Assessing Knowledge of ESL Literacy

The Reading Demonstration was designed by Literacywork International as an assessment for low-level ESL learners. It uses real-life materials and texts. Students are asked to indicate what items they recognize and how much they can read. Materials include fast food items, utility bills, grocery flyers, along with connected texts such as short personal narratives and newspapers. Learners are asked to read aloud a passage written in their native language as well. This is a quick way for the teacher to get a good sense of the underlying fluency and decoding skills the learner possesses. It has three sections: 1.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wQHrCxNg6A 2.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3r2kHwqXFA&NR=1 3.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csEHEb_oV2Y&feature=related

Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly (CLESE) Bright Ideas – ESL for Elders Project: http://clese.org/elder-programs/bright-ideas/videos/

Reading Demonstration http://www.literacywork.com/readingdemonstration In this reading demonstration, Literacywork International’s Heide Spruck Wrigley invites Bessima, an elderly refugee from Bosnia, to show her what she can do in English (recognize popular labels, identify a product on a flyer, interpret a utility bill and read a simple story in Bosnian and another in English). At the end of the video, Heide interprets Bessima’s skills and comments on her strengths and challenges with literacy.

I have a problem http://clese.org/elder-programs/bright-ideas/videos/ The “I have a problem” video shows students responding to common life problems and suggesting solutions. The teacher introduces a scenario and invites students to comment. It also shows a student offering his own problem to the class as others offer input. The web site includes a transcript so students can follow along.

Excuse me, how much are the peppers? http://clese.org/elder-programs/bright-ideas/videos/ This video, meant for community teachers with little background in teaching ESL, intersperses classroom teaching with a discussion of instructional principles. The teacher teaches the English names of vegetables to a group of Bosnian elderly, who speak very little English, and then takes them on a field trip so they can compare vegetable prices at a farm with prices in a Chicago supermarket. Some of the 7 ESL lessons below, produced by Literacywork International, have beginning level job-related content. Several classroom methods or strategies are used: true-false cards to check comprehension, judicious use of the first language for explanation, the teacher drawing pictures (chalk talk) and students drawing pictures.

Review of Survival English (01:35)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT9BL2eENs0
True-False Cards to Check Comprehension (03:45)

Lesson Preview in Spanish (1:33)

Review Jobs Children Have (03:11)

Teacher Describes Her First Job (02:12)

Chalk Talk

Students Draw Pictures and Describe First Job (03:30) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xExuQKvXASE

A Framework Comes Alive Video and Guidebook ($15.00) Video Excerpt: Repetition in English language learning
Video
The goal of this project is to mentor new teachers confronting the challenges of teaching adult ESOL (ESL) classes for the first time. The video and guide also provide an opportunity for more experienced teachers to reflect on their philosophies and practices in the classroom. The video and guide can be used separately or together, with a trainer or independently. Ordering information can be found at: Curriculum Publications Clearinghouse http://www.wiu.edu/users/micpc/index.html

English for Speakers of Other Languages English for Speakers of Other Languages is a 21-episode English language learning series of 15-30-minute video lessons, supported by the City of Boston’s Offices of Cable Communications, Jobs and Community Services, and New Bostonians. It was completed in 2008. The series was created to help non-English speakers learn things that would help them feel more comfortable in a work environment, as well as everyday conversational pieces. The televised program was taped on location at the Asian American Civic Association (AACA) in Boston. Classes are hosted and taught by Richard Goldberg, former director of education at the AACA where he taught ESOL for 18 years. The ESOL program at the Asian American Civic Association is for beginning and intermediate English speakers. It aims to help the students adapt to life in the United States and feel comfortable studying English at a more advanced level. This is an opportunity for ESOL teachers who would like to see a series of lessons done by an experienced ESOL teacher.
http://www.cityofboston.gov/cable/video_library.asp?mode=calculate To find the lessons, in the search box (upper right-hand corner of that page) type “ESOL”.

Adult ESL Training Video Project The New American Horizons Foundation, through its Adult ESL Training Video Project, has created a series of short, accessible teacher training videos on adult ESOL instruction. Each video is about 30 minutes and uses classroom and instructor interview footage to illustrate topics in adult ESOL practice such as approaches to teaching each of the four skills, planning lessons, working with emergent literacy learners, and grammar and vocabulary development in context. All the videos are available free of charge online, or DVDs can be purchased for a minimal cost-recovery fee. The videos could be used to suit a range of training needs, for example: as self-access resources, incorporated in workshops or volunteer trainings, as part of online training, or teacher education courses. Twelve videos are available for viewing at http://www.newamericanhorizons.org/training-videos http://www.newamericanhorizons.org

PDK English Language Learing (ESOL/ESL) Videos The Professional Development Kit (PDK) videos were developed by literacy.org and the National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL) at the University of Pennsylvania. Included here are 5 ESOL English language learning classes taught by Margarita Kershner.

Narrative
In this narrative, Margarita Kershner engages her level three ESL class in a reading, writing, listening and speaking activity. She presents a dialogue exercise that introduces students to 12 new idioms. During the course of the lesson, they incorporate the idioms into an essay, work in pairs to write and read their own dialgoues, and identify missing words/phrases in a typed dialogue.

The Sacagawea Lesson
In this lesson, Margarita’s students practice giving and interpreting explicit instructions.

Motivation
Margarita tries to develop activities that enable learners to “own” the material. In the “Catching Onto Idioms” activity, students work together to construct their own dialogues.

Multilevel Classes
Margarita manages her multilevel classroom by offering students choices. She provides different dictation exercises and invites students to choose the one they want to use.

Assessment
Margarita says she is constantly evaluating her lessons. She asks students to offer input on classroom activities, and she adjusts future lessons to accommodate these suggestions.

Teacher roles
Margarita sees herself as cultural liaison; she feels it is her responsibility to acquaint students with American culture as well as teach them language skills. She also feels it is important to let students know that she doesn’t always have the answer. She sees this as an opportunity to “turn the learning process around.”

Real Tutors, Real Learners A collection of tutoring videos that illustrate techniques for basic and ESL literacy instruction made by Literacy DuPage, a nonprofit, community-based organization in Illinois. http://www.literacyvolunteersdupage.org/RealTutorsRealLearners.html Observing Standards-in-Action: ESL Classroom Lesson on writing Produced by Oppix Productions under a contract with MPR Associates from the U.S. Department of Education at the Prince William County Public Schools Education Program, Woodbridge VA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQusQWPjdMo