When a new class starts, I usually question how much time is needed to teach second language acquisition methodology. I’ve noticed a lot of students have very poor study habits and really do not understand how a language is acquired. Some students think that if they take one English class they should be fluent by the end of the course! I put together this slide to introduce students to language acquisition and to nullify the […]
Category: Advanced
Personal Shields
This I typically assign as homework the first day of class. I show examples from previous student work, and encourage them to be as creative as they want. The second day of class they get in groups of four and try to mix the nationalities as best I can, and they share their personal shields with each other. The noise level always increases immediately. After they have time to get acquainted with this new material, […]
Campus Online Scavenger Hunt
This I assigned as homework at the beginning of the semester to have students search the campus website to discover services available to them that they might not be aware of. Although this is what we used here at Sierra College, I’m looking forward to creating one for Woodland Community College. It will be similar. >>Scavenger Hunt<< Annie
ESL 105 Final Exam Scoring Rubric
Currently our highest level ESL class is ESL 105, Pre-Collegiate Composition / Reading. Until recently ESL 105 fell under the umbrella of the WCC English Department. In preparation for the Final Exam students were provided with expectations for grading. A score of 4 was the highest possible. A score of 4 or 3 was passing and a score of 2 or 1 was not passing. At that time English 105 and ESL 105 Final Exams […]
Timed Writing
In my ESL 282A, Fundamentals of Composition class, I use the Longman Academic Writing Series, Level 2, Paragraphs text by Ann Hogue. This Pearson book at the end of each chapter has a Timed Writing section that helps students get ready for future classes. Since many intend to get into the English Department’s sequence leading to 1A, this is an excellent way to accustom them to the pressures of testing in class. They have 30 […]
Oral Presentation Telling a Story
This is an in-front-of-the class presentation. Students will tell a personal story from their past using the simple past (and at least one past continuous). It can be about a happy experience, a sad day, or something funny that happened in their life. Handout: » Oral Presentation Telling a Story in the Past Tense « More details and all instructions are included on the handout, as well as a simple feedback form I give […]
Interviewing An American # 1
»INTERVIEWING AN AMERICAN # 1 « (click on this for the handout) This homework will make students get out into the community to interview two Americans about their favorite vacation spot. They have to take notes, and write down the information on a form, which they will turn in. They are also graded on their participation in groups when they share the information on one of their interviews. Finally, each group picks the student with […]
World Village
This is an intermediate /advanced listening & discussion activity that has students imagine the world as a village of 100 people. What would this world look like? All the activities and instructions are on the two page handout. The first page is the handout for the students and the second has instructions and follow up assignments for the teacher. Here are links to the 2 page handout: » WORLD VILLAGE « and the […]
Interview Icebreaker
I like this icebreaker because the students enjoy it. On the first day of class, I have students pair up and interview one another for twenty minutes. They really enjoy getting their cell phones out to show the class their photos. The students will pair off and then they have to introduce their partner to the class. I will have a one minute timer on so we stay on pace. After the introductions, I have […]
Your Dream Job
Before students can decide on a career of study, it is important to take them through some initial steps to explore their interests and preferred working environments as well as what types of skills they already have and what fields these may be useful. The attached handout is the written segment of this lesson leading to a writing assignment expressing all these preferences in a well-developed paragraph. Being able to state what we want is […]