STANDARD 8 – Instructional strategies The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
Name of artifact: View and reflect exercises for FL 561 Course: FL 562 – Teaching Second Languages: Theory into Practice TESOL/INTASC Standards addressed: Standard 8.a., 8.b., 8.d., 8.e., 8.f., 8.g., 8.l., 8.m., 8.r. Rationale: To address Standard 8, Instructional Strategies, I am using a textbook assignment I completed for FL 561 Teaching Second Languages: Theory into Practice. The assignment was to complete for three of the chapters of our choice a View and Reflect web based activity in the textbook, Teachers’ handbook: Contextualized language instruction, (Shrum & Gilsan, 2010). The video segments are arranged by chapter and are described as multimedia resources for teachers to stay up to date and use effective instruction and assessment strategies. I took FL 561 in the summer of 2015, and learned in the videos how the processorientedapproach to oral and written communication is an effective strategy for the classroom. The assignment of the View and Reflect web based activity was a product of the Annenburg Media, which are teacher resources and professional development multimedia resources for teachers. I watched two thirty minute segments to complete the assignment for Chapter 9 entitled: Developing Oral and Written Presentational Communication. The approach as shown by the Chinese class in Activity A and the Japanese class in Activity B is how I envision a foreign language class room should function and was interesting. The video segments showed me that one of the goals of presentational communication is to see writing and speaking as a process and should shift away from the notion of the product. This process oriented approach is done with collaboration of the students in a peer review setting. Multileveled students in the Chinese class presented and reviewed each other’s work. Level two students were asked questions from level three students. Presentational communication also involves realia and authentic items. The Chinese class used a poem and listened to a recording of singing. The Japanese students wrote descriptions of actual regions in Japan and questioned each other in a paired activity. Students wrote a brochure, a task based activity using technological enhancements. Teaching oral and written communication as a process involves one way communication, i.e. oral or written form presented to an audience but is more compatible to language learning than traditional, a method which is usually writing for the audience of the teacher. Also explicit instruction, which is usually the input from the teacher alone, has little effect on the grammatical accuracy of the product (Frantzen, 1995; Manley & Calk, 1997; Wong & Van Patten, 2003). In summary, the purpose of oral and written presentational communication describes five types: descriptive, narrative, demonstrative, explanatory, and transformative (O’Hair, Friedrich, Wienmann & Wienmann, 1995). The text explains that this is called writing for publication because the student is writing with an audience in mind. This will decrease emphasis on form and increase the variety of options for the students. The teacher is involved throughout the process and students learn from each other collaboratively. References Shrum, J.L. & Glisan, E.W. (2010). Teacher’s handbook: Contextualized language instruction 4th edition. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle.
Name of artifact: Instructional Applications Course: FL 663 Applied Linguistics in Second and Foreign Languages TESOL/INTASC Standards Addressed: Standard 8.a., 8.b., 8.d., 8.e., 8.i., 8.j., 8.n., 8.o., 8.q., 8.s. Rationale: For the second artifact under Standard 8-Instructional strategies, I chose the first set of Instructional Applications I wrote for the class FL 663-Applied Linguistics in Second and Foreign Languages. I wrote a final paper incorporating an aspect of linguistics, namely the intransitive verb, into language teaching. In addition to the final paper the assignment was to create two developed instructional applications to incorporate the aspect of linguistics I chose into my language teaching and learning. This artifact shows my ability, as Standard 8 requires, developing deep understanding of the content area as well as my ability to build knowledge and critical thinking skills. In the fall semester of 2012-2013 for FL 663 Applied Linguistics in Second and Foreign Language, part of the final paper was to include Instructional Applications. The Instructional applications included the goal of the activity, teacher and student instructions, audiovisual materials, handouts and an evaluation of the activity. For my first Instructional Application, which is my artifact, I have included a handout, the lesson plan, the worksheet, and the quiz. I did not include a link to the PowerPoint, however. I know that this appears to be a difficult subject so I found a list of the intransitive verbs formulated by Perlmutter (1978), and provide that list. Of course, the list is to be used during completion of the worksheet. Learning the English language involves an understanding of sentence structure and the rules of syntax. I believe the rules of syntax or word order for a language can and must be taught for the ESL/ELL student to be able to speak properly or at all. In my short period of research of this topic I discovered a deficit of intransitive verb studies, so I believe learning about the intransitive verbs without an object is essential. I too learned that sentence formation is not that random and syntactical rules apply to make a sentence grammatical or ungrammatical. I chose to do paired activities and group work using an interpersonal communicative approach for students to interact and negotiate meaning with each other. The key of this Standard 8, I believe, is to make language more comprehensible. I plan to repeat the simple fact of the verb takes or does not take and object during the lesson. I utilize the terms that are difficult not for retention but for grouping so the learners can envision the category. For example, I explain that unergative is an act of the will: you choose to do it: i.e. smile. Additionally, I used an open-ended format on the worksheet to create original sentences. This can help the learner to write a sentence as simple as, for example: She ran. The learners will be able to use the verb list provided in all activities. For learners of English, I realize it would be difficult for them to develop their own list. I understand that the grammar rules, which permit the native speaker to produce and understand English, are not necessarily present in the non-native speaker. I also was constantly reminded in developing these activities to be sure to make the lesson clear and understandable.
References Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2011). An introduction to language (9th ed.). Boston: Wadsworth Cengage.