Anthology Chapter 33: Assessment

As I started to read chapter 33 about alternative assessments, I struck very early on by the third paragraph! The chapter goes over about how alternative assessment is different- obviously- but the part I was first struck by is when it says, "Alternative assessment is different from traditional testing in that it actually asks students to show what they can do. Students are evaluated on what they integrate and produce rather than on what they are able to recall and reproduce." It goes on to say that alternative assessment is more culturally aware, reflects the curriculum, shows strengths and weaknesses of students, and gauges progress. So then I got to thinking, isn't this what assessment should be in general? Why is there another term for something that measures what all 'good' assessments should be able to indicate? Can there not be valid, reliable, and objective testing in an alternative form?
I found while reading this section in-particular that alternative testing is incredibly valuable to student, teacher, and schools alike. Not only would alternative testing consider and include linguistically diverse learners, it would also lessen the pressure students feel towards the number score they receive. These types of assessments also seem to provide a more accurate picture of student progression over time. I like to compare this to any other academic assignment we do- especially in higher education. For example, when we write papers, it is not enough to just make a claim, you must have examples, from creditable sources. I think alternative assessment works in this way. When we assess our students, I do not believe providing a number is enough. Where is the evidence? Sure you might say, "student A answer 13 questions incorrectly...etc." but that does not provide any context, I want materials! This is where things like the nontraditional assessment such as portfolios come in. I would suggest that a teacher could provide indication of progress using the students work as evidence, and then further be able to challenge that student by using what exactly there personal progression or even digression needs. Furthermore, teachers can even use portfolios as a means of classroom management, to meet with students individually, to get to know, understand, and have a relationship with the students. Dialogue journals and etc. could also provide this type of knowledge.

The oral component of a primary school, discussed in chapter 35, is something that must be considered. However, I think this chapter lacks discussing the possibility of taking content tests in their first language which is something I would have been interested to read about in a TESOL text. I often wonder how many more schools would be meeting AYP requirements and how many more students would be considered at grade level at least in subjects like science, math, etc.

In conclusion, I think I'm an advocate for alternative and nontraditional testing. I also think that standardized testing, overall, provides some very reliable scores but I disagree with the amount of weight, we as the educational world put on these scores. I also think it would be interesting to study research done on students performance in their first language.    

Kuma Chapter 12

As I started reading chapter 12 I was reminded of a particular "cultural teaching" moment I have recently been challenged with. A good friend of mine from Spain is planning on visiting this summer and "seeing America". He has plans to drive to certain cities in the U.S with an American friend or two and then other buddies from Spain. He is always speaking of the "cultural experience and learning" he will be able to do so that he can finally understand Americans. I keep thinking to myself, "Ok he can drive from Chicago, to Denver, to Vegas, and whatever other one or two more cities he has planned, but he won't even be close to having a true cultural understanding of America." For example, I say to myself- I am from Chicago, right? So I am, technically, apart of this culture. However, consider all the other subtypes which Kuma mentions such as, the suburban lifestyle vs. the urban lifestyle, the African American culture vs. the typical white american culture. Or, you could simply think of the Northern vs. Southern cultural norms which includes discrepancies in dialect, food, and an overall way of life. Or from East to West, Native Americans, etc. The list is never ending within this one country!

So then, how can we ever truly include these multicultural cultures that exist within one culture? Now that's a lot of culture! As future educators, we are told over and over again how important it is to have our students connect, relate to, and to almost empathize with the content- in this case- the culture in which they are studying. I think Kuma makes a valid point, that this restricts the language learner into forming an almost subconscious  judgement of a culture because it lacks the the rich diversity  L2 learners bring with them. However, I think Kuma needs to take a little further and say that this not only ignores the diversity L2 learners bring with them, but also the multicultural variations within one culture. It may be expecting too much because it seems that this is almost never ending, not every person is the same even if they are from the same physical or linguistic environment, obviously.

I think the answer is that we must then create a critical cultural conscious awareness which he suggests. This, as Kuma states, can allow inherent culture and learned culture to blend and form some sort of negotiated meaning. I think it could be argued that this is being done on at least one level for every citizen of our world who has some sort of technological access such as T.V., internet, phones, etc. Our students, whether language learners or not, are constantly being faced with global issues that they must, at some point, take on a perspective. If this is true for mono lingual students, than it must be especially true for bilingual, or multilingual students. It is therefore, almost obligatory that our language learners are exposed to and aware of the multicultural varieties within one place. Knowing ones own culture and finding such an identity in our growing world is essential to the understanding of others.

Kuma Chapter 9 & 10

While reading chapter 9 in Kuma, the first quote seemed almost too blatantly obvious- that language takes place in social contexts and these contexts make connections with realities. At first, I thought, “well duh!” How else would we be able to make connections with our world and understand nearly everything around us? As I read though, it made more sense. The idea that some language samples make absolutely no sense without their context but within the correct context, they just do! How can I as a future educator teacher these almost circumstantial like things to my students? How do I make sense of these things in my second language? The examples of the importance of the situational context are so interesting! As a second language learner the examples given in this chapter would be incredibly difficult to understand without some sort of supporting context. As I read them aloud to my friend, we both understood them in different ways- so what is the meaning? How can I portray these sort of things to my ELLs?

I really like Kumas “Travel Matters” micro strategy and how these presented actual lessons to situationalize contexts within the classroom. If I do this, then, how do I address the extra situational context or what is appropriate in different languages? Simple speech acts which make up everyday conversational patterns differ from culture to culture and could be the source of great misunderstandings. Even with these considerations and microstratgies in mind, I wonder how to account for these cultural differences especially in cultures where there are great disparities.

Finally, I’m disappointed to miss this conversation tomorrow in class because I would be interested to hear what my peers have to say about these two chapters and the challenges speech acts outside of any sort of context present for ELLs despite the understanding of native speakers. 

Anthology Section 7: Chapters 13, 14, & 15

            As I sit here and digest the chapters on grammar and it’s teaching, I simple don’t know where to begin. Throughout our course we have run into so many instances where grammar was such a focus in different activities despite attempts to focus on other language learning concepts. For example, the activities we talked about in small groups two weeks ago proved to be very common language learning activities but the main problem with them was this grammar learning based way of approaching teaching. To me, it is obvious that grammar must be taught in some form but I still haven’t decided what is best. There are so many considerations and potential problems teachers might face in teaching grammar that it’s difficult for me as a pre-service teacher to know where to begin and form certain opinions.

            In general, however, I think I will start at the beginning. Section 7 indicated that with too much focus on grammar other parts of language learning can be lost, and I agree. However, it says that “people now agree that grammar is too important to be ignored” (p. 145) and wonder if teaching English could ever go back to being overly grammar based again. It also stated that we, as teachers, need to question things like, “Which grammar items do learners need most?”, and etc. As I read this, I wondered if these sort of grammar itemized needs would change depending on the students first language. For example, would a Chinese speaking student have different grammatical needs for learning English than a Spanish, Arabic, or Croatian speaking student? I guess what I question is if the first language grammar structures directly effect what sort of grammar skills a language learner needs?

            I was also struck by the sentence, “we have students who may know a lot of grammar but who are unable to use their knowledge for any practical communicative purposes” (p. 146). Throughout my language learning career, I have always struggled with the grammatical aspect of language learning. To me, it is like the mathematics of language- and I don’t like math. I noticed, when taking a grammar course here at ISU, that although I was so bad at grammar, especially in comparison to my boyfriend (Ryan) who became my tutor about 10 minutes into the first class, I was still one of the only people in the class comfortable enough to talk with the teacher in that foreign language before or after class. Now, a few years later, I am much more proficient in communicative situations than Ryan who has a much better grasp on the grammatical components of the language. This has always puzzled me as a language learner. How can I be so much more proficient and comfortable speaking the language than Ryan who can tell me every irregular past tense subjunctive form of a verb?

            This brings me to Chapter the 13, the reasons for teaching grammar. Ryan learned simply to earn a minor in Spanish, while, on the other hand, I learned to be able to communicate with my future students (and to graduate!).  Our reasons for learning were different. The reasons for teaching should also fit the needs of the students. I really enjoyed chapter seven because I think if we listed all the reasons to teach grammar in class, all the “bad reasons” for teaching grammar would have been listed. The two good reasons made total sense to me. It reminded me of a Classroom Management strategy- three umbrella rules are better than 100 specific rules. The two good reasons are very broad, comprehensibility and acceptability. We saw in the example on page 149 that native speakers counted issues with comprehension as the most serious mistakes. In that case, it is essential that our students learn to build and use grammatical structures with the goal to communicate common meanings successfully. I also found acceptability to be an important umbrella term for grammar teaching. As it states in the chapter, “serious deviance from native-speaker norms can hinder integration and excite prejudice- a person who speaks ‘badly’ my not be taken seriously.” Throughout my pre-service teaching experiences I have found that many people take language learners to be less-intelligent, thoughtful, or profound in their thoughts due to their lack of ability to express themselves. I think this is one reason in particular why I think acceptability is such an important aspect to language learning- so that ELLs are considered to be just as intellectually capable as their English speaking peers despite their expression abilities.

            In conclusion, I also made many connections with chapter 14 and the acquisition process of the second language learning. I found that each component of the five stages is very important and can be applied to my own language learning. I also found it practical for teachings to implement this “stage knowledge” into grammar teaching, along with chapter 15s’ consciousness raising. 

Kuma Chapter 6

            As I read Chapter 6 in Kuma, my mind was starting to consider all the things we have been talking about the past few weeks and connect them with this idea of learner autonomy. All the strategies whether it’s simply a writing, reading, listening, or a speaking strategy work in cohesion with the overall learning strategies we spoke about today in class. These learning strategies can be further applied to learner autonomy and learners being successful in the greater world. The quote on the very first page of the chapter seemed to sum up the chapter said to me, “learners must no longer sit there and expect to be taught; teachers must no longer stand up there teaching all the time. Teachers have to learn to let go and learners have to learn to take hold.“ (Brian Page, 1992, p. 82). It has this sort of “grab life by its horns” mentality about it where learners must realize their role in their own learning through self-initiated processes. By doing this, it seems learners must take into account pathways of discovery through strategic learning experiences and training. Teachers can facilitate these routes, open new doors, and encourage learners to challenge themselves through sharing, encouraging open discussion, and creating comfortable learning environments for all students. Ideally, then, students would identify ‘what works for them’, collaborate with others, and reach for new opportunities. Notice, I said, “ideally”.

            In many aspects this sort of learning environment is truly awesome! However, this means that teacher and learners are constantly working together towards a similar goal with similar motivation, and this, is not always the case. I agree with the conclusion of the chapter that “this might call for a fundamental attitudinal change” on almost everyone’s part in order to work together. I also think, this means that learners have to make decisions about learning that they might really not be ready to make. I do, however, think goal setting and the activities suggested to get to those goals are something teachers can implement in the classroom to get students on the same level. Finally, using things like Figure 6.6 can really help both the teachers and students to see where they stand when it comes to learning how to learn, autonomy, and strategic influence.

            In conclusion, I found many important connections between chapter 6 and the recent topics we have been discussing in class. It seems this learner autonomy, which is something both students and teachers strive for even if it is subconscious, is made up of many different learner styles, strategies, and even backgrounds. Ultimately, an achieved sense of learner autonomy for all students would be ideal but as teachers, we must help to build that from the beginning. 

How do I support a students first language when I don't speak the language?

“How in the world can you speak ALL THOSE LANGUAGES?!” I am asked this over and over again when I describe my teaching responsibilities at the ELI. I often smile and say, “What? You don’t speak Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, or Korean?” As an outsiders to the TESOL world, many of friends simply don’t understand how that works, nor do I expect them to. I think one of the main points I gained from this article is the importance of the SUPPORT (in all contexts) teachers must provide their students rather than the proficiency or fluency in the language.

I would like to focus my blog on the article we read for this week. I found this article extremely applicable to my future teaching career. I also found that Dolores is one teacher who practices what she preaches, which unfortunately, seems to be hard to find these days.

Throughout my education of learning to be a bilingual educator, it has been stated over and over again the importance of every single key idea mentioned in the beginning of this article. Dolores, as a teacher, does an impeccable job of including, consistently reinforcing, and encouraging students in regards to these main components in the article. For example, the first point states that it is important to establish a classroom community that celebrates diversity.  As a pre-service teacher I am always grateful to learn different ways teachers accomplish this community in their classrooms. Dolores does an incredible job of including almost all aspects of the diverse population and their lives directly into her classroom by inviting the primary language use, family members, and creating a cultural sensitivity & awareness in the classroom. I really enjoyed reading the creative ways in which she brings in first language, recognizes the importance of parental involvement, learns the new languages herself, and supports the primary language of each child. Just from reading such a brief article on her teaching techniques, it seems that she has applied many of the important aspects of bilingual education to her classroom.

I find this article to be extremely motivating to do the best for my students! I really enjoyed reading this article and seeing a practical application of bilingual methods in the classroom. I think Dolores classroom environment is a great role model for any learning bilingual teacher or TESOL candidate. 

Anthology Section 13

Overall, while reading through Anthology Section 13, I constructed a general idea of what the writing process is for teachers and students. I was able to relate with many of the writing issues as both a student and teacher. For me, it was interesting to read that there was not too much difference between ESL writing and ‘mainstream’ student writing. Teachers, in general, seem to have the same role, to model the writing process at every stage and to teach specific writing strategies. It seems that ‘mainstream’ writers and ESL writers go through some of the same writer development such as planning, drafting, responding, revising, editing, evaluating, and post writing. What both teachers and students alike seem to face is the motivating factors to get each done, and done well.

However, I think these chapters lacked a little on what ESL writers bring to the classroom, despite all the similarities that have with ESL writers. (This may have been mentioned in the article but for some reason I can’t find Ferris in the Digital Reserve!) One of the most interesting aspects of ESL writing for me is the actual writing culture they bring to the classroom. From experience, (my cousin is a sports writer in the UK and we have many pieces of her work) I know that published and successful writers from Britain, write so incredibly different than writers do here in the states. We also experienced this in our class, when one of the articles we read was written in a different format than we are used to- the author was from a different English speaking country- and it received a lot of criticism during our class. It’s not only the manner in which the author of any piece of works writes, but also the format, the topic matter, the procedures to find inspiration, and much more. I almost wonder if I could ever truly understand where a diverse community of learners has gotten their ideas and expressed them on paper? What sort of things will inspire someone who is so different than me? How can I motivate and ultimately making meaningful lessons for students whose background in writing is something so different? I start to consider that a student with no writing background might be easier to teach and understand, like a blank slate, whether it’s a new language or not.

In general, my mind was spinning (literally because I have the worst headache ever, take your vitamin C J) while reading this article because of the connections I made between an ESL writers challenges, thought expression, and how those aspect link with almost every other part of their daily life struggling to become English proficient.