, I also critique the racialized linguistic hierarchy embedded in Canada’s multiculturalism policy and exclusionary immigration and language policies.

scholarly journals Should K-12 Teachers Develop Learning Objects?

10.28945/3134 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yavuz Akpinar ◽  
Huseyin Simsek
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Learning Objects ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Instructional Designers ◽  
Literacy Class ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
K 12

The emergence of learning objects for teachers as a focus of educational concentration is relatively new and much of the discussion has not been based on the actual development of objects, but different definitions, learning theories, properties and standards or decorative packages of learning objects (LOs). Also, in many teacher education programs, prospective teachers take a computer literacy class separate from content methods classes and rarely engage in producing authentic teaching/learning experiences. This research goes somewhat to address prospective K-12 teachers’ development of learning objects. In this study, a group of prospective K-12 science teachers’ learning objects were examined, evaluated and compared with LOs developed by instructional designers (IDs). A total of forty learning objects were closely investigated and effectiveness of eight of them was tried out with 180 target students in classrooms. Detailed analysis of the LOs demonstrated that while both the preservicers and the IDs use similar number of instructional elements in their LOs, the IDs seem to represent concepts and procedures with screen objects other than the text and used the text for supporting graphical objects. Both groups developed LOs similar in quality measured with the LORI 1.5. Statistical tests on the data obtained from classroom usage of the LOs showed marked improvements in the students’ learning.

Technologizing Teaching

2013 ◽  
pp. 940-962
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Piro ◽  
Nancy Marksbury
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Technology Integration ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Instructional Media ◽  
Technology Instruction ◽  
The World ◽  
Pre Service Teacher Education ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

With the continuing shift of instructional media to digital sources occurring in classrooms around the world, the role of technology instruction in the pre-service curriculum of K-12 teachers is acquiring increasing salience. However, barriers to its inclusion continue to exist. In this chapter we focus on a model of hybridity designed to embed technology instruction into pre-service education. This model is known as the WebQuest and involves the development of a technology-driven learning activity that scaffolds the building of skills in content, pedagogy, and technology integration in pre-service teachers. We discuss data from an exploratory project conducted within a class of graduate pre-service teachers experiencing instruction in creating a WebQuest, and offer some preliminary findings. We place these results within a larger perspective of the CFTK and TPACK frameworks and their application to issues germane to pre-service teacher education.

Portfolios

2016 ◽  
pp. 166-183
Author(s):  
Joan Lachance
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Teaching Performance ◽  
Graduate Level ◽  
Capstone Project ◽  
K 12

Graduate level teacher candidates preparing to work with English learners participate in coursework related to theory and practice for many aspects of second language acquisition. In this presentation the author describes and discusses an innovative capstone project, completed in the context of the second language acquisition course, which conceptualizes and embodies performance-based assessments. What makes this exceptional is that teacher candidates demonstrate deep insight regarding the authenticity of using performance-based assessments with K-12 English learners while simultaneously connecting the concepts to their own pre-service teaching performance-based assessments; Portfolios2.

scholarly journals Prereferral Process with Latino English Language Learners with Specific Learning Disabilities: Perceptions of English-as-a-Second-Language Teachers

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Ferlis ◽  
Yaoying Xu
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Specific Learning Disabilities ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Latino English Language Learners ◽  
Latino Ells ◽  
Specific Learning

This study explored perceptions of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers on the prereferral process for Latino English language learners (ELLs). Using Colaizzi’s (1978) phenomenological approach, qualitative data were collected through interviews with four ESL teachers. Analyses of the data indicated that the ESL teachers used research-based interventions and progress-monitoring in the prereferral process with Latino ELLs. Data analysis also indicated negative participant perceptions of parental and school-level influence on the identification process.  Key concerns about the identification of Latino ELLs with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are presented, raising questions about current practices in school districts with small ELL populations.

Esl for Students with Visual Impairments

1997 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 555-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Guinan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
First Language ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Second Languages ◽  
Visually Impaired Students

This article reviews the literature on teaching English as a second language (ESL) to, and research on the acquisition of first and second languages by, both sighted and visually impaired students. Although braille should be taught to students in their first language, the author offers suggestions for teaching students in a second language when instruction in a first language is not possible. She concludes that closer cooperation between vision teachers and ESL teachers is essential for children with limited proficiency in English and visual impairments to become fully literate and communicatively competent.

scholarly journals DECONSTRUCTING COMPREHENSIBILITY

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talia Isaacs ◽  
Pavel Trofimovich
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Testing System ◽  
Esl Teachers ◽  
Lexical Richness ◽  
Ability Levels ◽  
Communicative Success ◽  
High Level ◽  
International English

Comprehensibility, a major concept in second language (L2) pronunciation research that denotes listeners’ perceptions of how easily they understand L2 speech, is central to interlocutors’ communicative success in real-world contexts. Although comprehensibility has been modeled in several L2 oral proficiency scales—for example, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)—shortcomings of existing scales (e.g., vague descriptors) reflect limited empirical evidence as to which linguistic aspects influence listeners’ judgments of L2 comprehensibility at different ability levels. To address this gap, a mixed-methods approach was used in the present study to gain a deeper understanding of the linguistic aspects underlying listeners’ L2 comprehensibility ratings. First, speech samples of 40 native French learners of English were analyzed using 19 quantitative speech measures, including segmental, suprasegmental, fluency, lexical, grammatical, and discourse-level variables. These measures were then correlated with 60 native English listeners’ scalar judgments of the speakers’ comprehensibility. Next, three English as a second language (ESL) teachers provided introspective reports on the linguistic aspects of speech that they attended to when judging L2 comprehensibility. Following data triangulation, five speech measures were identified that clearly distinguished between L2 learners at different comprehensibility levels. Lexical richness and fluency measures differentiated between low-level learners; grammatical and discourse-level measures differentiated between high-level learners; and word stress errors discriminated between learners of all levels.

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