CEC FIPP ACTIVITY REPORT
Name: Marilyn Briggs
Date: 11/16/2010
Department: Humanities, ESL
FIPP Partner: Pieter Jan Van Neil, Ph.D
Class title & Section 3: ESL 2A, Beginning, Section 9462
Category: II Classroom Environment
Briefly describe the activity/strategy, providing enough detail so that a
colleague can replicate the activity/strategy.
1. Introduction: Implementing a phone list activity in any class is very
useful, and especially for language classes, for the following three
reasons: 1) if a language class, to create opportunities to practice
making telephone calls in the target language; 2) encourage community
building within the classroom, and 3) create a support system among
classmates that they can use when they need help with homework or
have missed class and need to catch up.
2. Set-up & Supplies: Each student has a blank piece of paper in
his/her notebook with 6 columns entitled:
a. Name
b. Tel number
c. Native language (optional)
d. General Interests
e. Good time to call
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f. Bad time to call
3. Directions: If a language class, pre-teach the following questions in the
target language so that students can elicit information for the above
columns:
a. What’s your name? How do you spell that, please?
b. What’s your telephone number?
c. What’s your native language?
d. What do you like to do in your space time?
e. What’s a good time to call you?
f. What’s a bad time to call?
Explain to the class that exchanging phone numbers with everyone in the class
is a valuable activity because it will help ensure students’ on-going success in
the class throughout the term. Tell students that their "phone bank" is a
resource that they can utilize for various reasons: perhaps they didn't fully
understand the day's lesson or homework assignment, or perhaps they had to
leave early or have even missed a day of class and thus need to know what has
been covered in class. If it is a language class, making phone calls in the target
language is a very intimidating skill to practice, and therefore, the phone bank
gives students opportunities to practice conversations in the target language
with classmates about their general interests, etc.
What worked well?
The activity worked well overall once I explained in depth the reasons for
exchanging phone numbers and gave examples of when students might call a
classmate on their phone list. Some students were initially hesitant to exchange
numbers because of anticipated problems at home, especially the possibility of
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arousing suspicion from jealous spouses. For those students who were initially
hesitant or reluctant, I repeated that the activity was optional but that it would
also support them in being more successful throughout the course of the term.
Eventually all students chose to participate, and in the end, even the reluctant
ones seemed to embrace the exchange of telephone numbers.
I surveyed the class about the phone list activity after doing it, and received very
positive feedback from the students. Some of the students’ comments were as
follows:
“I like it because we have more communication with everyone
in the group.”
“It’s very good because we can help each other learn.”
“I like it because there’s more communication among all of us,
including the teacher, and we know each other more.”
“We value each other more.”
“The experience outside the class is good and will help me to
learn more English.”
“I agree with this material because it helps me to learn English.”
“I like this activity and I think it’s important for us; we can learn
English grammar.”
“I like it because there’s more participation by everyone in the
group.”
“I like this strategy because I have more options for when I can’t
come to class.”
“We all participate in the class and as much as we can.”
“It helps us pay more attention to the teacher for learning.”
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What would you change?
I have debated about doing a form with the columns already created on it, but I
feel that because students create the form themselves in their notebooks, they
then have a greater sense of ownership in the information they collect and also
have freedom to add any additional information they might wish to include.
Furthermore, having a separate piece of paper can easily get lost, but since the
phone list is part of their notebooks, the information is readily available whenever
needed. My only real change in the future, which I plan to do next term, would
be to introduce a tracking sheet where students could record the number of times
they call classmates for assistance or simply to practice their telephone
conversational skills.
There is, however, one thing I have changed over the past 3 years since I first
started doing this activity in my ESL classes. I have found that it is necessary,
even in advanced level classes, to pre-teach the questions as outlined above. I
discovered students initially were just giving each other their notebooks in which
to write down the information rather than practicing the questions, so I then
introduced the appropriate information questions. Additionally, the simple
question of “How do you spell that?” is itself a new question for many students. I
also teach the alphabet/letter approach to spelling a word, such as “A” as in
“apple”, “b” as in “boy, “c” as in “cat”, i.e., which is new for many students, but a
language skill that we as native speakers automatically use. I stress that I
frequently use this strategy myself when spelling my last name, Briggs, and
especially when I’m speaking on the telephone, when information can be easily
garbled or confused.
Would you use the activity/strategy again? Why or why not?
I absolutely would use the strategy again, and as explained above, have been
doing so for the last three years in some variation or another. Having lived in a
foreign country and faced the daunting prospect of making a telephone call in the
foreign language, I fully understand how very intimidating and overwhelming such
an experience can be to a language student. Additionally, having the phone list is
a great way for students to support themselves and each other in better
understanding the classroom instruction or homework assignments, and in
keeping current with class work when unable to attend class. And finally, as
evidenced from the student quotations mentioned above, the activity also fosters
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a greater sense of interdependence and community among all participants in the
activity.
Please describe any student learning and/or changes that you observed after
the implementation of the activity/strategy.
The biggest change I saw was on the part of 2-3 students who, due to work
schedule conflicts, either usually didn’t arrive on time to class or missed class
altogether. There was always a sense of embarrassment on their parts when they
did come to class, usually coupled with being behind the overall level of the other
students. Once phone numbers were exchanged, I observed these 2-3 marginal
students making more of a concerted effort to come to class, in addition to doing
the homework even when they hadn’t been present to get the assignments. They
no longer held themselves individually separate from the group as they had
previously and also more willingly participated in group activities and homework
correction. Overall their grades raised, their abilities in English increased, and
they exhibited a greater degree of self-confidence in themselves as learners and
as students.
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