Marcela Hebbard, MA’s
South Texas College
McAllen, Texas
 This project as part of the Pathway ESL for Health
Care program
 Project Overview

Description of the students

Sample of a Lesson
a) The use of collaborative instruction to build oral skills
b) The use of technology to strengthen second
language acquisition skills
To serve as a bridge course for low-literacy
students interested in pursing a career in the
medical field by providing them with English
language instruction, academic support and
technology practice.
Objective: Be able to produce and present a coherent
explanation of the function of one of the six body systems
covered in class, starting from its parts, how it works and its most
common diseases.
Method: Study one body system a week. After six weeks, form
groups, groups choose a body system, review materials from
class, do more research if needed, choose vocabulary, prepare
visual aids, rehearse presentations and present.

11 Women, 1 man

Education level
range from 5th grade
to 10th grade in
Mexico. 1 university
graduate.

Common traits. –
All from Mexico, and
all of them have
expressed a desire to
work in the health
care system.

A lesson was not
seen as a daily event
of 3 hours, but
instead as a weekly
event.

Technology was
incorporated in the
classroom everyday.
(See next four slides)
English Class
Focus on Communication Skills (Speaking/Listening)
Day One – Activate background knowledge, introduce vocabulary and learn the
function of each of the parts of the specific body system.
Day Two – Review vocabulary and learn how the system works.
Focus on Academic Skills (Reading/Writing)
Day Three – Review and read about the conditions or illnesses that can affect that
body system.
Day Four – Review orally everything covered in previous days, then write a page
explaining in their own works how the body system works.
Focus on Technology
Day Five – Students have a quiz and then complete a worksheet using specific
websites. (See examples)
WEEK FIVE
Objective: Students will learn about how the digestive system works.
Day 1
Topic: The digestive system
Show Ss pictures of food. Discuss what their favorite food is. Ask Ss, what happens to the food we eat? A: It goes
into our stomachs!
Introduce new vocabulary using the page titled “The Digestive System”. Practice the order of the organs listed
(stomach, pancreas, small intestine, rectum, appendix, large intestine, gall bladder, liver and esophagus.) Add these
words: chew, break down, stuff and waste. Repeat the words several times. Ask Ss to cover one word at a time until all
words are covered and they know them by heart.
Then make copies of the blank page. Ask Ss to write the correct name of each organ.
Then, instructor explains orally how the digestive system works.
“Your digestive system starts working even before you put food in your mouth. When you look at, smell or think about
delicious food, your mouth starts producing saliva. Once the food is in your mouth, you chew it and then you swallow
it. The food travels down in slow motions through your esophagus into the stomach. The stomach stores the food and
begins breaking it down with the help of the gastric juices that come from the stomach’s walls. From the stomach, the
food goes into the small intestine where the food breaks down even more so your body can absorb all the nutrients with
the help of the juices from the liver, pancreas and gall bladder. After that, the food has become a watery mixture and
travels to the large intestine. Here the nutrients are removed and waste is left over – stuff your body can’t use. The
waste turns into stool and then the large intestine pushes the poop into the rectum and the feces exit the body through
the anus.”
Repeat the process several times first using a visual picture of the digestive system.
After Ss have practice explaining how the digestive system works, ask them to write it down.
Make copies of the languageguide.org page. Encourage Ss to use their dictionaries to find the meaning of unfamiliar
words. Then, proceed to work on pronunciation. Point out to Ss that “to pass gas” is the most polite way instead of
saying “to fart” which a person can say among close friends. The same happens to “feces” which is more appropriate
than using the word “crap”.
The Digestive System
Page used
to
Introduce
parts of the
digestive
system.
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Page used
to
Review and
practice
parts of the
digestive
system.
http://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/digestive-system/
http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/digestive_system.html
http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/_bfs_DSquizsource.html - Quiz
Websites used to explain the
function of each organ in the
digestive system.
Written test
containing week’s
content
 While students
take test instructor
emails them the
worksheet for the
day (email-accounts
created first week
of classes)
 Ss click on the
link and work
individually
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/fracturesandsprains/htm/_no_50_no_0.htm
 All 12 students willingly participated in the project.
Presentations were videotaped. After, students watched and analyzed their own
presentations.
Most students were satisfied with their performance as presenters and mentioned they
had learned a lot .
All students enjoyed listening to their classmates’ presentations.
One student shared that this course taught her the importance of asking questions
because during a doctor’s visit she found out a serious health condition by pressing for
answers to her questions. (Thanks to her inquiries, she was able to receive proper
treatment) .
Two students that were fearful to use the computer, felt that they could now at least
check their emails and access those health websites to find information in the future.
 This project was considered a great accomplishment by the students and the
instructor.
Even though I did not hand out an evaluation form after this project, I did provide
students with opportunities to link their experience on this project to their future
academic goals by:
1) Having several professors from the Nursing program as guest speakers.
Students were able to interact and asked question. Also, students said they
understood many technical terms guest speakers’ used in their presentations.
2) Taking the class to visit a nursing home.
A limitation of this project was not to have a rubric students could use as guide
while watching and analyzing their presentations.