TESL 0160: Unit 3: Classroom Etiquettes

I have created this list of classroom etiquettes for ESL class of young learners with CLB 4-5 level. I have also attached the infographic.

General etiquettes for both students and teachers:

Be regular.

Be on time.

Turn mobile phones off.

Respect each other.

Use appropriate language.

Be patient with students who are slow learners.

For students:

Be active and participate.

Take responsibility of your education.

For teachers:

Lead with an example.

Bring equality in the classroom.

Positive behaviour and friendly attitude.

TESL 0160: Assignment 2 #Job Analysis

For this assignment, I have decided on teaching EFL to learners in Japan and the JET program Canada is a program which provides job opportunities for the same.
Here is the link to the assignment: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14YBepklv3MObMDPhGXJWL9gAm8Mw9uNgq2wfOTBKWdk/edit?usp=sharing

TESL 0160: Unit 1

Biases and assumptions might a teacher bring into a classroom 

Life experiences leave everyone with the biases and prejudices, teachers are no different. Teachers also have preconceived notions about different countries, gender, and cultures, which sometimes reflect in the classroom and can negatively affect the students. Sometimes teacher might assume things on seeing the behavior of the students but it is very important that the underlying reason behind that behavior is understood. As mentioned in the teaching refugees related reading, that some students might behave rudely, against the rules and are not punctual. This behavior can lead teachers to assume that the people of certain countries are like this which should not be the case.


I think the best way to prepare for teaching would be to actually know the students, where they have come from, try to understand their life circumstances. The teacher should also understand their needs in order to meet their goals. The taboo topics in the classroom filled with refugees would be topics on war, freedom, terror etcetera. There are other sensitive topics such as family, love which can evoke the emotional reaction among students so the teacher should be careful while bringing this up in the class but it is not always possible to avoid the topics completely. In other contexts, some taboo topics can be around religion, political views and patriotism etcetera.

I am an immigrant to Canada and I can imagine how it feels to be away from our native country and away from the loved ones. It helps in understanding the emotions of the students and also helps in knowing the difficulties one can face to adjust in a new country and environment. Also, working with people from different cultures helps in understanding the cultural differences and accepting these.

As others have mentioned, I found the CCTV reading really helpful and insightful. It has very useful information that the teacher can keep in mind while teaching the class of refugees. In particular, I likes the section on improving self esteem and finding appropriate material for the students.

References:

Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture. (n.d.). CCVT strategies for promoting a positive atmosphere in the language and skills training classroom. Retrieved from http://www.teslwindsor.com/uploads/7/8/1/7/7817983/ccvt_strategies_for_promoting_a_positive_atmosphere.docx_pdf_2_windsor_apr_15_2016.pdf

Jenkins, S. (2008). Adopting an intercultural approach to teaching English as an international language. Essential Teacher 5(4), 19-21. Retrieved fromhttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/258242671_Adopting_an_intercultural_approach_to_teaching_English_as_an_international_language

Singh, P. & Doherty, C. (2004). Global cultural flaws and pedagogical dilemmas: Teaching in the global university contact zone. TESOL Quarterly, 38(1), 9-42.

Statistics Canada. (2008). Immigrants' perspectives on their first four years in Canada: Highlights from three waves of the longitudinal survey of immigrants to Canada. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2007000/9627-eng.htm#tphp

TESL 0150: Technology in Classrooms

(Source: https://www.teachhub.com/pros-cons-technology-classroom )

There are many advantages and disadvantages of using technology in the classroom.

Teaching material	Advantage	Disadvantage
Teacher-created	Prior content knowledge More class time for hands-on practice and clarification of the principles and procedures Can be used in various forms such as interactive whiteboards, screencasts etcetera, whatever is convenient for the teacher and students both and meet their needs	Requires a lot of time investment from the teacher It can be an added challenge for the students of low-level
Student-created	Increased learner autonomy Formation of communities of practice and social framework Development of self-expression and transferable skills Makes learning more interesting	Difficult for the students who are not familiar with the technology It can divert student’s attention from the learning
Professionally created	It saves a lot of time of the teachers as the material is available already and just needs to be adapted	It can be expensive

References:

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (4th ed). White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

Tomlinson, B. (Ed.). (2014). Developing materials for language teaching. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic.

TESL 0150: Unit 3: Applying effective principles for adapting resources

For this activity, I chose Scenario 3 in which students are preparing for an IELTS exam and the focus of the activity is to practice matching paragraph headings to the corresponding paragraph.

Here is the link to the activity: https://www.ieltsbuddy.com/paragraph-headings.html

Principles for materials development:

Following are the principles that I have selected and are important for material development in this context.

Set achievable challenges, which help to raise the learners' self-esteem when success is accomplished. It is very important that students self-esteem is maintained or raised and that can be ensured by setting the target which is achievable. If the students are unable to understand the activity or it is way above their current level, it can discourage them.

Make use of activities that help the learners to reflect on their mental activity during a task and then to try to make more use of mental strategies in a similar task. This principle is very important especially in this context where the students are preparing for a test and they are likely to get a similar type of questions. In this way, they will learn their own strategy and understand their own way to address these type of questions because students may have different approaches.

Try to ensure that opportunities for feedback are built into output activities and are provided for the learners afterward. This principle is important because, without the opportunities for the feedback, they will not know the underlying reasons behind the answer to a particular question which will not result in any progress. While on the other hand, discussing the answers and feedback can let students be aware of what they need to do and how they need to approach a particular question to get the answer correct.

Material Adaptation:

As I am teaching the students for preparation course, I assume that I am aware of the student’s level. If not, I would conduct needs assessment about this particular topic at the beginning to get an idea about their understanding of the topic and level. This needs to be done to ensure that the students are being provided with the appropriate material.

I would add a few more example paragraphs in this activity where the teacher is helping students to find the answer to the question. It will help them understand the strategy better and train their mind to use that strategy when working on their own.

Also, it is very important to have a discussion at the end which is already there in the activity. I would make it extensive and not only the questions which were marked wrong, but also the correct answers will be discussed and students will be asked why they marked that answer to a particular question.

About involving students in the adaptation process, I would not do that as the preparation courses are time bound and if the students have the opportunity to go through the content once, it can affect their true performance.